Time to batten down the hatches South East Queensland

Looks like it’s time the batten down the hatches South East Queensland. There goes our Australia Day celebrations! It would have been nice to relax out on the lawn with a traditional bbq and game of cricket but it seems Mother Nature has other ideas. Ex-tropical cyclone Oswald is heading our way and bringing heavy rain, high winds and potential flash flooding with it.

Current predictions from BOM are for 200mm of rain in 24 hours so now is definitely the time to prepare.

We’ve put together a few tips to help keep you and your property safe over the next few days and to minimise any long term damage to your lawn:

1. Clear gutters, check down pipes and drains;
2. Turn off any automatic irrigation systems to reduce the potential of your yard flooding;
3. Consider draining some water from your pool;
4. Pack away or secure any children’s toys, games, lawn maintenance tools and equipment as well as outdoor furniture;
5. Remove any dead branches from trees and trim branches overhanging windows or gutters;
6. Move your car and wheelie bins under shelter. If you can’t move bins out of the wind, fill them with water to reduce the risk of them becoming airborne and causing damage;
7. Stay indoors and avoid all non-essential travel and outdoor activities; mowing the lawn can wait until next week;
8. Have your mobile phone fully charged and save emergency numbers into the memory, just in case;
9. Prepare an emergency kit; battery operated radio, torches, spare batteries, first aid kit and copies of essential docs or a usb containing the same;
10. Stock up on the essential now to avoid the need to venture out in the bad weather;
11. Avoid fallen trees and downed power-lines;
12. Stay clear of flooded roads, creeks and storm water drains. If it’s flooded, forget it!
13. Keep up-to-date on the weather situation. We recommend: www.qldalert.com and www.bom.gov.au as well as your local radio station;
14. Keep an eye on your children and check that your neighbours and visitors to the local area are aware of the unfolding situation and understand the dangers.

If you require emergency assistance contact the SES on 132 500. Don’t forget to programme this number into your mobile phone!

The entire Daleys Turf team wish you a safe Australia Day weekend. Stay safe and look after each other.