City of Greater Shepparton

City of Greater Shepparton

URL: http://greatershepparton.com.au/council/emergency/heatwave/

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Heatwave - how to beat the heat

For information regarding a heatwave.

***Heatwave Alert***  

There is currently no heatwave alert issued for the Hume Region (which includes Greater Shepparton).

A  heatwave alert is issued when the mean temperature exceed the designated thresholds determined in the Greater Shepparton Heatwave Plan for the Goulburn region.

The latest 7-day forecasts can be accessed from the Bureau website at http://www.bom.gov.au/weather/vic/forecasts/shepparton.shtml.

During a heatwave particular attention should be paid to those people whom you support that may be particularly vulnerable to heatwaves. These include (but are not limited to): people aged over 65 years, children under 5, pregnant or nursing mothers, some people with disabilities or pre-existing medical conditions, people taking certain medications and those living alone with little social contact.

Greater Shepparton Heatwave Plan 

Greater Shepparton City Council received $25,000 funding from the Victorian Government to develop a Greater Shepparton Heatwave Plan.

The heatwave plan aims to inform our community about the impending heatwave and to provide assistance and direction to our most vulnerable residents during this time.

The draft Heatwave Plan will be presented to the Council for adoption at the 15 December Council meeting. Once it has been adopted it will be available to be downloaded from this section.

The plan has been developed by a Greater Shepparton Heatwave Planning Steering Committee, that included representatives from Council, Goulburn Valley Health, Goulburn Valley Division of General Practice, Goulburn Valley Primary Care Partnership, Goulburn Valley Community Health Service, Department of Human Services and other local health and welfare organisations.

The plan has four stages, which are: Planning and Preparation, Heatwave Alert, Heatwave Response and Heatwave Recovery and Review (click on the link below for more information).

Heatwave definition

A period of excessively hot and uncomfortable weather that adversely affects human health or when temperatures rise much higher than usual for several days in a row.

Vulnerable groups

The plan looks at what Council and other local agencies can do to support vulnerable people.

These vulnerable people are listed as people aged 65 years and over, children under 5 years of age, pregnant or nursing mothers, people with a disability or pre-existing medical conditions, those living alone with little social contact and people taking certain medications such as those for Multiple Sclerosis and for certain mental health conditions.

Other at-risk groups include people without air conditioning or who refuse to use it
homeless persons, low income earners, those with limited access to transport, people who are outdoors for any reason, especially doing strenuous activity like working or playing sport, residents in the upper floors of multi storey buildings, some people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds who cannot access health services or information.

Temperature threshold

The Shepparton threshold is a mean of 30°C. This temperature threshold is based on the average between the daily maximum temperature and the overnight minimum temperature.

How to beat the heat

1. Keep out of the heat - look for shade and wear a hat
2. Drink enough water
3. Naturally cool your home, close windows and blinds in the day
4. Talk to your health service if you have health issues
5. Check on people who may struggle in the heat
6. Help people who are feeling unwell.
Please download the poster below, which shows these steps in languages other than English.

Medical concerns

Anyone with specific medical queries should contact either their local GP or Nurse On-Call.

If the situation is an emergency, residents are advised to call 000 immediately.

NURSE-ON-CALL, a phone service that provides immediate, expert health advice from a registered nurse, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call 1300 60 60 24 for the cost of a local call from anywhere in Victoria. (Calls from mobile phones may be charged at a higher rate.)

Information resources and related links

Please see below links and downloads more more information.  You can also download information in languages other that English from Department of Health by clicking on the following link http://www.health.vic.gov.au/environment/heatwave/resources/index.htm.