Warning and emergency planning

In the Johnstone region, many people come from families that have resided in the area for several generations. In most cases, these people have either experienced a flood or have heard first hand accounts of floods from family members or friends. Therefore, they are likely to have a high level of flood awareness. However, these people may not be aware that there may be larger floods than those events that they have experienced or heard of. In addition, there are a significant number of new rural and urban residents in the region who may not have the same level of flood awareness. In some instances, these people:

have not experienced a flood in the area;
have not heard first hand accounts of previous floods;
live in houses that are not near the river, but are actually in the floodplain and are subject to flooding; and/or
are not likely to take flood warnings seriously.

Both groups of people, those who have a low level of flood awareness and those who may not believe that there will be a larger flood than the biggest historical flood, that should be the target of a flood information campaign.