At the recent community review meeting regarding the extreme weather event earlier this year, it was noted that access to information on what was happening during the event and the need to share information amongst residents could be improved. This article outlines the various ways in which information can currently be shared electronically across the community.
If anyone feels there are ways we can further improve sharing of information during future emergency events please feel free to share in the comments section below or contact any PDCA executive members directly.
What’s App
The WhatsApp group – Paluma Community Alert shares urgent & ‘need to know’ information in a timely manner for Paluma and district communities.
Typically, members post the following types of information for sharing:
- road hazards or closures that they come across;
- wide loads / large vehicles travelling through the area;
- sighting of suspicious activities in the area;
- stranded tourists / non-residents needing help; and
- planned hazard reduction burns in the area.
Note well, the group is not about replicating information available on other official websites such as the TMR road conditions site or Qld Fire Department – Current warnings and incidents site. It is all about the important on-ground, info sharing.
During emergency events into the future, the WhatsApp group may be used by the community to assist with any response needs.
If you are interested in joining this group, please contact Sonya Bryce on 0474 324 153 (administrator).
Paluma/Hidden Valley News is a Facebook group “which has been created as it is a good way of finding out news and information in our area.” The administrators encourage members “to use these pages to inform, learn, locate, catch up with… Special events. Tradespeople can post; things people have for sale; lost and found (animals and other such things). Please not anything derogatory, defamatory or in any way abusive or other will be removed.”
This Facebook group has been most effective in providing information on road conditions on the Mt Fox road and the Ewan/Laroona road during and post the recent weather event.
Paluma Buy, Swap, Sell And Giveaway is a Facebook group whose primary objectives are expressed in the title. The ‘about’ description states it is “a site that may be useful to people who live in Paluma ‘village in the clouds’, away from shops and facilities.” It was also used by some for information sharing during the recent extreme weather event.
Paluma.org provides posts primarily from the PDCA on various topics directly relating to our community and allows for comments on any of these posts to be made. The usual rules for polite conduct applies to these comments. Any Paluma and District resident can also submit a post for the consideration of the editors. The current editors are Jamie Oliver, Juanita Poletto and Anneshka Brown.