The City of Mandurah has been recognised for its efforts to raise emergency preparedness among visitors to the Peel region.
The City was a finalist in the 2019 Resilient Australia Awards for the Prepare the Peel tourism project, and received a Highly Commended award in the local government category.
The awards, run by the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience, were held on July 31.
The Prepare the Peel project was undertaken in 2017/18 in collaboration with local governments, emergency services and the tourism industry.
It aimed to help travellers be better informed of emergency alerts, warnings and information systems in the event of an emergency.
A range of resources were developed for tourism providers to use throughout the stages of the visitors journey to help spread the word about emergency preparedness.
It also encouraged visitors to download the free emergency mobile apps, Emergency AUS and Emergency +.
As part of the project, a Crisis Essentials Guide was produced for tourism businesses, helping them to prepare, respond and recover from a crisis and implement an emergency kit and checklist.
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The Prepare the Peel project was inspired by historical emergency events including the Waroona-Harvey bushfires, which highlighted a need to more effectively communicate with transient or vulnerable communities.
A $20,000 grant was provided by the state government through the National Disaster Resilience program.
City of Mandurah's emergency management team partnered with Visit Mandurah, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services, Shires of Murray, Waroona, Boddington, Serpentine-Jarrahdale and many local business and emergency services volunteers to deliver the project.
Mandurah mayor Rhys Williams said Prepare the Peel was a great example of a collaborative approach to emergency preparedness.
"Emergency readiness is a shared responsibility," he said.
"I'm really proud of how the city has worked with key partners to deliver this project, essentially arming tourists and tourism operators with the right tools to respond effectively in an emergency situation.
"Congratulations to the many project partners who contributed to the success of this project and helped us to build a more resilient community."
Visit Mandurah (formerly MAPTO) general manager Anita Kane congratulated the City of Mandurah for the recognition of their work on the initiative.
"We are proud to be part of this important project that has provided businesses the resources to know how to play their part," she said.
The Shire of Harvey was named the winner of the WA Resilient Australia Award for the video series "Lessons Learned from Waroona, Yarloop, Harvey Bushfires."
