Taking care of yourself in severe weather conditions

Severe storms and heatwave conditions are continuing to affect the Metro North area.

There are many people still without electricity in our region. Read on for information about food safety, cleaning up after storms, heat safety, accessing healthcare, and charging medical devices.

Moreton Bay Regional Council advises Community Information Centres are open 7am-7pm on Wednesday 26 November at the below locations:

Bribie Island Recreational Hall – 156 First Avenue, Bongaree 4507.
Deception Bay Community Centre – 2 Raymond Terrace, Deception Bay 4508.
Moreton Bay libraries are also open for people who need to escape the heat.

Heat safety

Heat-related illness can be serious and even-life threatening. Be prepared for severe heatwave conditions by:

Keeping cool and staying hydrated by drinking 6 to 8 glasses of water a day and limit your intake of alcohol, soft drinks, tea or coffee
Ensuring you have enough food, medicine and other supplies to avoid going out or if electricity supply is interrupted.
If possible, avoiding going out in the hottest part of the day (10am-3pm).
If you do go out, seeking out the shade and drinking water regularly.
Wearing lightweight, loose clothing made of breathable fabric (cotton, linen).
Watching out for early signs of heat related illness.
No covering prams while babies are in them or leaving children in cars
Using air conditioning and fans to keep cool – or going to a library, community centre or shopping centre if you do not have power at home.

Medications commonly prescribed to treat high blood pressure, heart conditions, allergies and mental health conditions, can all make you more vulnerable to the heat.

Keep in contact with elderly friends, neighbours and relatives during a heat wave in case you, or they, need help. Babies, children, people who are pregnant or breastfeeding may also be affected by warmer weather.

The Queensland Health website has more information on heatwave precautions.

For general information about preparing your home and family for extreme weather and natural disaster events, visit Get Ready Queensland.

Food safety and post severe weather clean up

If you’ve lost power some food in your house may no longer be safe to eat. It’s safest to throw out food that could be contaminated – if in doubt throw it out! This includes: any food that has been in contact with contaminated water, including food that has an unusual smell, colour or texture refrigerated food that has been left unrefrigerated or above 5°C for more than four hours frozen food after 48 hours if the freezer is full, or after 24 hours if the freezer is half-full. If frozen food has partially thawed, do not re-freeze. The food should be eaten as soon as possible or disposed of. canned food if the can is open, swollen, damaged or has a missing or damaged label. More information about food safety following a disaster is available here.

Wet conditions and heavy rainfall create an environment where mould can grow. Mould is common in warm and humid conditions – which are common following severe weather. When cleaning mould from surfaces, you can use products designed to kill and remove mould from hard surfaces household cleaning agents or detergents white vinegar (do not mix with bleach). You should avoid using a drybrush to clean mould as this can spread mould spores. Protect yourself by wearing eye protection, a mask, enclosed footwear and protective clothing. More information about cleaning up following disaster and severe weather events is available here.

Accessing healthcare

Where possible, please continue to attend your medical appointments. If you are unable to physically get to your appointment, check if your healthcare team provides telehealth appointments.

Virtual Emergency Care Services are also available for urgent non-life-threatening conditions.

People with medical devices

Metro North hospitals and health centres can help patients who rely on power for their medical devices, such as oxygen condensers.

If losing power would result in a medical emergency for you or a loved one, safely go to your closest hospital or health centre immediately after you lose power. Please bring your normal medications with you. See Queensland Health’s factsheet for more information about medical devices in emergencies.

If it is not a medical emergency but you need power to charge a medical device, the City of Moreton Bay has identified multiple locations you can go to during the day to get out of the heat and charge medical devices, including mobile phones:

8 Council libraries
Bribie Island Surf-lifesaving Club (10:00-24:00)
RSL Bribie Island (07:30-24:00)
Sandstone Point Tavern (09:00 -02:00)