Poster child for innovative community flood warnings

Embracing 21st century technology has helped a small remote Queensland council provide accurate information about flooded roads in its area.

Balonne Shire Council, more than 500 kilometres south-west from the state capital Brisbane, is using QR codes to keep the area’s 4,480 residents and its businesses and visitors up to date with the latest information during extreme weather events.

With the Balonne local government area covering 31,104 square kilometres, more than 23 times larger than Brisbane, it has long been a challenge for council to share accurate and timely information on flooding and road conditions to all residents. 

When the rains come, Balonne’s  rivers, which help sustain local agriculture and horticulture and attract anglers chasing both yellowbelly and Murray cod, can heavily impact the shire's network of roads with flooding.

In these situations, keeping motorists informed becomes a priority, particularly with the potential for misinformation to spread quickly on social media.

Taking an innovative and proactive approach, council has produced a poster that directs motorists to the latest on road conditions at times of flooding.

The poster features QR codes directing users to council’s Emergency Dashboard, and the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads’ QLDTraffic website that provides statewide traffic and travel info.

When Balonne Shire is experiencing flooding, the dashboard is updated twice daily with real-time information on road conditions and closures, and has links to flood cameras, weather warnings, emergency news and more.

Local businesses have been encouraged to display the poster, which is available for download from council’s website, in their windows.

Council has also provided copies of the poster to the Queensland Police Service to distribute around the shire.

For motorists, the poster’s QR codes offer a quick and easy-to-use link to accurate information so they can avoid travelling through flood affected areas.

The Get Ready Queensland If It’s Flooded, Forget It website (www.getready.qld.gov.au/FloodedForgetIt) is another valuable resource as well that’s helping raise awareness about the dangers of driving in floodwater.