The Kangaroo Island council has started work on a whole-of-Island action plan to prepare for and deal with natural events.

It has started a first round of community engagement to gather stories thoughts and opinions on how to best equip KI for the risks of today and tomorrow.

The Emergency Management Plan for Kangaroo Island identifies extreme heat, extreme storms, bushfire and earthquake as potential natural event risks.

The council also wants to talk about flooding and coastal hazards, and hear about community experiences with and views on other types of events.

It has initiated three rounds of community engagement. 

During the first round of engagement in May, it wants to hear from the community about the local values that may be at risk from natural and other types of hazards and how best to mitigate them. 

The second round of workshops, in July and August, will focus on mitigation priorities and will inform a  draft version of an action plan. 

The community will be invited to a third and final round of workshops in October and November to discuss the draft action plan.

A final version of the Preparing Kangaroo Island Action Plan is expected to be completed by December 2023.

To kick off the engagement period a series of community workshops and drop in sessions is planned across the Island from 1-5 May: 

WORKSHOP SESSIONS

• Parndana Town Hall, 5:30pm-8pm Monday 1 May.
• American River Hall, 5pm-7:30pm Tuesday 2 May.
• Dudley District Hall, 5pm-7:30pm Wednesday 3 May.
• Kingscote Community Hall, 5:30pm-8pm Thursday 4 May.

DROP IN SESSIONS

• Vivonne Bay General Store, 10am-12:30pm Tuesday 2 May.
• Emu Ridge Eucalyptus Distillery, 10am-12pm Wednesday 3 May.
• Emu Bay Lavender Farm, 10am-12:30pm Thursday 4 May.

Everyone is welcome to contribute; registration for the workshops is not required and light refreshments will be served. 

The project is funded by the National Emergency Management Agency’s ‘Preparing Australia’s Communities’ program.