Our globe’s changing weather patterns — whether man- made or not are beginning to affect everyone, everywhere.

Instead of causing anxiety and depression, which many people are now experiencing, these changes are actually giving us Nature’s fair notice that we must be more positive, more open and alive to the future, and learn more from the history of the past.

The last four years in New South Wales have, indeed, shown us that uncertainty surrounds our future years, not only with respect to inflation and overseas hostilities but also to the possibility of further floods, increased temperatures and serious cyclonic storms let alone drought and widespread bushfires.

While not in any way attempting to support or deny that we are suffering from industry-created climate change, our weather patterns in recent years are a very definite warning that future change of some sort is coming.

This, in turn, means that we are best advised to now plan how to positively cope with our lives. The situation we are facing includes the possibility of our personal and household insurances becoming prohibitively expensive or even being denied while our city, town and suburban streets experience further river and rainwater inundation.

With due respect for the great and important work of the N.S.W. State Emergency Service, one has to ask, “Are we really individually prepared for more of the same weather change already experienced throughout the Northern Rivers region?”

I would also question how many of our local residents have a detailed and written plan in lieu of their property being suddenly threatened or flooded; how many people even know where their local S.E.S. office is located and how many have any firm idea where they may be forced to seek refuge?

As an example, I for one have no evacuation plan in place for urgent removal from my home and only recently learned where to find the local S.E.S. office should it be necessary to organise sandbags or roof tarpaulins to protect my property.

The history of serious weather events in Australia shows that one of the best ways now for people to be fully prepared is for them to explore all potential difficulties they may face in an emergency and for them to create their own plan allied to a detailed list of official instructions from the authorities involved.

Grafton, Maclean and Yamba, as major river population centres, do not unfortunately appear to have any widely spread and publicly displayed official plans for Nature’s future weather induced emergencies.

Maybe the time has arrived for a Council or State department to provide each resident in these and other smaller river areas with precisely tailored street-by-street written instructions as to what to do, where to take refuge and how to call for specialised help and assistance.

Sufficient emergency plans are no doubt being held and used by the relevant authorities, but the important point of the matter is that such information is not readily in the hands of all ratepayers, non-home owning citizens and visitors.

I clearly remember hearing from a variety of Lismore residents after their last and most recent flood that many of those affected by the tragedy were totally at a loss when Nature suddenly struck their city so violently without warning. As a result, a sad proportion of them suffered severe anxiety and mental problems.

Research shows that health and wellbeing were the top weather-related hazards recognised by the N.S.W. Public Health Department as a result of the Lismore flood. A similar story is reported by other similar State Health departments throughout Australia following other major weather events.

Official post-Lismore flood enquiries have shown that for the majority of business and homeowners there were also initially — and very naturally– at sixes and sevens when they were literally taken by surprise by their excessive once-in-a-lifetime weather event.

There is certainly no doubt that the Earth’s climate and weather are very much alive, have always been so — and will always continue to be so.

According to the influential European Environment Agency, our world’s changing weather cycles are also a major threat to the economies of all countries in the East and the West — to the tune of an estimated U.S.$54 trillion within the next 16 years.

With that in mind, the organisation claims that the only antidote to this overall cost is human resilience and adaptation — and for each of us to roll up our sleeves and take the problem on headlong without flinching. But we still need those vital written instructions as to how to cope and escape the ravages of Nature’s destruction.