Flood prompts multicultural emergency guide

Flooding in South Australia has prompted the state government to rethink its approach to crisis management for communities of non-English speaking backgrounds.

Vietnamese%20market%20gardeners%20prompted%20a%20rehtink%20of%20SA%20emergency%20management.jpgVietnamese%20market%20gardeners%20prompted%20a%20rehtink%20of%20SA%20emergency%20management.jpg

Vietnamese market gardeners prompted a rethink of SA emergency management.

When floods tore through an intensive market garden region in Adelaide's north, emergency personnel were faced with more problems than just water.

It quickly became apparent that many of the people they were rescuing were Vietnamese and had limited English skills.

It meant they didn't fully grasp what was happening, and perhaps even more worryingly, failed to understand how emergency services were trying to help them.

The experience prompted the state government to rethink its approach to crisis management for diverse communities.

Multicultural Affairs Minister Zoe Bettison told Karen Ashford the result is a new agreement to better engage communities during times of trouble.

(Click audio tab above to hear the full interview)

 


Share

1 min read

Published

Updated

By Karen Ashford


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world