Storms can cause considerable damage to buildings, trees and infrastructure, creating dangerous conditions and situations.
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Be prepared for a storm by:

• Tidying up loose items and trimming trees, but do not attempt to trim trees near powerlines (see Trees & Powerlines).
• Keeping a battery-operated torch and radio handy with spare batteries nearby.
• Keeping your house weatherproof. Always replace broken roof tiles, keep gutters clean and fix leaks to ensure water cannot access electrical systems or appliances.
• Being sure you know the location of your mains switch, or switches that turn off the electricity supply.

• Stay away from fallen wires or anything touching them.
• Report any fallen power lines, trees or branches in contact with power lines, fires or property damage to your local electricity distributor as soon as possible. For EnergyAustralia call 13 13 88.
• Play it safe by unplugging sensitive appliances such as computers, video recorders and televisions.

• Leave one light switch on so you will know when power is restored.
• Listen to a battery operated radio or the car radio, for power restoration updates. If you are in EnergyAustralia’s network supply area, call 13 13 88 for pre-recorded progress reports. But be aware that many cordless phones may not work without power.
• Take care when using matches and candles.
• Switch off heaters, the stove and other heating appliances and keep combustible material like newspapers, curtains and towels well away from appliances. This will reduce any risk of fires caused by the power being restored unexpectedly.
• Unplug sensitive electrical and electronic equipment such as the TV, stereo, video recorder and computer.
• Keep fridge and freezer doors closed.
• If you have a generator use it only to provide power directly to appliances. NEVER connect the output of your generator to the house switchboard or wiring.