Disasters are expected to become more difficult to manage and communities that are well prepared and connected, are known to be more resilient during these unpredictable events.

The City of Melbourne is working on a four-year project called Prepare Melbourne, to ‘engage and prepare residents and communities to enhance their resilience to hazards, disasters and the health impacts of climate change’.

To better understand the physical and social vulnerabilities our communities face to disasters and how we can build a more resilient community, we are meeting and working with our neighbourhoods.

We have completed Community Resilience Assessments in Southbank, Kensington and Carlton. Find out what we heard.

Based on what we’ve learned, we are now conducting assessments in Docklands and North and West Melbourne, and are looking for community members to participate - get involved and help your neighbourhood be better prepared for disasters.

In recent times our neighbourhoods have experienced flooding, extreme heat days, as well as the impacts of the pandemic.

Our Municipal Emergency Management Plan further outlines some of the disasters that could impact the City of Melbourne. In addition, climate change projections indicate the following possible events:

  • increase in hot days >35C to 12 per year by 2030
  • increase in sea level rise by 0.11 metres by 2030
  • decrease in total annual rainfall to 545 mm by 2030
  • increase in very windy days >30km/hr to 4.5 days by 2030
  • increase in very high fire danger days to 20 days per year by 2030.

Data is sourced from Energy Sector Climate Information.

Knowing our neighbours, looking out for each other and being better prepared for the unexpected, can make our days more enjoyable and can save lives in a disaster.

Follow this page and help build community resilience in your neighbourhood.

Get involved

  • Complete the survey below for North and West Melbourne and Docklands.

News

Timeline

  • Timeline item 1 - complete

    Project methodology and data collation

    July 2022

  • Timeline item 2 - complete

    Southbank public survey open

    31 October to 19 December 2022

  • Timeline item 3 - complete

    Southbank community focus groups

    8 and 29 November 2022

  • Timeline item 4 - complete

    Consider findings

    December 2022

  • Timeline item 5 - complete

    Report of Southbank Community Resilience Assessment

    February 2023

  • Timeline item 6 - complete

    Carlton and Kensington public survey open

    3 March to 23 May 2023

  • Timeline item 7 - complete

    Kensington community focus groups

    March to April 2023

  • Timeline item 8 - complete

    Carlton community focus groups

    May 2023

  • Timeline item 9 - complete

    Consider findings

    May to August 2023

  • Timeline item 10 - complete

    Report on pilot Community Resilience Assessments for Southbank, Carlton and Kensington

    August 2023

  • Timeline item 11 - active

    Consultation open

    18 August to 15 October 2023

  • Timeline item 12 - complete

    North and West Melbourne and Docklands EOI open

    August to 18 September 2023

  • Timeline item 13 - incomplete

    North and West Melbourne focus group

    26 September 2023

  • Timeline item 14 - incomplete

    Docklands community focus group

    5 October 2023

  • Timeline item 15 - incomplete

    Report on Community Resilience Assessments for North and West Melbourne and Docklands

    November 2023

  • Timeline item 16 - incomplete

    Community Resillience Assessments inform Council initaitives to support community resillience

    Ongoing

Community consultation

Find out what we heard from the community on the Community Resilience Assessment.

Contact us

Have questions or want to learn more about the project?