The Queensland government has launched a six-week Get Ready advertising campaign urging communities in the state to prepare for this year’s natural disaster season

Get Ready recommends three steps: prepare an emergency plan, pack an emergency kit and make sure insurance is up to date. The campaign, which is backed by Suncorp, features representatives from Queensland Fire and Emergency Services and Lifeline.

Suncorp CEO Steve Johnston says the insurer is committed to helping encourage Queensland households and businesses to be weather-ready as “waiting until a storm is bearing down is just too late”.

“Each summer, we see homes and communities destroyed by natural disasters, with much of this damage avoidable,” he said. “Even small-scale events can have a big impact, financially, emotionally and even physically, so it is critical Queenslanders undertake home preparation and maintenance now.”

Queensland has been hit by almost 90 significant natural disasters and weather events in the past decade, leaving a recovery and reconstruction bill of more than $16.8 billion. Last season, it was hit by 11 natural disaster events across 50 local government areas including hailstorm, bushfires, floods and cyclones.

Get Ready Queensland Week was launched in conjunction with the Bureau of Meteorology’s Severe Weather Outlook, which indicates an average to slightly above average cyclone season that could cause devastation from damaging winds, heavy rainfall and tidal surges, and an increased risk of widespread and prolonged riverine flooding across eastern and northern Queensland.

Minister for Fire and Emergency Services Mark Ryan says 57% of Queenslanders have an emergency plan, up from around 18% eight years ago, but there is plenty of room for improvement and a lot of people have moved to Queensland from interstate this year.

“We welcome these new residents to our great state with open arms, but we also want them to be aware that in Queensland, disaster can strike anywhere and at any time,” he said. “Unfortunately, it’s not a matter of if but when severe weather strikes somewhere in Queensland and that’s exactly why we all need to be prepared.”