These five children are about to experience a cyclone. You will
need to help them prepare.
So begins the CD game Stormwatchers, produced in the north to help
Queensland children cope with northern Australia's annual cyclone
season.
Produced by the Centre for Disaster Studies at James Cook
University, the CD was the brainchild of Linda Berry, who conducted
surveys at households in Cairns' northern beaches, and found that
the level of awareness in preparing for cyclones was uncomfortably
low.
The five characters each live in a different setting and have
different challenges in preparing for the cyclone. The game is
played by choosing which items need to be stowed away and what
survival items are needed - all while keeping an eye on the hourly
cyclone updates where you can map the cyclone as it moves closer to
the coast. There is real-time film footage of cyclones and flooding
rivers and a cyclone quiz is a fun way of finding out how storm
surges happen and what a tsunami is.
The CD is aimed at primary school children, but many adults could
also learn from the game. It was distributed free to schools
throughout Queensland and the Centre is now considering applying
for funding to produce a similar game for the whole of northern
Australia.
