THE State Emergency Services (SES) wants to know who you trust and turn to in the community.
SES Sydney western region will use this information to develop plans and activities to help people prepare for emergencies such as floods and keep them safe, both during and afterwards, the region's community engagement co-ordinator Katie Moulton said.
As she explained, there may be isolated pockets of the community who are missing out on receiving or hearing the SES's emergency warnings.
For example, they may have poor or no mobile reception, no internet, or there may be a language barrier.
"We need to work out who the key influencers and community figures are, who we can get our messages out through in an emergency," Ms Moulton said.
"From this we're going to build a better and stronger communication and engagement strategy."
Ms Moulton asked anyone who lived or worked in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley to fill out a short survey, and to tell their friends, family and colleagues to do the same.
Results from the survey, by Newgate Research, would form part of a Hawkesbury-Nepean Flood Management Review.
■ The public has until February 22 to complete the survey: hnv-ses-survey.questionpro.com.
■ SES Sydney western region takes in Penrith, Hawkesbury, The Hills, Mt Druitt and Blacktown. All are in the Hawkesbury Nepean flood plain footprint.