Can you imagine having less than two hours to evacuate your home?
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That is the scenario tested in 'Exercise Mist,' a simulated training exercise run by the NSW State Emergency Service Wagga Unit and the Uranquinty Community Safety Group on Saturday.
The orange army took to the streets to test the effectiveness of flood warnings in the local community after the Uranquinty floods of 2010 and 2012.
Ian Leckie said Exercise Mist would see volunteers set up a command point and relocation shelter and distribute warnings to the public with community liaison officers.
"That is the interface between emergency services and the community at the height of a disaster," he said.
"We have been pairing up with members of the community and going through the door knock warning exercise.
"We are also trialling new technology which allows us to monitor in real-time as they go through the town so we can see the completion rate."
In the past, volunteers would come back from doorknocking with a "soggy" piece of paper and say "finished", but the command would not be sure what area had been done Mr Leckie said.
"Now we have the local face with the emergency services," he said. "With the local face, our message is getting through so much faster."
He added that people might become complacent due to the lack of rain.
"Droughts always concludes with a flood," Mr Leckie said. "We are preparing for the next flood."
Brian Mahoney, the controller of the Uranquinty Community Safety Group, said the group is there to work with the SES in times of crisis.
He added this system ensures they have a plan in place if it is ever needed.
President of the Uranquinty Progress Association Deb Bewick said the town is ready for a crisis, with a cache stocked full of crucial supplies.
She added, the partnership between the SES and the Uranquinty Community Safety Group was used as a test case, and it has proved successful.
"We have got the information, the communication networks and the gear," Ms Bewick said.
"The community has always helped itself ... and this is a way of formalising that."
Minister for Police and Emergency Services David Elliott joined local SES volunteers in Uranquinty.
"It is essential that members of the community understand their risk and have a plan for what they will do in the event of a flood," he said.
"Uranquinty has flooded twice in recent years, and at least four other times over the past 100 years."