A worldwide spate of some of the worst ever natural disasters in recent years has prompted Lake Macquarie City Council to extend its Emergency Preparedness Program by becoming a sponsor of the privately owned Australian Early Warning Network (EWN).

Lake Macquarie City Council, the first and so far only council in NSW to join the EWN system, will sponsor 5000 residents for the trial period at a cost of $2 per registration, a saving of $10 on the normal annual fee.

"Registered people will receive free alerts by SMS, mobile text or any means they choose if they are in the path of dangerous weather," council's Sustainability manager, Alice Howe said.

"It will give them the chance to evacuate in extreme cases or at least put their car in the garage if it is just hail on the way.

"The severe weather warning alerts help residents to be ready for emergencies and to stay safe and protect their property," Dr Howe said.

A disaster in the next 12 months wasn't necessary to prove the effectiveness of the EWN, she said.

"We have about 20 lesser but still serious weather events per year and how well the alerts report them is one measure we will look at. The other is the number of people who show an interest in being registered to receive warnings. If we get the full 5000 sign up it will be really conclusive."

Lake Macquarie mayor and MP Greg Piper said if the trial succeeded it might show that the EWN should be a government initiative.