Heatwaves are defined by the Bureau of Meteorology as "three or more days of high minimum and maximum temperatures that are unusual for that location", and a SHASA spokesperson said they were more deadly than "all other natural hazards combined".

"People who are most at risk include the elderly, those with a disability or pre-existing health conditions, outdoor workers, pregnant women, and young children," the spokesperson said.

"This is a big demographic in the Eurobodalla.

"Heat-related deaths are not often officially identified rather being attributed to the worsening of an underlying chronic illness rather than the actual cause of heat stress.

"The urban areas in towns can be sitting ducks for heatwaves. They're hotter than rural areas, because of the heat stored in roads, buildings and other structures.

"They have less shading, less evapo-transpiration to cool things down and more waste heat generated by infrastructure and vehicles. This makes our towns vulnerable to prolonged hot weather."

Doctors for the Environment, Australia, have called for a change to urban planning that includes increasing tree canopy and awnings in built environments to keep urban areas cooler.

Kathryn Maxwell, SHASA President, has called for council candidates to support several heatwave management actions if they are elected on December 4.

"We want our council to set up heatwave and bushfire havens in each town to protect the more vulnerable from extreme weather events," she said.

"We also want the planting of fast-growing shade trees and the installation of shade structures in all town centres to protect vulnerable people from summer heat.

"We call for street plantings in urban areas across the Eurobodalla, and we encourage shop owners to have awnings on their shops to provide additional shade."

Ms Maxwell said candidates from Labor, The Mayne Group, and the Greens had committed to heatwave management actions.

"SHASA calls on all candidates to support installing shading of all Council car parks which are huge heat sinks," she said.

"We already have an example of carpark shading at the Bridge Plaza in Batemans Bay."