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Flood Aid – How We Can Help

Written by
March 7, 2012
Be Smart
4 Comments

Once again our TV screens and news media is being inundated with awful images of  a natural disaster.

Images of water rushing through NSW, Victorian and Queensland towns, filling the homes of people going about their every day lives brings back memories of the floods which devastated large parts of Queensland last year. Floods which ripped people from their loved ones. Floods which killed people and destroyed people’s lives. Images of people standing on their roofs and screaming in fear will never leave my mind. Like so many Australians watching the images flash before me, I felt so useless. I didn’t know what to do to help, but give money. Without a doubt money helped, but it was the people on the ground helping to clean houses and holding the hands of those suffering that were the true heroes.

Who will ever forget this image? Photo: 7 News/news.com.au

Families and towns are still trying to piece their lives together after those almighty floods. No-one will ever forget the fear when water rushed through their homes. Many lost loved ones. Trying to recover from such devastation takes many years, many will never truly recover.

The people of Australia rushed to their aid, but still they need our support.

So do the people through other parts of Australia now facing their own flood fears.

In NSW, about 13,000 people have been evacuated and 2000 are still isolated. The town of  Wagga Wagga has been declared a state of emergency. Luckily, overnight the levee held and many will be able to return to their homes. Which was a great relief for the town,but now neighbouring towns are under threat.

Sheep huddle from the rising water near Wagga Wagga. Photos: Stuart Mcevoy/news.com.au

As I sit in Adelaide with beautiful clear blue skies and no rain in sight, I feel so distanced from those struggling and worried about their livelihoods and homes.

I watch the pictures of people rallying in the community. It’s amazing the human spirit, the strength to stand up and help when others are in trouble; to chip in without any expectation. But for so many of us, we are stopped by distance and family commitments. We can’t just jump on a plane and spend months helping people clean up, rebuild and mend their hearts. There are others ways to help.

Morree residents fill sandbags to protect homes. Photo: Estens Sascha/news.com.au

It’s fantastic to organise food, clothes and toy drives, but best you contact  local charities to see if there are facilities to store stuff and the transport necessary to get goods to people. Sometimes it might be best to do a money drive instead so agencies can coordinate the relief effort.

Here are some suggestions if you’re are looking for ways to help, like you were looking for ways to help asylum seekers. If you live near or in the flooded areas you could donate your time to help. But if you can’t do that you can donate money online to the Salvation Army’s Flood Relief Appeal  or call them on 137258. St Vincent de Paul Society is also collecting money. You can still donate to the Queensland Government’s Disaster Relief Appeal. Do you know of any other groups collecting donations or appealing for flood support that you can add to the list?

Have you ever been impacted by a natural disaster? What did you need most?

What do you think people could do to help?

Have a fab weekend
Bianca x

Main photo: Stuart Mcevoy/news.com.au

  • http://tillyjak.blogspot.com.au/ Julie

    Hey Bianca. Sometimes it’s the little things we can do to help. After the Qld floods we packed up a huge box stuffed with soft toys. Our kids had so many (many parents know that feeling) and these were like new and stored in a cupboard. So off they went (anonymously) to a little boy who had lost everything with a special note from the bears asking for love and hugs and for him to share them with any of his friends if he wished. We found out through a friend (who gave us his address and has only now had her own house re-built ) that he was over the moon. It was our little secret (until now!).

    So many of these communities have spent years enduring drought and hardship. It is almost cruel that it will actually be excess water that will break many of those who made it out the other side and are only now starting to move forward. And whilst financial assistance is so vital, so too is emotional support. There is a domino effect in so many of these small communities with such a complex chain of connections and a reliance on each other. The closing of one business, or loss of one property, often takes with it many casualties. Support for mental health is so very very important. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-28/suicide-prevention/3856776/?site=riverina&section=news

    We actually live on the Murrumbidgee downstream from Wagga with major flooding predicted for our town. Mother nature is such an amazing force. Sometimes all we can do is sit and wait.

    • http://www.justbaustralia.com.au/ Bianca @ JustB

      You sound like an amazing woman. I so hope the flood passes you by. Much love and strength to you and others waiting x

      • http://tillyjak.blogspot.com.au/ Julie

        Thanks Bianca, but I’m actually really quite average (and some days I’m just downright grumpy!) Some things just stir me up more than others. I’d like to add that for many the loss is far greater than just losing their possessions. Loss of a place to live and loss of a livelihood often go hand in hand in many communities. It is hard to imagine losing your house and job in one day with a mortgage still to pay and bills still coming in.

        Hoping the waters flow straight on past too! x

  • Jeanne

    Please don’t forget us. The floods in January 2011 were not just in Queensland. 80% of our Central Victorian town was decimated in that flood. It really hurts when we are ignored.

    We so appreciated everything that was done for us. People made lovely quilts for the kids, crocheted rugs and knitted blankets. People helped plant gardens, donated clothes, built fences, arranged bbqs and just came to help out. The flood appeal money really does reach those who need it, especially because house insurance often does not cover flood.

    Please remember that recovery from a natural disaster takes 7 years, not 7 months. No, life is not back to normal for us. It won’t be for a long time.