How to respond to disaster

SENTINEL-TIMES COMMENT

IT’S been a catastrophic week, what with the Russian War in Ukraine, the floods in NSW and Queensland and the deaths of two Australian cricket icons Shane Warne and Rodney Marsh.

There’s also been some sadness locally with well-known locals passing away.

And there’s still the lingering concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, with active cases in Victoria at 39,094 including 124 in Bass Coast (7 new) and 112 in South Gippsland (17 new); so, you could be forgiven for trying to avoid the daily news at the moment.

But it’s an opportunity to focus on what we can do to help, and charity, as they say, should always begin at home.

Not forgetting for a moment the attack on Ukrainian civilians and the nuclear threat posed by Russia’s invasion, the pictures we’ve seen of destruction and displacement for business operators and residents in flood-affected areas of Queensland and northern NSW also deserve our attention.

And one of the worst affected areas is Lismore in northern NSW where the local Lismore City Council has set up a Flood Appeal Account to which anyone can donate at their own bank.

To help with the flood-affected community there, you can donate to the Lismore Flood Appeal by direct bank transfer. The bank details are:

Name: Lismore City Council Flood Appeal Account
BSB number: 062 565
Account number: 10864633

There are other charities working in flood ravaged areas, of course, but you can be sure any funds donated to the Lismore City Council appeal will actually be used to help flood victims there now, not simply going into a bank account ready for the next disaster.

The other thing you can do, in response to the pandemic, is consider still wearing a mask indoors or when social distancing isn’t an option. And get your third dose (Victoria 59.7 per cent) for maximum protection.