Still flying the flag - Townsville Tornado Recovery Centre
Major Bev Kingston and Major Garry Johnson at the Townsville Recovery Centre (photo courtesy of Bev Kingston)
Just over a week ago Townsville residents woke to the shocking news that a mini tornado had forged a path of destruction through a local business district and the surrounding residential areas. While many people were dazed by this freak occurrence of nature, the faithful volunteers of The Salvation Army stepped up a gear in response to those families who now found themselves in an unexpected but desperate “hour of need”.
The initial evacuation period only lasted for 24-48 hours and during this time The Salvation Army Emergency Service teams provided meals to the evacuees and emergency service personnel at the evacuation centre. Following this period of time a Tornado Recovery Centre was set up to assist those victims of the disaster in accessing emergency compensation payments. The Salvation Army volunteers were still on hand at this centre to serve refreshments, cook up a yummy sausage sizzle, to provide a shoulder to lean on and a smile to take away for all those who passed their way.
With the 107 houses that sustained varying degrees of damage, and the 10 houses completely destroyed, there are now even more families hurting and in need in that community. One family in particular had moved from Tully to Townsville having lived through the trauma and aftermath of CylconeYasi only to suffer at the hand of the tornado. They had only just begun to get their lives back in order but were unfortunately uninsured at the time of the tornado. This is the predicament that they and a number of other families have found themselves in following this disaster.
So while The Salvation Army have cleaned up and packed away their emergency service trailers and equipment for the moment, the ongoing work of support, care, practical resources, and a friendly smile still continue.
Let’s standand give a round of applause to our faithful emergency service volunteers, not just in Townsville but all around our great territory that has suffered so much at the hand of natural disasters in the past 12 months. We want to say thank you for flying the Army flag in the name of Jesus in such trying and heartbreaking circumstances.Well done and may God bless you and your service.
Report by Major Carolyn Harmer
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