Disaster relief in Australia
Droughts, floods and bushfires have threatened Australia with increasing severity in recent years. In the times of climate change and global disasters, we should all strive to curb our desires, respect Mother Nature and protect all beings on Earth.
At the end of 2010, under the influence of La Nina, Cyclone Tasha brought heavy rainfall to Northern Queensland. Then in January 2011, concentrated rainfall flooded three-quarters of Queensland, an area larger than Germany and France combined and affected more than 200,000 Queenslanders. In response, Tzu Chi Brisbane and volunteers from all over Australia held 12 distribution events in local communities across Brisbane and Ipswich including Goodna, Rocklea and Indooroopilly; providing material aid for 10,188 people in 2,547 households. On top of providing emotional comfort, cash cards, blankets, first aid kits and bamboo piggy banks were handed out. This has led to Tzu Chi Brisbane signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Brisbane City Council in December 2011 to be involved in future government-led disaster relief programs.
Since then, Tzu Chi Brisbane continued to provide emergency relief for those affected by natural disasters such as Cyclone Oswald in Bundaberg (2013), the Deception Bay Floods (2015), Cyclone Debbie (2017) and floods in Townsville (2019). Following the five principles of “directness, priority, respect, timeliness and practicality”, volunteers gave financial and material assistance to those affected by the disasters.
