RED CROSS REPORTS ON MIXED YEAR, POST-FLOOD

across the state.

“There’s a lot that’s happened and a lot of people we’ve supported .. and a lot more work to do,” Celeste Hartmann, Red Cross Regional Manager Northern, said.

Ms Hartmann, herself from Ballina, told The Northern Rivers Times the power of humanity has been shown.

“If anything good came out of it, it was the good in people that’s been exhibited in the past 12-months,” she said.

But it’s not a case of ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to recovery, with some people back to ‘normal’ while there are “still pockets of despair .. in all communities,”

Celeste Hartmann said.

By MARGARET DEKKER

12-months on from the Northern Rivers flood emergency, the Australian Red Cross paints a picture of big funding, big support but an inestimable recovery process remaining.

In its Annual Report released last week in Murwillumbah, it showed $55.6 million dollars was donated by Australians last year - $27.2 million during the ‘Australia Unites’ telethon and $28.4 through the Red Cross Floods Appeal – enabling the Red Cross’ emergency response, cash/grants assistance, and a 3-year recovery program involving personal support, workshops, training, and education to thousands still.

Red Cross Grants summary:

- Bereavement

Grants (29 paid, total value $580,000)

- Relief Grants (67,058 paid, value $33,529,000)

- Discretionary

Financial Hardship Grants (2,306 paid, value $2,803,000)

- Flood Relief

Additional Support Grants (63,343 paid, value $5,067,440)

- Remaining funds (approx. $700,000) allocated to Recovery program

The $9.3m Australian Red Cross Recovery program runs until Mid-2025 for ongoing psychosocial support for individuals and families, plus support and training for local councils, community organisations and leaders pivotal to recovery efforts.

“Disasters have wide-ranging, complex impacts on individuals, households, and communities. In addition to loss of life, injury and physical destruction, disasters can impact upon all aspects of wellbeing, quality of life and community connectedness,” the Red Cross 12-Month Report states.

“Impacts on the social aspects of life include disruption and changes to your day-to-day life, relationships, and community. This can be simple, everyday things through to the loss of your support and communication networks around you. The disruption to services and people’s lives that occurs as a result of the disaster and during recovery impacts people’s roles, routines and assumptions. It also disrupts everyday activities, as well as plans and goals for the future. This adds to people’s sense of powerlessness during recovery as an ability to plan helps people gain a sense of control over their lives,” it added.

In New South Wales over the past year, Red Cross teams supported in over 35 evacuation centres and 24 recovery hubs in impacted areas

“It’s between a 2 and an 8 out of ten .. and when a local tragedy happens, there’s a ripple effect, we had one in Ballina and there was a tragedy in Chinderah recently and again, those were trigger points.”

Ms Hartmann said the governments’ Buyback Scheme has also left locals feeling raw, once more.

“Anniversaries, good or bad? They’re inevitable, and I think they can be both,” she said.

For more information about the report’s findings visit: www. redcross.org.au/ floodsreport/