With several fires still burning out of control, The Salvation Army remains active in its response – supporting emergency personnel around the country, while also moving into the long-term recovery phase.
As per the latest update, Salvation Army Emergency Services (SAES) teams are active on Kangaroo Island. Teams are now at new evacuation centres opened on January 23 due to increased bushfire activity on the south coast of NSW and Canberra. A team is also active in Nannup, south of Perth in Western Australia, feeding firefighters and other emergency personnel.
Earlier this week, after seven weeks of serving firefighters and emergency personnel at Bulga in the Hunter Valley, SAES teams served their last meals.
Recovery operations are also well underway in Queensland, where Salvos personnel are continuing to support those impacted by blazes in late 2019.
Trauma and financial assistance is being provided to those impacted by fires in northern NSW. Salvos recovery workers and Moneycare financial counsellors are in place at recovery centres on the NSW South Coast. A rural chaplain is also visiting affected rural and regional areas, where recovery efforts have not yet begun or are in need of support.
Recovery work is also well underway in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, and in the southern highlands of NSW, where recovery workers set up a lunch stand at a disaster assistance point in Balmoral Village.
Salvation Army Doorways personnel are working alongside SAES crews on Kangaroo Island, which remains in both the emergency response and initial recovery stage. In Western Australia, recovery needs are being met on a case-by-case basis.
The Salvation Army has committed to spend or allocate all funds raised from its Disaster Appeal by June 2020, supporting the immediate and longer-term recovery of those affected in the 2019–2020 bushfires.
We sincerely thank everyone who has opened their hearts and reached out to help during this national crisis. For more information on our work with natural disasters, including how to get help and how to donate, please visit our disasters and emergencies page.
