Annual report - Australian Red Cross

Emergencies in AUstralia
Australian Red Cross’ response to Cyclone Larry and the Katherine floods in the past year highlighted our ability
to work closely and quickly with local communities, emergency authorities and government to help those most in
need during an emergency.
Case study
Responding to the
Victorian bushfire crisis
At the end of January 2006, bushfires
raged across Victoria. While fire fighters
battled the flames, teams of Red Cross
volunteers worked in sweltering conditions,
assisting local communities by feeding
hungry fire fighters, bandaging burns and
comforting traumatised evacuees.
Up to 2,000 volunteers gave up their time
to assist threatened communities. One of
the largest tasks was to serve more than
30,000 meals across 15 locations, from
Hall’s Gap to Yea, helping to revive the
energy and spirits of the fire fighters.
Red Cross volunteers also registered about
500 evacuees across the state, and first aid
volunteers treated a number of fire fighters
for smoke-related injuries, ensuring they
were able to get on with their important
and lifesaving work.
Cyclone Larry
Early on 20 March 2006, tropical Cyclone Larry crossed the North
Queensland coast, lashing small communities with 290km-an-hour winds
and leaving behind a trail of destruction.
This disaster quickly turned into one of Australia’s largest scale
emergencies. Red Cross responded by mobilising teams of staff and
volunteers into the field on a 24 hour basis and drawing upon a national
base of staff and volunteers in a truly unified approach.
Executive Director of Red Cross in Queensland, Greg Goebel, said
cooperation with government and other emergency agencies was the
starting point for a successful working partnership as recovery efforts got
underway. Red Cross mobilised over 80 staff from offices around Australia.
Over 700 people responded to Red Cross’ call for volunteers. Of those,
430 were sent to the disaster area.
44 Red Cross staff and
21 volunteers based at Police
Headquarters in Brisbane received
4,434 inquiries regarding missing
persons.
Over 60,000 kilometres were
travelled by staff and volunteers
during the relief effort.
Outreach teams made 3,000 visits
across 30 towns, distributed 1,500
food parcels and made 135 referrals
to other agencies.
Image: Red Cross volunteers
setting up evacuation centres.
Australian Red Cross
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