Highlights
- Sydney’s Indian temples and charities provide relief material and food to SES volunteers and flood victims.
- Families have come forward to offer accommodation and food through social media.
- Around 60,000 people have been prepared for evacuation due to severe weather warnings.
Sometimes all it takes is an initiator and a sincere appeal to start a movement.
Sydney housewife Anantika Srivastava realised this after her Facebook post went viral and inspired many other members of the local Indian community to come forward and help those affected by the floods that have ravaged several parts of the city.
Ms Srivastava lives with her husband and their four-year-old son in a two-bedroom rented apartment in Kellyville, about 36 km north-west of the Sydney Central Business District.
On 22 March, she posted on Facebook offering one room and food to flood evacuees in need of shelter.
While she opened her own home and hearth to those in crisis, Ms Srivastava also urged others to come forward and do so. The code to do this was to write 'Welcome Family' in the comment box.
Little did she know her post would set off a chain of helpful messages from people who offered not only accommodation, but also blankets, water, food and hand sanitisers.
“I genuinely want to help with whatever resources we have,” says Ms Srivastava, who has endured several floods while growing up in Prayagraj in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Formerly known as Alllahabad, Prayagraj is one of the holiest sites for Hindus where ‘Triveni Sangam’, the confluence of three sacred rivers – Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati – is worshipped as a deity.
This also means the place and its inhabitants are no strangers to floods.
“I'm proud we still practice our cultural belief of atithi devo bhava (guests are equivalent to God),” adds Ms Srivastava.
The Bureau of Meteorology on Thursday said moderate to major flooding continues along the Hawkesbury River at North Richmond and downstream.
On 24 March, a man died after his car was trapped in floodwaters at Glenorie in northwest Sydney.
He became the first casualty of the New South Wales floods.
The NSW State Emergency Service has alerted nearly 60,000 people to be ready to evacuate as severe weather warnings remain in place.
Indian temples and charity organisations, which have been helping out with relief material and food, say they can provide additional support at short notice.
English teacher and founder of Sydney-based Guru Nanak’s Free Kitchenette, Lucky Singh, said she has taken a few days off work to prepare and distribute food for SES volunteers and residents in flood-affected areas.
She, along with her husband Balbir Singh, have provided hot Indian vegetarian meals in the Hawkesbury, Richmond, and Blacktown areas.
Boxes containing butter paneer (cottage cheese), dal (lentils), rice, aloo-puri (potato curry and deep-fried bread), fruit and water have been supplied to flood victims and volunteers.
“We have told them (SES), to let us know their requirements and we’ll bring food over,” Ms Singh tells SBS Hindi.
“The SES team is very happy with the quality of our food. We are overwhelmed and salute their efforts in this difficult time,’’ she adds.
The Hindu Council of Australia has also chipped in with a washing machine and dryer for SES volunteers besides food.
Priyan Rajaram, joint secretary of the organisation says his team can arrange accommodation too, if requested.
"The SES requested if we could arrange laundry equipment for their volunteers who have been relentlessly working in wet conditions,” Mr Rajaram said.
Jatinder Singh says the Australian Sikh Association (ASA) has also been in constant touch with local SES teams and the Castle Hill RSL, one of the designated evacuation centres in Sydney.
“We have worked with them in the past and have assured them that our volunteers can arrange food and accommodation at short notice,” Mr Singh says.
ASA is also serving Indian vegetarian meals to relief volunteers and local residents.
The Public Information and Inquiry Centre provides information about the severe weather at any time of day on 1800 227 228. For emergency help in floodwaters, call the NSW SES on 132 500.
Tune into SBS Hindi at 5 pm every day and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
