The recent devastating floods in Australia have caused millions of dollars in destructive damages and even worse: loss of human life.
It’s probably not easy for most “Westerners” to comprehend how an advanced nation like Australia might be in need of financial aid for its victims, who have lost entire households and left their flooded homes behind.
The truth is, natural disasters don’t discriminate.
Contributions started to pour in from early on and every dollar counts. And that’s where the danger of scams ensues: people’s guard is naturally lowered when they want to offer their contribution, feeling empathy towards those in need.
The official Australian government web site of the Queensland province is accepting donations and is currently pointing to a warning by the Australian ScamWatch organization, alerting people to the be careful when being asked to offer money for the relief of the flood victims:
SCAMwatch is warning consumers to thoroughly check the legitimacy of charities when donating to help flood victims in central and south east Queensland. Whilst many legitimate charities exist, scammers have been known to take advantage of the public’s generosity and kindness in the aftermath of disastrous events. Recent charity scams emerged during the Haiti earthquake crisis in 2010 and the Victorian bushfires in 2009. Charity scams operate in a number of different ways. You may be approached on the street or in your home by people collecting money who are pretending to be from a legitimate charity. Scammers may also set up false websites which look similar to those operated by real charities. Some scammers will also approach you by telephone or with spam emails requesting donations. Not only do these scams cost people money, they also divert much needed donations away from legitimate charities and causes.
Be alert when donating and only do it via the authorized collectors of contributions.
As an Aussie (based in Sydney, and, thankfully, safe from the devastation in Queensland) I very much appreciate you mentioning these floods – and, also asking people to only offer their support via credible & recognised organisations.
To offer perspective on this: The flooding from Hurricane Katrina covered about 233,000 sq Kms – These floods in the state of Queensland, Australia, cover over 1 MILLION sq Kms. This is a VAST calamity.
Yesterday, over 20,000 homes were taken out in the city of Brisbane, alone (capital of Queensland) – plus thousands upon thousands more homes completely flooded out around the rest of the state…The business CBD of Brisbane was washed out, countless small businesses across the state have been wiped out, vast tracts of farming land & crops have been destroyed…Lives have been lost, people are still missing, and families are in great distress…..And, this is not over yet – rain is still falling across other states, rivers are bursting their banks, everywhere.
Billions & Billions of dollars will be needed to rebuild & recover from this – and it’ll take years…..That’s years of pain for real people.
Thanks, Theo, for your thoughts…and, everyone, please keep those poor folks in your hearts over the the time to come.
Chris – It’s very true the world does not comprehend the size of this catastrophe. To put it into perspective, even I had to read that the affected area is the size of France and Germany COMBINED in order to fully grasp the size of this immense area.
Australia is huge and never had the pleasure of visiting but I respect Australians for their “never surrender” attitude towards disasters and misfortune.
Mike Robertson of Fabulous.com is also petitioning everyone in the domain industry to contribute.
Thank you again, Theo…Yes, that’s a terrific effort Mike’s putting in…..And….Fabulous.com is Brisbane-based, too.
Folks, please report any scumbag scammer you come across in relation to all this to the Australian authorities asap.
You’re right about the Aussie attitude, Theo…The most common comment on TV from folks standing outside their flooded & unusable homes, having lost every possession they own – is along the lines of:
…’Yup, this is bad, mate…But, there are other people worse off than us. Our house is still standing. We’ll clean it up, and start again…’
Inspiring…
Can’t thank you enough for the post Theo, I and all of Queensland really appreciate it.
For those not aware, I actually started raising awareness about the floods (via Facebook) at the start of the month, as my hometown, where I spent the first 20 years of my life, were affected first.
More here: http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2011/dailyposts/20110111.htm
For the Americans, to put it into perspective, the areas affected by the Queensland floods is equal to the size of the whole state of Texas! Another interesting fact I read was that it was the equivalent of about 2 Niagara Falls worth of water passing through the center of Brisbane.
@Chris and Theo – like you both said, there’s a great display of true Australian spirit, everyone banding together and lending a hand wherever they can – truly inspirational and it’s for this reason it’s great to be an Aussie.
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said it best here – http://goo.gl/CkaHg
Thanks again!