Devastating Deluge Down Under
IMAGINE a flood inundating an area the size of Great Britain, France, and Germany combined. Well, that is what happened last year in Queensland, Australia. Charleville, a town near the middle of the disaster area, had to be evacuated. Three thousand inhabitants huddled in tents on high ground at the local airport. Some had to be rescued from rooftops by helicopter.
A small band of 35 people associated with the Charleville Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses sought refuge with a Witness whose property was located on high ground six miles [10 km] outside of town. This became a base of operations to help those left homeless.
Swiftly, the Witnesses began to mobilize assistance. In Dalby, 340 miles [550 km] away, a team of volunteers was formed to clean the flooded homes. In Roma, 170 miles [270 km] away, the Witnesses collected food and other emergency supplies, such as blankets and clothing. After an aerial reconnaissance to assess the damage, the volunteers streamed in—over a hundred strong.
They described the disaster site as “beyond imagination.” Two inches [5 cm] of slime and silt covered everything. Smashed furniture was scattered around the rooms, carpets were ruined, electrical appliances submerged, cars overturned. The stench of decaying food, saturated wood, and debris was everywhere.
The volunteers set to work. By Saturday, April 28, just over a week after the flood, the homes and yards of the Charleville Witnesses were looking clean and respectable. More than a clean-up was needed, though. The volunteer teams set about restoring power to the homes and repairing cars and household appliances. Carpetlayers put down new carpets; cabinetmakers built and installed new cabinets; carpenters, painters, and plumbers made repairs.
The upshot: Two weeks after the flood, all the Witnesses were back in their renovated homes. The volunteers did not, however, limit their efforts to helping fellow Witnesses. When one team cleaned the home of a Catholic, he repeatedly expressed his amazement.
In Brisbane the Witnesses were praised over the radio for their work during the flood. And in Charleville, many townspeople were astonished to see how fast the Witnesses acted. One man who had formerly opposed them was overheard to say: “And we have the hide [the nerve] to turn them away from the door.”