Red Cross volunteers provide support during Gippsland Flooding
28 June 207
Australian Red Cross volunteers have been activated to assist, after severe storms and flooding struck parts of Gippsland.
Red Cross is manning relief centres for people being evacuated from flooding in Lakes Entrance and Paynesville, where volunteers are providing first aid and meals and registering evacuees.
Group Manager of Australian Red Cross' Victorian Operations, Máiréad Doyle, encouraged people who are evacuating to register at their local relief centre.
'Even if you have somewhere else to go I'd encourage you to register, so that authorities have a record of the movement of people and casualties affected,' said Ms Doyle. 'This ensures that resources can be directed where they are needed during the emergency and in the recovery period.
'Most importantly the registration system allows concerned friends and relatives to check on your wellbeing, even when there is no mobile coverage or if you've forgotten to bring your mobile in the rush to evacuate,, Ms Doyle continued. 'Even if you have contacted friends and family to tell them where you are, more people than you realise may be concerned about you and unable to contact you.'
Relief centres also serve as information and marshalling points for anyone whose home is affected by the flooding.
In addition to assisting residents, Red Cross has also been called upon to provide meals to emergency services workers cleaning up after storm damage.
Red Cross has a long history, both internationally and locally, of assisting people affected by emergencies.
Many of the volunteers active today are the same ones that assisted their communities during bushfires earlier this year. At that time the Australian Red Cross emergency effort ran 24 hours a day.
Relief centres are located at the Paynesville Football Ground and the Lakes Entrance shire office in Palmers Road.
