March 2, 2022 | Australia | Juliana Muniz, Adventist Record and Adventist Review
Extreme rainfall across the South Queensland Conference (SQC) and North New South Wales (NNSW) Conference in Australia has seen Seventh-day Adventist churches and schools evacuated and thousands of homes flooded during the last days of February 2022, church leaders reported.
In North New South Wales
Several Adventist-owned buildings have been affected by unprecedented flooding in the New South Wales Northern Rivers region.
According to NNSW Adventist Church president Adrian Raethel, Murwillumbah Seventh-day Adventist Church, Tweed Valley Adventist College, and Mullumbimby Seventh-day Adventist Church have portions or all of their buildings submerged. Blue Hills Adventist College has been closed.
Evacuees at Lismore Adventist church received soup, hot drinks, and charged their phones with a provided generator. [Photo: Adventist Record]
According to Lismore pastor Tim Merritt, the church is doing its best to assist the community. “We’re at a spot here in Lismore that most of the boats are bringing people to, to then be taken to evacuation centers. We’ve been able to give people some hot soup and hot drinks,” he said. The church’s boat has also been made available to the NSW State Emergency Service (SES) to help rescue efforts.
Two Australian regions are experiencing unprecedented floods. The Seventh-day Adventist Church is stepping up to support those affected, church leaders said. [Photo: Adventist Record]
He emphasized that this amount “is an addition to any support from the state government, ADRA, or any other agency” and that the conference is also planning to establish a conference-wide flood appeal for the Northern Rivers region.
In South Queensland
In South East Queensland, up to 18,000 homes had been flooded by morning on February 28. In Brisbane, the state’s capital, the Brisbane River peaked around 3.41 meters (11.2 feet) at 9 p.m. that day. Flood levels in Gympie have peaked at 23 meters (75.5 feet), and the town is currently surrounded by flood waters that are not expected to recede until March 3 or 4.
Several Seventh-day Adventist churches and schools have also been affected by the floods. Church members and others are volunteering to help. [Photo: Adventist Record]
Pule urged church and community members needing assistance to contact her. “Our church is still responding to evacuees in Gatton and the Lockyer Valley. However, there are still affected areas that we have not been able to connect with,” she said.
The original version of this story was posted on Adventist Record.