We've seen an unprecedented increase in drowning deaths this summer across the Australian coastline. Despite our efforts in returning thousands of people home safely, 52 people have tragically lost their lives due to drowning on our coast. Our work doesn't stop at the coastline though, volunteer surf lifesavers are also called upon during times of natural disasters, such as bushfires and floods.

Sadly, communities across Queensland and New South Wales have experienced devastating torrential rain and floods, in some cases like never seen before in history. The risk to human life and the damage caused has been catastrophic. It is times like these though, where the Australian spirit of helping a mate really shines through.

Surf lifesavers embody this Australian spirit and have rallied around affected communities, putting their equipment, skills and expertise to use in these challenging aquatic environments. Countless evacuations, rescues, food drops and welfare checks have been conducted by surf lifesavers in Inflatable Rescue Boats (IRBs) and the Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopters (both NSW and QLD) to those stranded by flood waters.

In Brisbane, three surf lifesavers even managed to get a father who was stranded at home with water surrounding his property to his wife in hospital who was due to give birth to twins at any minute!

Surf lifesavers were also tasked to medivac an elderly woman from a nursing home in Kingscliff, NSW who had sustained substantial head injuries.

“It’s a significant operation, the first of its kind that Surf Life Saving has been involved in,” said Surf Life Saving NSW Director of Lifesaving, Joel Wiseman.

“We’ve assisted in smaller flooding events in the past, we’ve assisted in the bushfires, but this one is probably the largest response that we’ve had to provide.”

A number of the volunteer surf lifesavers involved in rescue and recovery efforts have in fact been victims of the terrible weather event themselves.

“Some of our volunteers who are responding to this crisis have themselves lost homes,” Mr Wiseman said.

With surf lifesavers specialising in aquatic rescue and emergency response, they have provided vital assistance to other emergency services during this natural disaster.

“Our surf lifesavers are highly trained individuals and we are providing them with enhanced training with on ground support from the SES ensuring they are appropriately equipped to go out into those conditions and provide that assistance to the community as safely as possible,” he said.

Another example of the invaluable services provided by Surf Life Saving during the floods is the UAV (drone) service. The technology has been deployed to provide the SES with vital aerial intelligence on conditions and will continue to assist in the recovery phase of the disaster.

Surf Life Saving Clubs on the Gold Coast were also desperate to help their neighbours in the flood affected areas of Northern New South Wales. A call was put out to clubs for donations of essential items such as clothing, food, water, toilet paper, sanitary products, baby products, medication, and pet food. There was an overwhelming response from club members wanting to help. The items were organised into bags and boxes and transported by teams on the Gold Coast to those in need across the border. 

Not too far south of the QLD border, towns along the Tweed River were significantly hit by the floods. Fingal Rovers, Cudgen Headland, Salt and Cabarita Beach Surf Life Saving Clubs have been instrumental in the combined effort of volunteers and the public to assist those flood-stricken areas, including Tumbulgum – a small town about 20 minutes inland from Kingscliff Beach.

The local school and the town itself have been devastated by the floods, with businesses indefinitely closed and many having lost everything. It has meant that the school’s twenty-eight students and their teachers have been transferred to the nearest operating school in Kingscliff.

The Cudgen Headland Surf Life Saving Club has generously donated its bus to transport students to and from school for the rest of the term, with patrolling member Mike Kenny volunteering to drive the bus during that time and cover fuel costs.

“We went down and met the principal and some parents and kids. Some of the stories they had – there are people who in a lot of cases have lost everything, literally,” Mike said.

“The kids don’t even have the comfort of being able to go to their school until it’s fixed up.

“I’ve never seen anything, anywhere near like it, you can see contents of houses and businesses stacked up on the street, encased in mud.

“These kids have already had two weeks off in the middle of the term, a lot of these kids are living in motor homes and other temporary accommodation, so that normality of being with their own teachers, albeit at a different school, is important,” he said.

This outpouring of support further shows the exceptional calibre of individuals within Surf Life Saving and how they embody the Australian spirit of helping those in need. One day they might be paddling out to rescue someone caught in a rip, and then providing crucial supplies to those who have lost everything the next. No matter the need, surf lifesavers are there when you need them most.