For someone who knows the Taree region well, Amar Singh of Turbans 4 Australia (T4A) has been deeply moved at the devastation caused by the floods in the last ten days.
“I am well acquainted with the area, yes, having been in and out with my trucking work for the past fifteen years,” he told Indian Link. “It’s quite tragic to see everything turned upside down.” Turbans 4 Australia Taree
He was speaking from Taree, where he has been overseeing volunteers distributing food, supplies, and farm equipment to affected communities.
Of course he has done this here before, during the 2021 floods. That was then described as a one-in-fifty year event – this flood is being called a one-in-500 year disaster.
The severe flooding began on 18 May 2025, triggered by a slow-moving low-pressure system that brought intense rainfall across the Mid North Coast and Hunter Valley regions.
The heaviest rainfall occurred between 20 and 22 May, leading to rivers overflowing and inundating towns such as Taree, Kempsey, Port Macquarie, and Coffs Harbour.
Five people have died, some 50,000 people have since been left isolated, and significant damage has been reported to homes and infrastructure.
T4A for Taree
Amar Singh knew early on in the disaster that he would be heading out to Taree with his team. Turbans 4 Australia Taree
“I saw through the media that it was looking pretty bad, and then a couple of our charity partners from 2021 got in touch to say, hey, we’re gonna need more help this time, because the flood is pretty severe. Then I began to hear from people in the region I know personally, who were hit. We knew we had to get our campaign going early.”
He added, “We were lucky to have had people have supported us through this. A trucking company loaned us a truck for free, to run in supplies. The pantry we started with the local Lions Club has been received very well. A local real estate agent has given us a warehouse for use as of now. We’ve been cooking at the Saint John’s Anglican Church.”
Meals are handed out to people who visit, and prepacked meals are sent out to families through local partners.
T4A has so far served the small communities in Oxley Island, Manning Point, Seal Rocks and Wingham.
The urgent priority has been food, with cleaning and supply of personal hygiene items next in line.
“These are what we’ve focused on these last few days,” Amar said. “We’ve been lucky with donations. After our call out on Facebook, a Thornleigh-based enterprise donated six pallets of water – Pharmacy 4 Less is a small business, and we’re grateful to them. It’s really good to see the community stepping up.”
Now, their attention has turned to livestock. Amar, speaking to us mid-task, was organising a hay run for local farmers.
“This record flood has really knocked the farmers out,” he noted. “This region is well known for dairy farming, and a lot of stock has been lost. Cattle have died – in many instances, washed out to sea. Many were struggling as it is with months of rain, so the farmers have had to put them down. We’re working hard to support local farmers by trucking in hay to feed their livestock. Cows are sacred for many of us in our own community… I urge everyone to please get behind this.” Turbans 4 Australia Taree
Amar has now also put the call out for hand tools, shovels, buckets, gum boots and generators.
“People have lost everything … everything is of importance right now.”
General donations like non-perishable food items and personal hygiene products have been coming in, although more is needed.
Two Sydney businesses have been set up as collection points for donations of non-perishables: Pharmacy 4 Less at Thornleigh and Inform Pharmacy at Neutral Bay.
Monetary donations are also welcome via T4A’s website, helping cover motel stays for volunteers to rest between shifts. All donations are tax deductible.
Although the floodwaters have now begun to recede, and recovery efforts are underway, challenges remain in restoring services and supporting affected communities.
More than 6,000 insurance claims have been lodged in connection with the floods in the Mid-North Coast and Hunter regions, 80 per cent of these involving damage to homes.
Clean-up and recovery are expected to be long-term, with affected communities likely to need continued support.
“To be honest, from what I’m seeing on the ground here, clean-up, recovery and rebuilding are going to take a long while,” Singh reported. “There’s crews out here who are cleaning and helping, such as NSW SES and ADF – different people doing different things. We will keep working away.”
Victorian charity Sikh Volunteers Australia have also been in operation in Taree, serving up to 2000 hot meals a day cooked in their vans.
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Chardi Kala: Spiritual energy in ascendance
Turbans 4 Australia marks its tenth year of operation this year, though Amar Singh’s commitment to volunteer work began well before that. How does he care for his own well-being while supporting others? Turbans 4 Australia Taree
“It can be tough,” Amar replied. “Relief work means full on days, and nights spent staring at the roof of a motel room by yourself, missing family… But look, our faith keeps us going. We pray for everyone. We pray for ourselves as well. As Sikhs we are guided by the principle of Chardi Kala – eternal optimism, high spirits, and unwavering resilience, regardless of external circumstances. There’s always positivity in what we do. We stopped by at a local café for coffee this morning, and people were coming up to say thank you. This means so much to us.”
