THE Karuah Valley unit of the SES is seeking new volunteer members.
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The need for new members has come about as the demand for the unit’s services has increased significantly over the past couple of years.
This increase can be attributed to population growth and increases in the frequency and intensity of severe weather events, such as the Anzac Day hail storm at Bulahdelah.
The unit was established in the late 1980s, with the current headquarters being located at Booral.
The unit’s 10 members train once a week on a Monday night to ensure they have the skills required to assist local communities deal with the impacts of floods, storms and even tsunami.
Members are also involved in supporting other emergency services such as the police in undertaking land searches for missing people and the Rural Fire Service in providing logistical support in combating bush fires.
The unit covers approximately half the land mass of the Great Lakes Shire Council area and includes Wards River to Limeburners Creek, across to Bulahdelah and down to Tea Gardens.
Last year members provided nearly 5000 volunteer hours by way of training, community education and in response to community calls for help regarding storm damage and floods.
“We are putting a call out for new members to help meet this increase in community need for assistance regarding severe weather,” unit controller Stephen Harris said.
“The NSW SES has a job for everybody and we are particularly interested in recruiting new members who have administration and information technology skills that can help us in our operations control centre.
“As the NSW SES is a registered training organisation and with safety, team work and good communication paramount, many members find the skills that they develop with us to be very useful in other areas of their lives such as the workplace.”
People interested in becoming a member of the Karuah Valley unit are encouraged to visit the NSW SES website www.ses.nsw.gov.au/volunteering or call 1800 201 000.