The past week for me has seemed somewhat surreal.
I live in Queensland Australia where 75% of the State has been declared a disaster zone due to flooding. Many people have lost their homes, their belongings and for many of them they will not be covered by their insurers. Many people have also lost their livelihoods with the loss of many businesses.
Having lost my business and livelihood in the past I know there are lessons we can all take from these events.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUyufHIMugE[/youtube]
I encourage you to look at your insurance policies and understand what they do cover. I also encourage you to think of a plan B should you lose your brick and mortar business or job.
There are many words of wisdom written on adversity. I particularly resonate with this one. “I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish that He didn’t trust me so much”. ~Mother Teresa
Jodie says
It’s a tragic truth that so many people will be at the mercy of insurance Companies and their fine print. Thankfully the flood appeal is creating what I hope will be a plan B for those who find themselves in that position.
If you are reading this and haven’t already made a donation, then perhaps this package of goodies from fellow Queensland internet marketers, Daryl & Andrew Grant will entice you to find $50 for those in need.
http://www.queenslandfloodhelp.com
Thanks again Sue for the reminder for ALL home owners to double check their cover.
Sue says
Jodie I too hope the flood appeal is going to help a lot of people. Thanks for adding the link for the appeal. People have been very generous but we still need a lot more.
Have a great day
Sue
Oliver Tausend says
Hi Sue,
thanks for sharing your powerful message and tying all that together so that it makes sense: The flood disaster, gaps in insurance policies and the imperative necessity of having residual income.
Even those unaffected by the floods might have a hard time getting protection from now on. According to my experience insurance companies stop underwriting those risks when something huge happened, at least for a certain period time.
Normally, the most dangerous geographical areas can’t be covered anyway. When we have floods here, everybody wants to buy insurance but they don’t get any. If you inform people about the necessity when there’s no recent disaster about, nobody wants to buy insurance even though it might be available.
The same with minor earthquakes we have here from time to time.
Cyclic behaviour on either side, isn’t it ?
Thanks again for sharing.
Take care
Oliver
Sue says
Oliver you have raised a very good point with the ability to get protection from here on. I know it becomes very complex with re-insurers as well.
One of the weird things with this was one town 300 meters above sea level had what they are calling “an inland tsunami”. It was two sheets of water coming from opposite directions. Now of course there is no definition in policies for that so we will see how that one plays out.
I totally agree with the cyclic behavior comment. Unfortunately it is human nature.
Thanks Olive
Sue
Linda G. Cox says
Sue,
I am so glad you shared. It’s amazing to hear this in the comfort of my home. My heart goes out to the victims of natural disasters all over the world. My thoughts and prayers are with you all.
Linda
Sue says
Linda I think you have nailed it in saying “from the comfort of your home”. I watched it unfold on television from my home and I think that is what makes it all so surreal.
There are many natural disasters all over the world. At least there has not been so many lives lost in Australia as there has been in Brazil.
Take care
Sue
Louise Steiner says
Thank you Sue for that heart felt message. My heart also goes out to the victims of the flooding. In September our house came within about an inch of being flooded when we had unprecedented rain falls. Thanks to the wonderful work of the SES our house was saved that day..that was bad enough, so I cannot imagine how these people must be feeling. I like your quote from Mother Teresa at the end of you post….it seems some people are given more than their fair share to deal with.
Louise
Sue says
Wow Louise I bet it was a scary time for you being so close to being flooded. I am sure you are aware there is also flooding happening right now in Victoria.
I like that quote from Mother Teresa too but I also agree with you. Some of this devastation seems just too much. There have been amazing stories of bravery through it. I think overall people find strength they did not know they had.
Sue
Sue says
Thanks for your thoughts and prayers Terry. People here need so much of that.
I agree with you that while people are in a heightened emotional state they need hope and possibilities. From what I am hearing many of them are very much in need emotional support. They need to understand a different way.
I remember your story with your son very well. It is often an emotionally charged event that brings us to change.
I too am counting my blessings and expressing gratitude for all we have.
Sue
Don Enck says
Hi Sue,
I thought this was very interesting when you were telling us about this on our call the other day. I couldn’t agree with you more that people really have to understand their insurance policies and make sure they are protected in the even of a disaster. Many people overlook the fine print in what they think is the right protection. Hopefully, this will get worked out for those that found themselves all of a sudden without the protection they thought they had.
As you know, Terri was at Arbonne’s Global Conference this week. At the conference they made an announcement from stage that Arbonne had made a donation of $10,000 to the Australian Flood Relief Project. The next morning the CEO came out on stage and read a letter from one of the attendees. In short, the letter said “there are 8800 people at this conference, if all of us just gave $1.00 that would be $8,800 more we could send” and there was a $1.00 enclosed in the letter. The CEO said, “I know the hearts of our Arbonne Consultants so we’ve put donation boxes at all the entrances to the arena. If you’d like to make a donation please do”. The last she heard was that there was an additional $32,000+ raised making the total contribution over $42,000+
I’m sure the disaster in figures are well into the millions or more. It’s great to know that others in the world are conscious of your state’s situation and rallying to your support. Money coming from places and people you’d least expect. Something positive to be said for our global environment.
Sue says
Don I knew you were in alignment with me about people understanding their polices. It is so important.
That is awesome about Arbonne and the people in it. They have not come up with a final figure of damage yet as there is still a whole bunch of working out whether buildings are even in a condition to rebuild. There is also still flooding happening and more towns being evacuated. The figure will run into billions so we need the support of other countries and it is awesome when something like this happens.
I think the internet has made it possible for more people to reach out to Aussies. Loren said on Saturday she feels like Australia is not so far away as she now conencts to peole here.
The nice thing out of tragedies like this is we see how wonderful so many people really are. We have had people going from unaffected towns to help out.
Thanks Don and thanks to Arbonne.
Sue
Terry Petrovick says
Hi Sue, our thoughts and prayers go out to all people who are in need.
I agree with you about the importance of a Plan B, but not just any Plan B.
Having an online business that creates income streams from around the world adds a level of comfort and protection.
While now is a time where people are in a heighten emotional state and many are unsure what the future brings.
It is a time for leadership to step up and reach out and offer a path of new hope and new possibility.
In gratitude for all in have,
Terry
Caroline Grace says
Hi Sue,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts from you, your neighbours and friends in Queensland. I live in the Barossa Valley in South Australia and we have been watching your stories unfold and sending lots of love, and whatever resources we can afford, to help in what seems like a very minor way. I think the world has not quite realised yet the scale of this disaster. The area of Queensland affected is greater than the areas of France and Germany put together. And the floods, though they have abated up North, continue to affect homes and businesses across Victoria.
In South Australia we are counting our blessings to have escaped unharmed this time but I heed your word of warning that perhaps we all take it for granted that we are safe from such natural disasters and will be covered in the event that some cataclysmic disaster such as we have seen in Queensland should, God forbid, occur.
Thanks for staying strong. Our love and thoughts go out to you all – it is going to take an enormous amount of courage, determination, money and time to get Queensland back on on its feet again, but you know what? We know you are fighters and we know you guys will pull it off! I know where I’ll be taking my next holiday.
Best wishes, love and peace to you all,
Kind Regards,
Caroline.
Sue says
Caroline thanks so much for your heartfelt comment. I think you are so right when you said the world has not realized the scale of the disaster. At least with the internet, our blogs and social media we are able to get the message out there so much more than before.
You live in a wonderful part of the world. I grew up in Perth and only left there 16 years ago. I was used to fire as being the greatest threat given Perth is so dry so I have never experienced anything like this before.
I feel for all the people who are still in the thick of it in Victoria.
I think one good thing that has come out of this is seeing how generous people are with the willingness to help. Many people have gone to help strangers begin the clean up.
Thank you for your love and support Caroline.
With gratitude
Sue
Darlene Davis says
Sue,
It is so easy to take our lives for granted. A disaster like this forces you out of your comfort zone and makes one realize how fragile life is. Mother Teresa’s quote is so appropriate right now.
Thanks for pointing out the homeowner insurance pitfalls. It is hard to believe that companies will go to such extremes to deny coverage.
My love, energy and prayers are with the Queensland victims!
Sue says
I agree Dar that this type of disaster does make us realize how fragile we are. So many of us (me included) have spent years trying to control everything in our lives. We never know what is around the corner.
As we said today one good thing that emerges out of such a disaster is the strength of human beings and their willingness to help others in need.
It has certainly made me step back and thing about what is really important in life.
Take care
Sue
Erin Smith says
Hey Sue,
I think that going through a crisis like this one brings out the real side of people. Are you going to sit there and cry about the situation and give up until someone else cleans it all up for you or are you going to say okay well that was bad and get back on board and keep living your life? I think that says a lot about someone as to which path they choose.
Like you for example losing your business but now look at what you’re doing. 🙂
~Erin Smith
Sue says
Hey Erin great to see you here. I agree with you 100% about a crisis like this one bringing out the real side of people. Since I did this post we have had a huge cyclone and other storms. Hey and now New Zealand has had a massive earthquake. A friend of mine does voluntary work for a charity and has been in the various effected areas and tells some interesting stories about human behavior.
Thanks for dropping by and for your comment.
Sue
Andrew Walker says
Hi Sue,
It’s indeed that the disaster takes everything, homes, foods, jobs, etc.
And the Mother Teresa’s quotation is really motivating. I agree with it. Although, we’ve lost everything, we must move on.
Sue says
Thanks for commenting Andrew. To me moving in is all we can do. It always amazing me how people react so differently to situations.
Take care
Sue
Adam Robinson says
The floods and the things going on with climate change and all has been really quite disturbing. I just hope we could figure out a way to either prevent, minimize, or survive these catastrophes. There’s no way we can fight against and win over mother nature.
Sue says
Adam I agree. Sometimes nature seems so cruel. I often wonder if our natural disasters are increasing in number or is it that technology allows us to communicate them in a more complete way.
Thanks for commenting.
Sue