A group of Sikh volunteers has travelled to regional Victoria to help victims of devastating floodwaters inundating parts of the state.
They are part of Sikh Volunteers Australia, a registered charity and non-profit organisation focusing on "reducing distress in the community" by providing free food to disadvantaged individuals and families.
Volunteers drive to vulnerable areas in their "Free Food Van" and "Free Take-Away Food Kitchen," where they provide vegetarian food and drinking water.
Jaswinder Singh, a member of Sikh Volunteers Australia, told SBS News that helping others is part of the Sikh culture.
"There are plenty of reasons why we are doing it and for our motivation, but the main, and the foremost thing is that we are human, and it is our trait to support fellow human beings during any problem," he said.
Mr Singh says there are three core principles in Sikhism, the third being Vaṇḍ Chakkō.
"It means share whatever we have with everyone else. And that's exactly what we are following here, that principle of Vaṇḍ Chakkō," he said.
The other two are to work honestly (Kirat Karo) and to meditate on the Sikh lord's name (Naam Japo).
"It doesn't matter if I'm a king or a cobbler as long as I'm working and doing some kind of work. And I'm being fair and honest in my work," he said.
Since Friday, have been to Seymour and Benalla to help flood-affected Victorians.
"Our aim is to provide them with freshly cooked vegetarian meals so that they can put their energy and resources available to them to other beneficial things," he said.
Mr Singh requested that any readers in flood-affected areas of Victoria who require help contact .
"Contact us in a collective way. When I say collective I mean that if, say, 10 or 15 families need support, then one of them should take information from everyone and send us a message," he said.
"That way, we know what help is required, and we can serve the communities better."
Sikh Volunteers Australia have helped people in need during bushfires, floods, storms and other disasters.
Mr Singh says he hopes the people they help feel that they're not alone.
"Obviously the people are not in very good condition when we approach them," he said.
"They've gone through a lot of trauma and have experienced such a difficult time only a day or a half a day before we get there.
"But having this service available to them is like giving them hope. That 'yes, we are not alone. We are being looked after.' This is the kind of reaction we always receive."
The charity organisation was established in 2014 and operates various projects, including initiatives helping Sikh Indians integrate into Australian society.
Sikhism, also known as Sikhi or Sikh Dharma, is a religion that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century.
The 2021 census showed around 210,000 Sikh adherents in Australia, making it one of the largest subgroups of Indian Australians.
"The Sikh community in Australia is in its fourth generation of migrants," Mr Singh said.
"As there are a lot of cultural, language and social barriers, some of our community members are not very understandable of Western culture and Western perspective.
"So we're trying to support our communities, as well as provide them the information about Western cultures telling them: 'look, this is right in our culture, and that's absolutely perfect in Western culture, and we should be respectful for everything we're observing going through our surroundings."
Community members have thanked the volunteers for their efforts on social media.
"Met these gentlemen while I was deployed for the Vic bushfires a few years back! Love your work fellas!" wrote one Twitter user.
"You are superheroes," wrote another.
Sikh Volunteers Australia has prepared and delivered more than 100,000 free meals since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the worst of the rain had passed by late Friday morning, Victoria's state emergency service warned the floods would get worse as water flowed downstream into swollen river catchments.
Although flood waters in parts of Melbourne had started receding Friday afternoon, the worst was to come for other parts of the state.
On Saturday, a 71-year-old man was found dead at his home in Rochester in Victoria's north after the regional town was inundated by flooding.
Victoria isn't the only state ravaged by floodwaters.
Floods hit NSW towns despite rain reprieve
Thousands of residents in the NSW town of Forbes have been hit with flooding despite a rainfall reprieve for much of the state.
The Lachlan River reached major flood level as it peaked at 10.5 metres in the central-west town on Friday evening, with access to its business centre cut off.
Some 2,200 Forbes residents and 250 homes had been affected in the flooding, according to the State Emergency Service.
NSW SES southern zone commander Benjamin Pickup said the flood focus was on the Lachlan River and the Murrumbidgee River near Wagga Wagga, with residents told to get ready to evacuate at nearby Narrandera and other low-lying areas.
"We also continue to see major flood warnings across the Murray River with those significant rainfall events they had in Victoria yesterday and the day before, and that will be an area of focus going through to next week," he told ABC TV.
The SES performed seven flood rescues across the state in the past 24 hours and received 213 calls for help. On Saturday afternoon, major flood warnings were in place for 11 rivers.
A let-up in the rain has been forecast for most of NSW in the coming days, although the Bureau of Meteorology says renewed flooding is possible for parts of the state's central west and southwest. More rain is expected to lash towns such as Gundagai, east of Wagga Wagga, from mid-next week.
Tasmania
Residents in flood-hit parts of Tasmania face an anxious wait for rivers to subside before they're allowed to begin the bleak task of assessing the damage.
Emergency authorities are closely monitoring flooded rivers and tributaries, warning they may rise and fall as water flows out to sea. State Emergency Service acting director, Leon Smith said it was a "dangerous period" even though the rain had eased.
LISTEN TO
Multiple Victorian communities told to evacuate due to flooding
SBS News
15/10/202201:06
The town of Deloraine in the northwest is among the worst affected, with aerial footage showing flooding of properties and businesses.
Mr Smith said there was still a lot of work to be done before damage assessments could begin but he knew of bridges being destroyed.
Government support for flood victims
Acting Premier Michael Ferguson announced support payments would be available to people in 17 local government areas.
Earlier on Friday, Victoria's Premier Daniel Andrews announced one-off payments of $560 per adult and $280 per child for people displaced by the floods.
About 1,500 applications had been made by Friday afternoon.
