The surfing legend swapped out his board for a jet ski to help out stranded residents.#9Newshttps://t.co/fIQO1ib2WI
— 9News Sydney (@9NewsSyd) March 1, 2022
Mick Fanning and Joel Parkinson don’t have to do much more to earn the love and appreciation of their Australian fans. They have four world titles between them, cementing their HOF status as athletes. But their recent actions are earning a new round of praise in their own communities.
Thousands have been ordered to evacuate their homes this week while parts of Australia’s southeast coast endure terrible flooding. New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet said there had been 1,000 rescues in his state by Tuesday and more than 6,000 calls for authorities to help, with at least 10 deaths reported by Tuesday morning. Reports describe those who didn’t, or couldn’t, evacuate in some areas being forced to climb onto roofs and wait for rescue efforts. In Murwillumbah, for example, a local pharmacist put out a request for a ride so she could open up her pharmacy and get medications to those in need in the community. And when her jet ski ride showed up, none other than three-time world champ Mick Fanning was in the driver’s seat.
“Open til 5 p.m. for urgent supplies,” Skye Swift, the pharmacist let the community know via Facebook. “If your scripts are at another pharmacy, that’s no problem. We can help.”
As mentioned, Fanning isn’t the only one taking part in the community effort. Joel Parkinson was reportedly out helping transport people in need Monday and into Tuesday as well.
“We went to one farmhouse that I thought was one story – the water was so high. But it was actually two stories and I was Jet Skiing over their cars to get to them,” Parkinson told The Courier Mail. “We yelled out ‘is anyone home?’ and this four-year-old kid in a life jacket answered the door. We grabbed him, his mum and the dog and got them out of there. Another guy was up in a treehouse with all his supplies.”
