Floods in Queensland, Australia

[DoubtfulMiracle]

Some amazing photos from the ABC showing before and after the floods. The really striking thing is just how muddy the water is - I've always thought the Brisbane River was pretty brown at the best of times, but it looks practically drinkable compared to what came in with the floods.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/infograph...eforeafter.htm

I spent yesterday out with over 10,000 other volunteers helping to clean up (plus 6,000 in Ipswich, and however many thousands lent a hand without registering through the Councils). We were sent to St Lucia, near the University of Queensland. The thickness of the mud is indescribable, and shin deep in parts. We helped clean out a unit complex where the water had come at about hip height through the second level. It honestly felt like we were making more mess than we were cleaning up, such is the amount of water, mud and dirt everywhere. It felt like you could shovel and sweep for days and still look like nothing had been achieved.

It's devastating to see pile after pile of possessions on the footpaths waiting for the dump trucks, and it's going to take a long while for these people's lives to return to anything close to normal. It's easy for me to say, sitting high and dry on the other side of town, but lost possessions and thick mud really are nothing when it compares to the lives lost out west. Some very sad stories coming out of there, including the one rubytuesday mentioned. Others have stories of being on the phone to their loved ones as the water rushed through their homes and swept them away - I can honestly think of nothing worse.

Not to forget though that many more lives have been lost in Sri Lanka and Brazil - in comparison, we've been lucky to have such an organised response to the floods and to have so many people willing to lend a hand.