Floods in Queensland, Australia

DoubtfulMiracle · #1 01-10-2011, 05:44 AM

My home state of Queensland has been battling pretty big floods for the last few weeks. My city has been spared the worst of it so far, although flash flooding is forecast for later in the week. I can honestly say I've never seen rain like this before in my lifetime, but even still some of the stats are just staggering:

Over the last week, an amount of water equivalent to three Sydney Harbours has been flowing through the town of Rockhampton every day.

Today, the town of Dalby is preparing for its fifth flood since December 20.

The total flood area is larger than France and Germany combined. For US Ledgies, it is larger than the state of Texas; for other Aussie Ledgies, it is larger than the state of NSW.

17 evacuation centres have been set up around the state, catering for 1000s of evacuated residents. Theodore and Condamine were evacuated completely, the first time in the state's history whole towns have been evacuated.

Over 200 000 people in 22 towns and cities are affected.

The damage bill so far is estimated to be $5 billion.

Unfortunately, things looks like getting worse before they get better. More people are being urged to evacuate from areas just outside of the city and there were huge flash-floods today in Toowoomba, a town a couple of hours west of Brisbane. It is up a mountain range for freak's sake, so you know things are bad. There is some amazing footage on YouTube of the water flowing through the town centre - it was a fierce torrent, tossing cars and shipping containers around like they were Matchbox toys.

Today was actually the first time the floods really got to me. It's been mind-boggling watching the news, and I don't know how all these people further north have kept themselves from throwing in the towel, drowning their sorrows with quite a few beers and hoping things will be fixed when they wake up. The water, the mud, the smell, all their lost possessions - it's heart-breaking.

But the floods in Toowoomba today came with very little warning, and the news footage was very hard to take - a distraught woman who couldn't save two of her horses, and a family of three on top of a car caught in the water. Their faces were blurred out and their fate wasn't revealed, and I suspect it's because they didn't make it. We're now up to at least 11 confirmed deaths, and I'm sure there will be more. And I can only imagine how many animals, particularly livestock, have been lost.

If anything, I always get a wry smile out of Mother Nature. When she puts on a show, she makes it worthwhile. Less than two years ago, we were in a crippling drought. Our dam levels were dangerously low, we were on incredibly tight water restrictions and we were all doing our bit to save water - buying new water-saving appliances, putting in rain water tanks, watering our gardens only at our rostered times, and sticking timers in our showers to make sure we didn't go over two minutes. That sure seems like a long time ago now.

Meowi · #2 01-10-2011, 07:20 AM

Hey,
Thanks for alerting a Victorian. Catastrophic - it's hard to know that my Dad is in Hervey Bay right now.
I just heard that 7 people are dead in a flash flood.

Stay safe,

DoubtfulMiracle · #3 01-11-2011, 12:23 AM

I'm not prone to dramatisation, but you could be forgiven for thinking it's end of days stuff here today. Nine people confirmed dead from yesterday and over 60 more missing. The Brisbane River has now broken its banks and most people from in and around the CBD have left work early to get home safely. Evacuations are occurring in a number of suburbs and some grocery stores are running out of staples like bread.

Unfortunately, things are forecast to get much worse tomorrow and Thursday, with flood levels in Brisbane and Ipswich expected to be as bad as or worse than our huge floods in 1974.

I hope your dad is staying safe Matt - nearby Maryborough has certainly copped a lot of rain in the last few days.

**mylittledemon** · #4 01-11-2011, 12:36 AM

Praying for you guys! Let me know if I can help you in any way. I mean it.

Meowi · #5 01-11-2011, 12:37 AM

My Dad can't get home to Melbourne because Brisbane airport is closed.

Aussie W/Heart · #6 01-11-2011, 07:02 AM

Thank Goodness the torrential rain has stopped here on the Sunshine Coast, our roads into town were flooded today, water surrounding our house. With the worst yet to come for the city of Brisbane with 32 suburbs expecting massive flooding over the next day or 2.. So sad for all those that have lost lives & pets in this devastating flood, like an inland tsunami... Scary times ahead, fingers crossed we don't have a tropical cyclone over the next few weeks...

Meowi · #7 01-11-2011, 07:06 AM

Fingers crossed for you AussieWildheart.
Mum just got the word from Dad, he'll be flying home finally at 4:00 tomorrow.

DoubtfulMiracle · #8 01-11-2011, 08:03 AM

Aussie W/Heart, it is all a bit scary isn't it? I'm too young to remember the 1974 floods, and my family was living down south anyway, but all the predictions really do seem dire. My fingers are crossed for the people of Ipswich tonight, and hope things don't get *too* bad for Brissy over the next few days. I feel relatively safe at home, but the low-lying areas near the river and other creeks all seem certain to go if things get as bad as expected. I've seen various areas of the city flood quite badly over the last 15 years, but to have widespread flooding across such a large area of the city will be devastating. I think this waiting game is the hardest part, still expecting the worst to come. I hope you stay safe.

And good to hear your dad will be home soon Matt.

Aussie W/Heart · #9 01-11-2011, 10:28 AM

I also was to young to remember 74 floods, from what I'm hearing on the TV it going to be soooo much worse,predicting catastrophic... that's so heavy to get ya head around.. DoubtfulMiracle Stay safe to you too!! hope your living on high ground. Like you Ive been watch the telly most of the day, feeling helpless & in shock..
Matt glad to hear your Dad is OK & will arrive safe & home tomorrow..

vivfox · #10 01-11-2011, 01:15 PM

I feel so sorry for those of you affected by this tragedy.

DoubtfulMiracle · #11 01-12-2011, 08:02 PM

If there's a bright side to all this, it's that the rivers in Ipswich and Brisbane didn't peak as high as in the epic 1974 floods, but there's still a hell of a lot of damage around the place. At least 25000 homes in Brisbane have been flooded in some way, along with 5000 businesses, plus over 3000 homes and businesses in Ipswich. It's anyone's guess at the moment just how bad things will look once the water finally goes down.

The CBD and surrounding areas have been shut down for the last couple of days, and probably won't be fully operational until next week. It's eerily quiet, considering those same streets would normally be jam packed with office workers and cars.

My place is high and dry and I, and I know others in my situation, feel pretty useless sitting around home at the moment. I have some workmates who will probably need help cleaning up in the next few days when they can get back to their homes - until then, it's a bit of a waiting game.

The prospect of cleaning up is daunting, and it's going to take an awful lot of time, money and effort. Thankfully, people are being incredibly generous in terms of donating money and volunteering their time - at the moment, they have more volunterees they can handle at the evacuation centres, and over 3500 people have registered to assist with the cleanup in the days, weeks and months ahead. It won't be glamorous - I can see a shortage of gumboots and rubber gloves in the coming days - but you just know people will continue to help each other out however they can. On that note, two of my favourite pictures so far:

Many others are at http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/g...3022068?page=1

rubytuesday · #12 01-13-2011, 06:21 AM

My good friend Lux lives in Brisbane right in the heart of all this. She used to post on here and showed me this website actually. She said that her house is at the top of the street but most in her street are under water and her friend just bought a house at the bottom of her street and it's under water up to the second floor.

I was going to visit but the whole city is shut down so they won't want extra people. Apparently 13 are dead so far and about 70 missing. There was this sweet little boy who drowned while scrambling to make sure the rescue workers got his little brother first.

DoubtfulMiracle · #13 01-17-2011, 05:09 AM

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.

iamnotafraid · #14 01-17-2011, 05:16 AM

I've been seeing this on the news, it's just horrible.

vivfox · #15 01-17-2011, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DoubtfulMiracle

Some amazing photos from the ABC showing before and after 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).

It's very kind of you to help the less fortunate. But what else would you do. I pray for the people who have loss, and for all of you.

The photos provided in your link are so catastropic. So devastating. I'm posting a before and after shot from another site that really affected me.