Queensland floods

[JohnB]

Since offers of aid have already arrived from the USA and the EU, I presume it's hit the world media.

 

Toowoomba was hit yesterday by flash flooding;

 

As of 12.30 PM local time (GMT +10) we have 8 dead and 72 missing. Our dams are at 173% capacity and the flood waters haven't got to them yet. The water is coming from the west and is estimated to peak at 18 metres at Ipswich. The CBD of Brisbane is being evacuated and 30 suburbs are on flood warning "High" alert.

 

Highways to the north are cut and evacuation orders for some areas were issued some 20 minutes ago. The orders were quite literally "Get out. Take nothing. Just run".

 

Civillian, Military and even news choppers are evacuating as many as they can from endangered areas.

 

For now, all we can do is wait and hope it isn't as bad as this one was.

 

At least I know all my family are safe.

 

As of 1300 local time, the Brisbane river has broken its banks and flood waters are in the inner city.

[rigney]

Man, that is scary. Where are you located in relation to this disaster JohnB? I've seen floods and flash floods in my time, but nothing like this on flat ground.

 

Just picked this off the news a few minutes ago.

 

A torrent of water swept through Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley yesterday afternoon, devastating the region with flash flooding and leaving nine dead and 66 missing. Brisbane, Ipswich and surrounding areas are preparing for flood waters. Crikey will be updating this story tomorrow.

 

Update 8:40 pm The death of four-year-old boy swept into the floods at Marburg during a rescue attempt of his family takes the latest flood death toll to ten, announced Premier Anna Bligh.

 

The missing persons number has risen to 78, with “grave concerns” for 18 of those people. All of those missing are in the Toowoomba/Lockyer region

Edited January 11, 2011 by rigney

[CaptainPanic]

I've read that the area that flooded is the size of France and Germany together... hard to believe that in an area that is more famous for droughts there is such a massive flood.

 

Good luck to all those who are in that area.

[imatfaal]

Echoing the Captain above - all the best to JohnB and all those in the area.

[JohnB]

Thanks guys. I'm in Brisbane. (Just got home from a shift filling sandbags for emergency services. It's 2.45 AM local now.) Queensland Police asked for help on their Facebook page and thousands turned out. There were so many that lots were turned away and asked to come back at 2AM to releive us. They did.

 

The Bremer river in Ipswich peaked at 19+ metres tonight. There can be no assesment of damage until tomorrow. Todays peak is estimated at 22 metres+.

 

The danger time for us is 1500 today and Thursday. We get to see the result of the old question. At 1500 local we will have a "King" tide, an extremely high, high tide. This will force the water in the Brisbane river back up the river, just in time to meet the flood water from Toowoomba coming downstream. We'll find out what happens when an irrisistable flood meets an immovable object.

 

The level is expected to peak at nearly 500mm higher than the 1974 floods. We are safe, but my beautiful city is not.

 

The plus is that 1974 was the result of weeks of rain and the flood lasted some time. We expect this one to be short and sharp. Hopefully this will cut down the damage as there shouldn't be long term soaking.

 

Our dams are well past full and can no longer help in flood mitigation. To give an idea, if you use "Enoggera Reservoir" in Google Earth, that is the closest dam to my place. There is a Panoramio photo placed on the dam wall. If you look at the photo, you can see a small hut (about 3m high) near the wall. The hut is now under water.

 

The worst part is the waiting. We know it's coming and there is nothing short of literal "Divine Intevention" that can stop it.

 

Rigney, there is one fact that makes Toowoomba so much scarier. It's elevation is 700m above sea level and is pretty much on top of the mountain range. As of 1800 local, 70 towns were either flooded or cut off by floods.

 

CaptainPanic, we are known for droughts, but floods and fires are nothing new for us. One of our greatest poets, Dorothea McKellar, wrote this quite some time ago, it's called simply "My Country".

 

The love of field and coppice,

Of green and shaded lanes,

Of ordered woods and gardens

Is running in your veins.

Strong love of grey-blue distance,

Brown streams and soft, dim skies -

I know but cannot share it,

My love is otherwise.

 

I love a sunburnt country,

A land of sweeping plains,

Of ragged mountain ranges,

Of droughts and flooding rains.

I love her far horizons,

I love her jewel-sea,

Her beauty and her terror –

The wide brown land for me!

 

The stark white ring-barked forests,

All tragic to the moon,

The sapphire-misted mountains,

The hot gold hush of noon,

Green tangle of the brushes

Where lithe lianas coil,

And orchids deck the tree-tops,

And ferns the warm dark soil.

 

Core of my heart, my country!

Her pitiless blue sky,

When, sick at heart, around us

We see the cattle die –

But then the grey clouds gather,

And we can bless again

The drumming of an army,

The steady soaking rain.

 

Core of my heart, my country!

Land of the rainbow gold,

For flood and fire and famine

She pays us back threefold.

Over the thirsty paddocks,

Watch, after many days,

The filmy veil of greenness

That thickens as we gaze.

 

An opal-hearted country,

A wilful, lavish land –

All you who have not loved her,

You will not understand –

Though earth holds many splendours,

Wherever I may die,

I know to what brown country

My homing thoughts will fly.

 

Those that understand this, will understand us.

 

In the words of our Premier; "This weather......It may break our hearts, but it will not break our spirits."

Edited January 11, 2011 by JohnB

[rigney]

Thanks guys. I'm in Brisbane. (Just got home from a shift filling sandbags for emergency services. It's 2.45 AM local now.) Queensland Police asked for help on their Facebook page and thousands turned out. There were so many that lots were turned away and asked to come back at 2AM to releive us. They did.

 

The Bremer river in Ipswich peaked at 19+ metres tonight. There can be no assesment of damage until tomorrow. Todays peak is estimated at 22 metres+.

 

The danger time for us is 1500 today and Thursday. We get to see the result of the old question. At 1500 local we will have a "King" tide, an extremely high, high tide. This will force the water in the Brisbane river back up the river, just in time to meet the flood water from Toowoomba coming downstream. We'll find out what happens when an irrisistable flood meets an immovable object.

 

The level is expected to peak at nearly 500mm higher than the 1974 floods. We are safe, but my beautiful city is not.

 

The plus is that 1974 was the result of weeks of rain and the flood lasted some time. We expect this one to be short and sharp. Hopefully this will cut down the damage as there shouldn't be long term soaking.

 

Our dams are well past full and can no longer help in flood mitigation. To give an idea, if you use "Enoggera Reservoir" in Google Earth, that is the closest dam to my place. There is a Panoramio photo placed on the dam wall. If you look at the photo, you can see a small hut (about 3m high) near the wall. The hut is now under water.

 

The worst part is the waiting. We know it's coming and there is nothing short of literal "Divine Intevention" that can stop it.

 

Rigney, there is one fact that makes Toowoomba so much scarier. It's elevation is 700m above sea level and is pretty much on top of the mountain range. As of 1800 local, 70 towns were either flooded or cut off by floods.

 

CaptainPanic, we are known for droughts, but floods and fires are nothing new for us. One of our greatest poets, Dorothea McKellar, wrote this quite some time ago, it's called simply "My Country".

 

The love of field and coppice,

Of green and shaded lanes,

Of ordered woods and gardens

Is running in your veins.

Strong love of grey-blue distance,

Brown streams and soft, dim skies -

I know but cannot share it,

My love is otherwise.

 

I love a sunburnt country,

A land of sweeping plains,

Of ragged mountain ranges,

Of droughts and flooding rains.

I love her far horizons,

I love her jewel-sea,

Her beauty and her terror –

The wide brown land for me!

 

The stark white ring-barked forests,

All tragic to the moon,

The sapphire-misted mountains,

The hot gold hush of noon,

Green tangle of the brushes

Where lithe lianas coil,

And orchids deck the tree-tops,

And ferns the warm dark soil.

 

Core of my heart, my country!

Her pitiless blue sky,

When, sick at heart, around us

We see the cattle die –

But then the grey clouds gather,

And we can bless again

The drumming of an army,

The steady soaking rain.

 

Core of my heart, my country!

Land of the rainbow gold,

For flood and fire and famine

She pays us back threefold.

Over the thirsty paddocks,

Watch, after many days,

The filmy veil of greenness

That thickens as we gaze.

 

An opal-hearted country,

A wilful, lavish land –

All you who have not loved her,

You will not understand –

Though earth holds many splendours,

Wherever I may die,

I know to what brown country

My homing thoughts will fly.

 

Those that understand this, will understand us.

 

In the words of our Premier; "This weather......It may break our hearts, but it will not break our spirits."

 

As you say Lad, A true spirit may be extinguished, but never broken. Wshing all of you 'Down Unders" my best. Just one question, how can someone make a donation without delay? And the poem, it says a lot! Edited January 12, 2011 by rigney

[JohnB]

Well, we made it. (Sort of) The floods peaked at 4.45m instead of the modelled 5.4m so there is a lot less damage than expected. 11,900 homes flooded instead of 20,000. It's pretty bad when you consider that to be good news.

 

3 looters have been caught and the general consensus is that they should be used as flood markers.

 

However our sense of humour is already starting to show. Our largest football stadium is rather waterlogged so the statue outside is now suitably attired.

 

 

And I thought this one was rather good.

 

 

A true "Sign of the Times".

 

Now the clean up begins for us. 75% of the State is flood damaged (an area about twice the size of Texas) so we need to get things operational ASAP so we can help the rest of the State.

 

Rigney, thanks very much for the offer. I have no idea about donations but I'll bet that your local Red Cross or Salvation Army has something going. As to the poem, it expresses how I feel about my land and I cannot read it without tearing up a bit.

 

We also must spare a thougth for those to the south. Our inland floods are making their way down the rivers and flood warnings are current in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. Just to be different, Western australia has bushfires instead.

[rigney]

Well, we made it. (Sort of) The floods peaked at 4.45m instead of the modelled 5.4m so there is a lot less damage than expected. 11,900 homes flooded instead of 20,000. It's pretty bad when you consider that to be good news.

 

3 looters have been caught and the general consensus is that they should be used as flood markers.

 

However our sense of humour is already starting to show. Our largest football stadium is rather waterlogged so the statue outside is now suitably attired.

 

 

And I thought this one was rather good.

 

 

A true "Sign of the Times".

 

Now the clean up begins for us. 75% of the State is flood damaged (an area about twice the size of Texas) so we need to get things operational ASAP so we can help the rest of the State.

 

Rigney, thanks very much for the offer. I have no idea about donations but I'll bet that your local Red Cross or Salvation Army has something going. As to the poem, it expresses how I feel about my land and I cannot read it without tearing up a bit.

 

We also must spare a thougth for those to the south. Our inland floods are making their way down the rivers and flood warnings are current in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. Just to be different, Western australia has bushfires instead.

 

That was no offer Lad, but a promise. Glad you and the family are alright. Hope the rest of the area fairs as well. Was looking back at a bit of nostalgia and picked this out of the "Love Bin". It applies to all of the Yanks, Canucks, Brits and Aussies who always seem to be in the reight place at the right time when needed. But this little guy from Belgium says it all.

.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDMzHlkB-Yg

Edited January 13, 2011 by rigney

[Pangloss]

Glad you're okay. Thanks for the report, that was interesting.

[FX]

I went to Google images looking for airplane view of the flooding. Found this!

 

Some of Brisbane's trendiest suburbs have been revealed as the most prone to flooding.

 

Brisbane City Council this morning released new computerised mapping which showed 28,651 properties would suffer from water flowing through their yards or houses in a one-in-50-year flood, similar to those in May of this year.

October 30, 2009!

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/brisbanes-most-floodprone-suburbs-revealed-20091030-hoym.html

 

What? What the hell?

[JohnB]

Thanks guys.

 

An unexpected result is a new fashion trend in womens footwear.

 

 

 

We'll fix and rebuild. The biggest danger at the moment is people going back into previously flooded homes without turning the power off. The substations are currently off and if a person is in the house when it comes back online and there is a short.......

 

I must commend and reccommend to anybody who is in disaster management that the methods and use by the Queensland Police of social networking sites such as Facebook be studied. Their ability to provide up to the second information on roads being cut etc was invaluable. I'm also certain that their use to quash immediately rumours and myths helped greatly to reduce worry and panic. People always knew what was happening. This method is far superior to using radio or TV especially with net access available on so many phones these days. The page is here. Have a read and you'll see what I mean.

 

FX. The watershed from this is going to be dire for some. Some in our scientific community are going to expand their vocabulary with new words "Responsibility", "Consequences" and quite possibly "Unemployment". It's a complex story of both political and scientific opportunism.

[Mr Rayon]

I was a bit surprised to hear that Indonesia donated money. Just that it's a Third World country and all...

 

...but Queenland will get through it all I'm sure.