Australian Floods - Never park next to the river

[Patrick's Dad]

I live about 60 miles north of Brisbane and about 30 miles north of where the floods start. We've had about a month of heavy rain, some of the strongest rainfalls I've ever seen and we all expected an amount of flooding. I dont think anyone expected the extent of whats happened and I htink it's only really occuerd because water has had to be released from one of the huge local dams. Without this controlled release of water into the Brisbane river and the coincidental King Tide, things would have been a lot better.
This release had to be made on threat of the dam bursting it's banks and sending the equivalent of 10 Sydney Harbours rushing towards Brisbane and points south.
Also not to forget that 75% of Queensland is currently flooded, there are other areas north of Brisbane where life is going to be very hard for a couple of years - with the knock on effect for the rest of Qld.

The news here tells us that people will be back into their homes in 3 to 6 months and that it will take months and months before normality returns!
What a crock!
40000 people without anywhere to stay, 20000 homes to be cleaned, inspected by loss adjustors, claims to be agreed on and then building to be scheduled. 2 years is my estimate. Insurance companied will be as unpleasant as always, the government will 'organise'as well as usual and the shonky builders will crawl out of the woodwork.
Food will be in short supply and therefore outrageously expensive, fuel will go through the roof, it's already risen by $0.25c a litre in the last month, and the Oz economy will be effected.

Tough times ahead.
If you're planning to move to Queensland this year - dont bother.
If you're planning a holiday to Queensland this year - think again

However, we are safe and dry, the sun is out and the xxxx brewery tells us they will not run out of ale in the near future.

Edited by Patrick's Dad on Wednesday 12th January 23:15

[hornetrider]

Patrick's Dad said:

However, we are safe and dry, the sun is out and the xxxx brewery tells us they will not run out of ale in the near future.

Tuck in to the Bundy mate and worry about it tomorrow - chin up and best of luck!

[Patrick's Dad]

The mud crabs will be on the move too!
Fresh muddie and VB

[GTDNB]

randomwalk said:

Since the 70s they have done quite a bit of flood mitigation work around Brisbane, I thought there was a big dam that was meant to help however its probably full now.

they might want to think about making that creek a bit deeper! this is what it normally looks like:

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=chalk+lane+toowoom...

[ferrisbueller]

What's the impact on local wildlife?

[Patrick's Dad]

randomwalk said:

Since the 70s they have done quite a bit of flood mitigation work around Brisbane, I thought there was a big dam that was meant to help however its probably full now.

Thats the Wivenhoe Dam, the one they have been controlling water release from. It was at 15% full 2 years ago and is now lapping at the cobbles on top.
Imagine the destruction if it overflowed or was allowed to breach!
The flash floods in Toowoomba were completely out of the blue. The city itself is 700m above sea level and is never expected to be the recipient of such amounts of creek and river water.

[Google [bot]]

ferrisbueller said:

What's the impact on local wildlife?

Lots. Snakes finding high ground in people's roofspace, allegedly a bull shark swimming down Ipswich high street yesterday, plus things like:











I don't have a feel really for the scale of the damage to wildlife but I'd say it's clearly going to be high.

[JensenA]

Tsippy said:

It's incredible to see the cars tossed around like a piece of plastic, I think many people do not appreciate the power of nature until they see videos like this.

1 cubic metre of water weighs 1 tonne, so just imagine how many cubic metres of water in that flood, all moving at about 20mph (??)

[Google [bot]]

There's also a slight chance of a cyclone. Unlikely, but possible, though it would be way further north than Brisbane. Maybe.

ETRemove inaccurate chronology.

Edited by Google [bot] on Thursday 13th January 02:02

[Patrick's Dad]

There'll be dead kangaroos and wallabies all over the place, Ipsich and the reiver will stink to high heaven. There was a report this morning of a sighting of a bull shark swimming nin one of the streets of Ipswich. Maybe it'll eat some of the looters from Goodna!

[anonymous-user]

Whilst full of sympathy for the poor Aussies, I must admit to being strangely amused by the talk of Wivenhoe and Ipswich on their news reports. (Wivenhoe is opposite the river from where I grew up, tiny little place).

Still, seeing the waters running through the city centre is nothing short of shocking. Living in a town which regularly used to flood (although to nowhere near the same extent), I have every sympathy.

[jesta1865]

Patrick's Dad said:

If you're planning to move to Queensland this year - dont bother.

oops the daughter leaves 2nd feb for a year

Patrick's Dad said:

If you're planning a holiday to Queensland this year - think again

and we are off down there for a month in august for our honeymoon

[hornetrider]

jesta1865 said:

Patrick's Dad said:

If you're planning to move to Queensland this year - dont bother.

oops the daughter leaves 2nd feb for a year

Patrick's Dad said:

If you're planning a holiday to Queensland this year - think again

and we are off down there for a month in august for our honeymoon

She'll be moving into a warzone - you'll be slightly better off.

[deviant]

Patrick's Dad said:

However, we are safe and dry, the sun is out and the xxxx brewery tells us they will not run out of ale in the near future.

That's because they will just be canning flood water...still...its going to be better than that 'fourex' ste they normally put in the can

[crmcatee]

I was going to be travelling back there this week but delayed my trip to see how it unfolded.

I'm glad I did. Shocked to see the damage and given that when I'm there I walk along and eat at places most evenings along the riverfront it's been shocking to see places like the Boardwalk and Jellyfish underwater. The only restaurant place that looks likes it's still above water is ironically one called Venice.

[Patrick's Dad]

There was a restaurant called Drift which did just that - straight doen the river and into a bridge.
Lets see how a supposed 1st world country copes with a natural disaster on this scale....
I notice no offers of cash and donations from well anyone really!

[Google [bot]]

Patrick's Dad said:

Lets see how a supposed 1st world country copes with a natural disaster on this scale....
I notice no offers of cash and donations from well anyone really!

You hush your mouth, Julia's pledged one million dollars.

[KenBlocksPants]

GTIR said:

jonnylarge said:

Apologies if a repost, but here's some pretty dramatic footage of the floods in Australia:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYUpkPTcqPY

"The handbrake is on" stopping it moving in the flood!
Silly bint.

35 seconds in "Should we move our cars to the front?"

What ya reckon?

[tinman0]

Patrick's Dad said:

If you're planning a holiday to Queensland this year - think again

Sorry, but that bit of advice is extremely dangerous.

Once the water has gone down, tourism needs to resume as quickly as possible. Insurance may cover the rebuild but it doesn't cover consequential loses. By all means, give the place a couple of weeks to get tidy again, but get in there and start supporting the tourist industry. It does not help a hotel in the slightest that when they reopen, people on the internet have told everyone to stay away.

Yes, there will be some hotels that are badly damaged, but likewise, there will be plenty of places in the area that are ok, and they are the ones who suffer dramatically.

Advice like "avoid Pensacola Beach" after the Gulf Spill have cost our area at home millions upon millions of dollars. Despite the beaches being kept rigorously free of oil, the summer was destroyed because people were told that they would be wading in oil by "well minded individuals".

Hurricane Katrina cost New Orleans dear because of the "internet" advice saying stay away - the French Quarter barely had a drop of water!

[deviant]

Well said Tinman! Our economy is going to take a big hit over this...small businesses are gone, farms are gone, towns are badly damaged and people can't go to work. On top of that a great number of people do not have any flood insurance....after the 1974 floods the insurers would not cover for flood damage

All the damage needs to be fixed and the government needs to support the people that have lost everything but have no means of financial recovery. Imagine being left with a mortgage for a house that does not even exist any more!