Aussie floods

[nikimcbee]

I can't believe there's no thread regarding this!:o

I hope all of our Aussie mates are safe and not affected by the flooding. Stay outta the flood water.

[TarJak]

It's pretty bad in Queensland. Nice and dry where I am though. I've got a cousin in Rockhampton which has been badly hit, but haven't heard from him to find out whether all is OK with him.

The flood there is not the worst they've had, 1991 was about half a metre higher and the worst they have had was in 1918 which was a couple of metres more than the current one.

What is slightly more unusual this year is the number of rivers in flood at the same time in QLD. Apparently there are 23 rivers in flood simultaneously which is rare.

The impact is already being felt down here though in higher food prices as crop harvests are impacted or unable to be shipped out even if already harvested.

Even air transport is being badly impacted with the main runway at Rockhampton closed:
http://www.globalpost.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/full-column/australia-queensland-flood-rockhampton.jpg

[nikimcbee]

Is it typhoon season there?

[TarJak]

Yep. We've had a drought for the last 10 years and the rain is back with a vengance this year. El Nino/El Nina weather pattern swapped over a month or so ago and we've had the wettest summer in 12 years over here with some places recording almost 2 years average rainfall in the last two months.

[Castout]

I saw Australians hit by the flood drying up their home appliances such as fridge, etc from tv I think or somewhere.

Low level flood is damaging and stressful enough and higher level ones simply destroy homes.

I had experienced a low level flood back in the 1990s. It wasn't pretty. The only thing that made me calm was that I was already shown the flood and where we were going to evacuate along with whom about 2 days before it happened and even told my sister about it but she just gave me a weird look and ignored me then(she doesn't even remember having been told beforehand afterward). Nobody warned about the coming unending rain then. It rained for more than a week without stopping! :o Luckily it didn't rain that hard but still I never saw rain pouring down for more than a week or days before that.

[JScones]

It's pretty bad in Queensland. Nice and dry where I am though. I've got a cousin in Rockhampton which has been badly hit, but haven't heard from him to find out whether all is OK with him.
My Mum lives in Rockhampton, fortunately on the north side, which apparently isn't affected.

[bookworm_020]

It's now flowing downstream in to northen NSW as well. Many of the flooded areas will remain flooded for some time, it takes a while to reach the flood peak and even longer for it to go down!:lost:

[TarJak]

It takes about 6 months for water at the top end of the Darling basin to get all the way down to the Murray mouth in Sth Australia so I'm not surprised.

[Feuer Frei!]

My Mum lives in Rockhampton, fortunately on the north side, which apparently isn't affected.

ROCKHAMPTON'S Fitzroy River is expected to remain at flood levels for about another 10 days, as the man charged with making sure Queensland recovers visits the city to see the devastation for himself. Major General Mick Slater, who is heading the state's Flood Recovery Taskforce, says Rockhampton looked like a group of tropical islands from the air and his job has now started, even though the effects may not be felt until the water recedes.
Maj Gen Slater said the rebuilding effort could see results within months, but recovery will take years.
"The people of Rockhampton have been dealt a horrible blow, they need a hand to get back on their feet," he said.
"For me, this is about the future, for me, it's about people, it is not about the water."
And it appears the people of Rockhampton are going to have to be patient before they see any substantial action.

A spokesperson for Rockhampton Regional Council told AAP the flood levels are not expected to drop during the next week.
"We're not expecting (the water) to really drop, probably for the next couple of days. We could even be up to the major flood levels of between the 8.5m and the 9m mark for up to the 15th or 16th (of January) ... so it's going to be slightly longer than anyone's anticipated."
The spokesperson said this also makes the recovery process difficult.
"We can't really start anything until the water recedes further than that ... at that point in time if it stays at 8.5m the highway may potentially be opened, but most likely our airport and highways will stay closed.
"It's really prevented us from getting that recovery phase underway straight away although the recovery committee has started meeting and they're starting to plan for what activities need to occur."
Maj Gen Slater met with the Mayor Brad Carter and other key officials today after his fly-over of the city.
"The first impression I got was that there's a hell of a lot of work to do," he said.
"We still don't know what it looks like underwater."
He said he was confident there would be a unified approach to the flood recovery.
"The level of professionalism and commitment at all levels (of government) has been very impressive," he said.
"All the ingredients for success are there."
Although there was some flash flooding overnight, the Bruce Highway north of Rockhampton remained open, but the highways south and west were still blocked.
The spokesperson said food and other supplies were holding up well, with supplies coming from the north via road or on barges from Gladstone.
Thunderstorms are forecast for the region today, including Rockhampton, and upstream, the weather bureau said. But Rockhampton is expected to be spared further flooding from the rain.
"They're not expected to contribute to any worsening of the flooding," forecaster Geoff Doueal told AAP.

[Feuer Frei!]

I would like to also add my condolences to the families of the victims of the floods in Queensland! What a terrible tragedy this is, nature once again shows off its devastating powers. :cry:

[Feuer Frei!]

Here are some pictures of the tragedy, courtesy of the Courier Mail newspaper, just to put things into perspective (as if it's really needed):

http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/4135/480320floodstgeorgeview.jpg

St George, Queensland
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http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/4821/815996floodhomestead.jpg

A flooded homestead near Rockhampton

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http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/5406/252612floodsrocky.jpg

Depot Hill, Rockhampton
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http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/8066/735878floodrockystreets.jpg

A city street in Rockhampton.

[bookworm_020]

12 dead, 67 missing and 3/4 of Queensland has been flood affected. Queensland is 7 times bigger than the entire United Kingdom if you wqant to put it to scale.

It's also now reaching across the border into New South Wales as well, and there has also been flash flooding in Victoria.

Meanwhile there are bad bushfires in Western Australia..... Australia, never do anything by halves.....:lost:

[Pioneer]

Father: currently disabled, high and dry. :yeah:
Daughters (2): unaccounted for. Landlines and power out.
Brother: water rose 65 feet in 3 hour to his back door today. He will be in trouble with high tide tomorrow.

To put it in perspective: Imagine the states of Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona under 30 feet of water.

Now add another 30 feet, and that's the volume of water we're talking about...and it arrives in Brisbane tomorrow.

Three Brisbane members that I know of: Sober and Overlord (unknown locations). Drizzt high and dry and no fear of flooding.

[Castout]

Massive flood . . . .

[Penguin]

Thanks for the elaborations, guess for us people who live in crowded places the dimensions are sometimes hard to imagine.

You Aussies will make it, you're good & tough people.
I'll keep my fingers crossed, especially for our members who have no contact to their relatives. Best wishes!

[TarJak]

This map gives a great overview of the extent of the flooding:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/infographics/qld-floods/default.htm

Remember that this isn't all happening in a day or two either, some of these places have been in flood for nearly 4 weeks!

[papa_smurf]

Remember that this isn't all happening in a day or two either, some of these places have been in flood for nearly 4 weeks!

First you have worse drought in years, now this. And to think we constantly complain about the weather all the time:nope:

[STEED]

The power of nature can not be underestimated and when it hits it hits! Just hope for Australia this is the high mark and dose not get any worst.

[frau kaleun]

It must be awful to have loved ones in the affected areas and not be able to get in touch with them to find out if they're okay.

Which is nothing compared to what the people in the flooded areas are dealing with, man, that's a lotta water. I hope they can get through without any more loss of life.

[TarJak]

If anyone is interested in practical assistance, there is a Queensland Government Flood appeal where you can donate. ATM money is the main thing needed as people are going to need assistance with rebuilding their lives and homes. Over here home insurance rarely covers floods, particularly if you live in a known flood zone so some of these people will not be able to afford to rebuild or repair their homes on their own.

If you care to donate: http://www.qld.gov.au/floods/donate.html

[bookworm_020]

If you care to donate: http://www.qld.gov.au/floods/donate.html

Good idea TarJack! I've already donated!:salute:

[TarJak]

Well done mate. Same here.:up: Its' going to take billions to get this place fixed up and now it looks like Victoria and even Tasmania are copping it! http://www.smh.com.au/environment/weather/victoria-and-tasmania-struggle-with-heavy-rain-20110113-19pzz.html

[iambecomelife]

Does anyone remember where JScones lives? I hope he's not affected.

[frau kaleun]

Does anyone remember where JScones lives? I hope he's not affected.

He has posted a bit in the last couple of days, I think he's okay. :yeah:

[JScones]

No impact here - I'm about 1000kms away from both the QLD and (now) VIC floods. We've spent most of our time here raising support and funds for the affected people.