2011 Flood

Howdy folks,

Quick synopsis of the flooding in Brisbane:  I am fine.  Power is back on, we have normal access to drinking water. 

Slightly longer synopsis of the flooding in Brisbane:   I am fine.  Power is back on, we have normal access to drinking water.  The flood waters came up to the houses literally across the street from us but didn't make it to our home.  All of the stuff we took out of the first floor (garage) was put back yesterday afternoon.  There are heaps of people who weren't that lucky.

Longer version of the flooding in Brisbane:  I am fine.  Power is back on, we have normal access to drinking water.  The flood waters came up to the houses literally across the street from us but didn't make it to our home.  All of the stuff we took out of the first floor (garage) was put back yesterday afternoon.  There are heaps of people who weren't that lucky.

The water came from a few different sources:

• Rain, naturally
• The Wivenhoe dam, from which city officials released hundreds of thousands of litres of water so that it didn't itself flood, causing more problems for those in the surrounding cities
• The rising Brisbane river, which snakes through the city
• Blockage in the poorly-engineered drainage systems in parts of the city

As the water rose, Queenslanders kept referencing the "1974 floods" which caused much heartache and destruction.  There were some who predicted these floods would be worse.  However, the waters peaked at 4.5 meters, rather than the predicted 5.4.  This difference meant everything to us, personally, and prevented us from getting flooded at our house.  To many, the 4.5 mark was already enough to cause severe damage to their homes.  

I walked towards the river several times throughout the ordeal to see the rising water.  It was incredible how much debris was being thrusted down the raging water.  Even a restaurant appropriately named "Drift" was broken into pieces and did more than "drift" down the river.  It was completely obliterated.  There is a bike path along the river --which I use regularly-- with lamp posts to ensure safe cycling and walking at night.  Because of the flood, you can't even see those tall lamps!  Unbelievable.  There is a main thoroughfare which runs along part of the river and it might need to be partially or totally shut down because of the erosion that happened underneath it.   Boats were capsized and crushed into bridges.  

Things are muddy and smelly and there will be lots and lots of cleanup and insurance claims.  Queensland farmers have been devastated by the destruction of their crops and soil.  Grocery store distribution centers were affected, but I haven't heard much about expecting problems with the sourcing of food.  Either way, we are prepared.

Happy ending: As with most tragedies, there was tons of community support.  I started walking around to offer my help.  People kept turning me away, explaining that they had it all sorted.  A couple of guys joked with me that I didn't look trustworthy; I thought it was my accent.  There were just so many volunteering their time and energy.  People were walking everywhere, having conversations, meeting others.  When the power was out, it was a great way to look at the gorgeous sky and things were so calm. 

Sad ending: There are people still missing.  I've never heard helicopters all day long like I have the past couple of days.  It's a bizarre thing to experience.  And one tearjerker story is that a helicopter rescue crew was trying to save a family of three out of their sinking car.  The 13 year old boy who was being offered a hand told the rescuer to take his 10 year old brother first.  The younger brother was saved, but the 13 year old and his mother were taken by the raging water.  

Five blocks away from our house; a main intersection with a local bike store.

Milton Road.  You can see Suncorp stadium, where we saw Jay-Z and U2.  It is now flooded.

Rosalie, our closest restaurant/shops area.

This is the restaurant, Drift, which was on the river and offered great food and music.  You can see that it was voted "Best New Restaurant 2010"

Brisbane River, with the green bike path starting to get covered with water.

The same structure as above, but starting to disappear in the flooding.

I'm not sure this bus will be on time.

If you walk up one-half block from our street and look left, you saw this water collecting on the street.

That same street, the next day.

Lastly, there was a great little news story about a frog riding on a snake along the river.  Apparently, animals (even adversaries) end up helping each other during disasters: