Catastrophic floods in Queensland

lisa_spyder · 01-11-2011, 03:04 AM

No doubt world news services are well across this disaster here in Aus...but the situation is getting worse by the hour.

Send good thoughts and prayers for Queensland and its communities please...they are very much needed now. These floods are a disaster of epic proportions; God bless the emergency services and the Army as they are doing a fantastic job under extremely difficult circumstances.

Some coverage here -

Courier Mail | Latest Brisbane and Queensland QLD news | CourierMail

GothingNC · 01-11-2011, 03:16 AM

Wow, that is scary

I heard some news coverage about it a few days ago but did not realize the severity of the situation.

My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone out there.

jeffgrant · 01-11-2011, 03:23 AM

This was a video that a friend of mine sent me... this is just around the corner from his work.

He lives near Ipswitch, and the local river is expecting to rise by 70 feet.

lisa_spyder · 01-11-2011, 03:24 AM

jeffgrant · 03:35 AM

Here's another video making the rounds.

By the way, the guy was obviously locking his hubs, not taking air out of his tires as she thought in the video.

And here's a graph of the river levels in the Ipswitch area (worth noting that the graph is in METRES, not feet):

lisa_spyder · 01-11-2011, 03:28 AM

Jeff,

For the past few hours I keep hearing that the flood level in Ipswich is expected to be 22 metres (your 70 feet)...I just can't comprehend that number. Worst floods there since 1893; when Ipswich would have been a tiny town.

Rockhampton is still waiting for the flood waters to subside as well. I think I heard that by the end of this maybe 75% of Queensland will be declared a State of Disaster.

jeffgrant · 01-11-2011, 03:32 AM

Yeah, I have a friend who's sitting at home right now, in Ipswitch, at about 120 feet over the river.

We keep telling him "don't worry, it won't be 120 feet for long". He's not finding the humour in that.

Really, I had no idea it was as bad as it was until he sent a few videos and links... I figured it was just some light flooding over roads, that kind of thing. Not the inland tsunamis they're describing now.

Again, the peak is supposed to be on Thursday. Crazy.

I just hope everyone gets through it, and wish them nothing but the best in the upcoming days.

sc_rufctr · 01-11-2011, 03:34 AM

Lisa

Sending good thoughts from Adelaide.

Are all of your family accounted for?

jeffgrant · 01-11-2011, 03:40 AM

My friend just sent this link of live photos/videos of the flooding.

Brisbane Flood Pictures - LIVE. January 2011 |

lisa_spyder · 01-11-2011, 03:40 AM

This is major, major stuff...10 lives lost confirmed; 78 missing and the count is expected to rise.

Homes have been ripped from their stumps and flung into other homes in some of the smaller towns. People were climbing onto their roofs and screaming for help as their houses were being carried away in the torrents. It's like armageddon

.

Some towns have copping it for the second time in only a couple of weeks. People were moving back in to start their cleanups only to be re-evacuated today

.

Mining, agriculture, you name it - it's all badly affected. The fallout is going to be enormous.

lisa_spyder · 01-11-2011, 03:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

Lisa

Sending good thoughts from Adelaide.

Are all of your family accounted for?

Peter,

I think my family are all OK (all on high ground)...but not so sure about some of the car mates in Brisbane yet. Got word from a few today who were feeling pretty OK about things - we'll see tomorrow...

HardDrive · 01-11-2011, 07:06 AM

Terrible. We have friends in Goldcoast and down in Lismore.

cairns · 01-11-2011, 07:14 AM

Last I heard is they're going to have to open the Brisbane Dam which could mean another 6,500 homes under water.

I've visited many of the places shown and am dumbfounded. I hope and pray you all get through this.

lisa_spyder · 01-11-2011, 01:10 PM

Hell...the Bremer River through Ipswich is rising at a rate of a metre per hour. It's about to peak at over a metre higher than ever before.

Watching the news...the boats and caravans etc loose on the Brisbane River; it's just incredible. Jetties and pontoons are being carried down the river. The river has broken its banks earlier than expected and the warning sirens are sounding across Brisbane.

This weather system is reaching all the way down the East Coast; we even have multiple flood warnings down here in Victoria for the next couple of days. Strongest La Nina in Australia's history and it's going to stick around until Autumn here and won't abate 'til Winter...all the Eastern States are in for wet, wet and more wet for months.

HardDrive - hope your friends are OK. News out of NSW isn't good either

. I'll be spending the morning on the phone to friends on the North Coast there too.

Bloody hell - Mother Nature is determined to give the Eastern States one hell of a whipping (whilst the West is scorching).

Projected cost which no doubt will rise - 13 billion dollars...

bivenator · 01-11-2011, 02:47 PM

Very sorry to see this, we have your countrymen in our thoughts.

enzo1 · 01-11-2011, 02:51 PM

unbelievable.....

Oh Haha · 01-11-2011, 03:09 PM

Thoughts and prayers sent for those suffering such terrible loss.

jeffgrant · 01-11-2011, 06:17 PM

At least one of my friend's neighbours has a good sense of humour about the whole thing.

My friend is now surrounded by flood water and is officially trapped, but thankfully he lives on the highest hill in the area. Here's a pic his wife took from a block away from their house.

Buckterrier · 01-11-2011, 06:51 PM

God bless you guys

lisa_spyder · 01-11-2011, 10:53 PM

Jeff,

That's just Aussie humour at its finest - love the 'plan B bathtub'!

Much like a lady describing a concrete water tank literally wiping out the local pub in Grantham as it slammed into it driven by the torrential floodwaters (a small town which has suffered enormous losses)....she simply said "damn - no cold beer now"...gotta love it.