The QLD Flood Thread

[Veroe]

Okay it doesn't sound as bad as you got it in queensland. But here in Tennessee we had a bad flood back in May from record rainfall. The Cumberland and Red rivers where I live swelled over its banks and swamped the subdivision on the Red's floodplain I could look down on from the high bluff where I live. I was high and dry, but those poor schmoes down there had their homes pretty much ruined.

 

[monique_minx]

Nice to know we're not all alone in understanding heh.
I'm preparing to get my power cut, not sure if they'll do it or not but apparently Energex crews are standing by, they wanna cut it so that the water doesn't get electrified I guess.

 

[SoulWeaver]

Hope things improve, its seems it's always either floods of fires across the Tassie ...

Best wishes
SW

 

[Niriate]

According to the newspapers here, Toowoomba got surprised by a tidal wave and is now almost completely covered in about 1-2 feet of water. Several suburbs of Brisbane have been completely abandoned since the river that crosses through the city is already flooding, and nearly bursting further upstream.

 

[marauder13]

According to the newspapers here, Toowoomba got surprised by a tidal wave and is now almost completely covered in about 1-2 feet of water. Several suburbs of Brisbane have been completely abandoned since the river that crosses through the city is already flooding, and nearly bursting further upstream.

Well, Toowoomba is pretty much not under water anymore. They got hit with a flash flood. Also, the city is on the top of a mountain range, and all that water the proceeded to devastate all the places below. One small town was literally flattened by the water rushing down from the mountains. They also confirmed that the town in question lost at least two people to the flooding.

Minx's neck of the state is submerged. The Bremer River is going to get to around 20.5 metres above normal levels before it starts dropping off. Most of the urban area around there is effected by water, and some places, like a local large supermarket, are for all intents and purposes, submerged.

I live in Brisbane, and the Central Business District is underwater, along with a vast number of suburbs on the river's edge. It is predicted to peak around 4AM Jan 13 local time. Things are a little scary in places, but the good news is that people are helping out their friends and neighbours and anyone else who needs a hand. One of the City Council depots nearby has been making up sandbags. They had about 40-50 volunteers helping out loading vehicles, filling bags, and helping the council workers however they could.

And the major flood control dam, Wivenhoe, is over capacity and they are releasing water in a 'controlled' manner so that there is not a sudden deluge in the Brisbane river. And just to make things even more exciting, we're getting a King Tide this evening. That's like a High Tide, only more so.


The shitty thing is, they are predicting more rain for the coming week, and a strong possibility of cyclones forming in the Coral Sea in the coming weeks. While the cyclones will not hit us directly, when they do hit our coast, we end up with lots of rain. Which means we could be going through it all over again real soon.

Queensland - The Sunshine State. Not right now it's not.

 

[Light Ice]

Well apparently they found a massive croc in Gympie, well out of its territory so apparently they're travelling downstream in the water. Of course, the Brisbane river is home to more than 4000 bull sharks so it's likely that we'll see some further down.

This sounds like the start of a very bad horror film. I doubt you'll have to worry about Bull sharks.

 

[Niriate]

Just saying what I read..

Apparently the area that is flooded covers a size that is 1,5 times the size of Texas, covering over half of Queensland. (Just under 400.000 square miles)

 

[monique_minx]

Thanks for the info additions guys. I'm working at the moment, Ipswich evacuation centre is full up, people are sleeping in their cars, in the car park, on the side walks and wherever they can here. I officially scored the night shift here indefinitely.

I'll be home in a few hours to update further on the situation but my part of the state is in dire condition.

 

[monique_minx]

So Brisbane is getting most of the coverage but Ipswich water levels rose higher in the last 24 hours by at least a metre.
No rain today and just a little through the night which was really good, it's quite funny to watch how many people swore when it started spitting! Lol! You only get that reaction to a bit of rain when we're flooded!

In any case, not working tonight so that's good but the bastards have me on call anyway so I could still get called in as opposed to the standing shift I asked for and had before they decided to rearrange the roster.

Ipswich Evac Centre needs all the donations it can get, qualified volunteers for nursing is being highly sought after as is clothing, mattresses, blankets, towels and so forth.

That's it for now, I'm beat and going to eat dinner then crash all over again!

 

[marauder13]

Well, flood waters are starting to recede in Ipswich & Brisbane. Ipswich's main street is now no longer under water, and appears to be passable.

Good news from Grantham - the 30 car collection under the rail bridge all turned up empty. Authorities feared that there were bodies in the some of the vehicles. That small town of 300 people breathed a big sigh of relief.

Some of the worse hit places in Brisbane are seeing the waters drop by nearly a metre, allowing some people to start assessing the damage to their property. It is believed that it will take another 48 hours for the Brisbane river to no longer be flooding.

A night club created from a converted barge, called The Island, has not only been tied down further at its mooring to prevent it from floating away, but demolitions charges have been set to scuttle it if it breaks free. The main reason is that it could knock down any of the bridges down river if it hit them. We have already lost one floating restaurant, as well as a 300m, 300 ton length of floating walkway. That was successful steered from danger by a fast thinking tug boat crew who ensured that it missed everything on the way down.

The Central Business District of Brisbane is still without power, and all public transport through there has been canceled until the waters have receded.

 

[Britwitch]

Naturally I am happy to hear that in general things might be picking/drying up down there but above all else, am extremely relieved to hear you guys are ok, Minx and Marauder!

 

[ShyMystica]

Thank you Minxy and Marauder for the great updates. I know it has been a hellish few days, so look after yourselves Especially you Minx, it sounds like you are burning yourself out at both ends...you need to look after yourself so you can help all those people at Ipswich Evac Center. If I were there I would put my hand up for the medical volunteer work...

My thoughts are still with you both *hugs tightly*

 

[Luna_Wolf72]

Leaving love and warm thoughts for my minxlette



and adding places in need to my prayers and to my little community of civic minded people who wanna help...

 

[marauder13]

To everyone who has taken the time to respond here with their thoughts, well wishes concerning those of us too close to the floods for comfort...

Thank you one and all. Even to those people who have addressed particular individuals in the posts, it is great to see others showing their support and concern.

While I can't speak for the others, I have been incredibly fortunate not to have suffered any flooding of my property, nor have any of my extended family on both sides of my marriage.

So, again, thank you everyone. It has been really great to see those posts in this thread.

 

[Niriate]

Sadly the reports from the newspapers here are outdated compared to your own updates, so I can't add a whole lot more.

Aside from maybe this fact:

Reports have indicated that the damage from the flooding alone, are estimated to cost several billion dollars (US dollars that is). And that is just from the height of the water.

Water levels in downtown Brisbane were at 14 feet above usual (yesterday evening). And the weatherforecast wasn't looking too bright either.

 

[monique_minx]

Thanks for the awesome update assist Marauder, starting to fear that I'd have to be the only one for a bit there!

Yeah, clean up in Ipswich has began at last! Unfortunately, clean up is the worst part so if you live in Brisbane or Ipswich or any of the affected regions and want to volunteer your time, sign up here >> http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&s...tbWNCQ&usg=AFQjCNEAh86Q0ndUIqt8ygFHnzT8Jrhhkg

They're especially seeking trade persons and medical staff, I've put myself down to volunteer in cleaning and traffic control so the small things count people!

The suburb closest to me and my only access to the highway and city is still submerged to its rooftops so we're still very isolated though they did manage to get one truck around the very long way (it took two extra days) and they restocked our woolworths! So while meat, bread and milk is out, we do have food again!

To everyone who has been PM'ing me, thank you so much for your support but I wasn't directly affected and thankfully I've heard back from almost all of my friends that they're fine as are their homes and belongings. Still waiting on two or three to get back to me.

I just did this so people would have their information in one area, some kind of support from others and also to give actual eye witness updates which the news doesn't give you. I have seen people lose everything, know that they have to start over while sleeping in car parks and on dirt and they still smile, bring me a coffee and sit down for a chat. I've met some damn resilient people in the past week and I'm doing all I can to help them out. That's not selfless or heroic or anything like that to me, that's just human.

Keep you guys posted, last I heard there was a cyclone moving down the coast but they're waiting and hoping it moves offshore so hopefully it won't come near us at all. It's still at sea currently, they're monitoring it to see whether it will move inland or further out.

 

[monique_minx]

Death Toll now at 15.

More up-to-date reports on road re-openings and general information can be found on this new Facebook group set up by the Queensland Police:

http://www.facebook.com/QueenslandPolice

 

[Light Ice]

The nice thing about floods is that they tend to kill the old and infirm. This, as opposed to other disasters, that kill more indiscriminately.

 

[monique_minx]

The nice thing about floods is that they tend to kill the old and infirm. This, as opposed to other disasters, that kill more indiscriminately.

Not our flood. In the case of our flood versus Queensland, it was on for young and old. One teenager was swept into flood waters along with his mother, a young child died, older people as well but there were a few people who died trying to save their family members or emergency services crews who risked their necks to get other people out.

Still around 47 people missing.

75% of the State declared a disaster zone.

 

[Niriate]

I'm just wondering Minxy, since the news over here is mostly about the state of the water..

Have you seen or heard any feats of heroism yet? I'm not hunting stories or anything, just that I know that things like this bring out an unknown heroic side in people.

 

[monique_minx]

Actually yeah Niri, someone was kind enough to send me a link to an article...
Here's the link but in case you can't access it, I've copied and pasted.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8195370/save-my-brother-first-said-teen-victim

Save my brother first, said teen victim

A 13-year-old boy was swept to his death in the Toowoomba flash flood moments after he told rescuers to save his younger brother before him.

Jordan Rice, 13, and his mother were killed when an 8m wall of water swept through the town on Monday afternoon. At least eight other people were killed as the torrent tore through the centre of Toowoomba and surged down through the Lockyer Valley.

Another 90 people are still unaccounted for and, of those, grave fears are held for 18.

Jordan's father, John Tyson, said Jordan's mother Donna Rice and her two sons became trapped in rapidly rising floodwaters in Toowoomba's CBD when their car engine failed at an intersection, The Chronicle reports.

The water, described as an "inland tsunami", rose so quickly that Ms Rice, Jordan and 10-year-old Blake were forced to scramble onto the car's roof.

"All these people were just standing around until an old scrawny guy grabbed a bit of rope, wrapped it around himself and jumped in," Mr Tyson said.

"Jordan can't swim and is terrified of water," said Mr Tyson.

"But when the man went to rescue him, he said 'save my brother first.'"

The man managed to bring Blake through the surging water but moments later Jordan and his mother were swept off the car.

They were seen clinging to a tree but the water current was too strong and they were washed away.

Mr Tyson said the bravery displayed by Jordan, who was soon to start year eight, was heroic.

"I can only imagine what was going on inside to give up his life to save his brother, even though he was petrified of water," he said.

"He is our little hero."

Together for 28 years, Mr Tyson and Ms Rice have four sons together: Chris, 22, Kyle, 16, Jordan, 13, and Blake, 10.

Mr Tyson described her as "my soulmate".

In Murphy's Creek near Toowoomba a teenage girl heard her mother scream when she was swept away after floodwater washed through their house.

Sarah Norman told the Daily Telegraph how her brother and their 15-year-old sister Victoria sheltered in the roof of their family home after he managed to punch a hole in the laundry ceiling.

"He went back to get mum and dad, but they had just gone. Victoria heard mum scream," Ms Norman said.

Steve Matthews, 56, and his wife Sandy, 46, were found dead downstream on Monday afternoon.

The couple had been trying to reach their children when a fridge floated across the doorway and trapped Mrs Matthews in the kitchen.

Mr Matthews was trying to save his wife when a wall in the house collapsed and both were swept away.

A four-year-old boy also drowned when he fell out of a boat that had been moving him to safety in nearby Marburg, west of Brisbane.

Back in Toowoomba, Bruce Riley told Sydney Morning Herald reporters how he rescued a pregnant woman trapped in a submerged car.

Mr Riley said he tied a sling and ropes around his waist so that he could wade through the thigh-deep water towards the heavily pregnant woman and a man also stuck in the car.

Queensland is bracing for more weather with authorities predicting water levels will peak on Thursday.

 

[Light Ice]

Why are you so stressed out, anyway, Minx? You seem to be perfectly safe. Are you missing family or friends?

 

[monique_minx]

Actually, I haven't heard from three of my friends who were in areas that got hit badly. So I don't know where they are or if they're okay yet.

And you try waiting to hear everyday from each of your friends as to whether or not they've been evacuated or if the water is coming close to them. I was stressed out entirely for half a day when my best mate left only a message on his facebook that said, "Being evacuated."

I had no contact for 12 hours and no idea what was happening where he was because we were cut off and mobile phones were congested, towers were lost to the floods. I admit it, I freaked the hell out.

When he finally called me to say he was with his mum in her house on a hill surrounded by flood waters, I guess you could say I was relieved. I guess.

There's a lot more to it than being affected by flood water alone, we also have a shortage of food with only one truck getting through today for an entire suburb. There's work and money to consider because companies are cunts without hearts. My sister's workplace is submerged, my dad was already off work for six weeks due to injury before this so we were already financially hard up and because my boss was evacuated, I wasn't getting any work either!

Now we have to wait for the water to recede, pray for no more rain and clean up the mess.

 

[Light Ice]

Actually, I haven't heard from three of my friends who were in areas that got hit badly. So I don't know where they are or if they're okay yet.

And you try waiting to hear everyday from each of your friends as to whether or not they've been evacuated or if the water is coming close to them. I was stressed out entirely for half a day when my best mate left only a message on his facebook that said, "Being evacuated."

I had no contact for 12 hours and no idea what was happening where he was because we were cut off and mobile phones were congested, towers were lost to the floods. I admit it, I freaked the hell out.

When he finally called me to say he was with his mum in her house on a hill surrounded by flood waters, I guess you could say I was relieved. I guess.

There's a lot more to it than being affected by flood water alone, we also have a shortage of food with only one truck getting through today for an entire suburb. There's work and money to consider because companies are cunts without hearts. My sister's workplace is submerged, my dad was already off work for six weeks due to injury before this so we were already financially hard up and because my boss was evacuated, I wasn't getting any work either!

Now we have to wait for the water to recede, pray for no more rain and clean up the mess.

My question wasn't supposed to strike you as an accusation of any kind. I was sincerely interested.

 

[silvastormcloud]

The rest of us are thinking of you Minx.