Brisbane awash, Australia’s flood worst for 100 years

Australia - Queensland is the PURPLE colored State

Queensland, Australia, Flood Disaster zone 2011

Australia's 3rd largest city - Brisbane flooded river side precinct 120111 Photo: Felicity Wilson

The tragedy unfolding before Australia is the worst flooding for 100 years. The area it covers is now larger than both FRANCE AND GERMANY combined. The number of communities affected is more than 50, with tens of thousands of homes and people affected. There has been some loss of life already and the peak of the floodwaters hasn’t even hit Brisbane – Australia’s 3rd largest City – yet. I have traveled in and around Brisbane and surrounds for 25 years so know many of the places devastated by this flood. I have relatives in a number of places around the Brisbane area – which is a very spread out city. They are so far minimally affected. Let’s hope it keeps that way.

floodwaters junction 2 main hwys south of Rockhampton photo Janie Barrett

This little snippet below was written by Arthur Pagonis who has a knack for explaining things really well – so just to help you put things into perspective – do take a squizz. I have included a few photos from different sites and the links are provided for you to view how much devastation has occurred in such VAST areas of the State of Queensland. Many of these links and images are included from the www.Brisbanetimes.com.au site.

Toowoomba, Queensland flooding Photo Beau Rushton

Typically the north of Australia gets enough rain that, if it were possible to harness it, could keep the whole of Australia in water for ever more

If I drew a line down the middle of AUSTRALIA (which incidentally is the same size as the Continental USA), and I said to you that the Eastern half was under water and the Western Half was in drought, that will give you a picture of how Australia sits as we speak.

There are places in Eastern Australia which have not seen rain for 20 years. Now they have enough rain to cause the entire desert regions around them to be covered in water….and grass is growing in the deserts.

This La Nina event has bought rain from tropical thunderstorms all the way from the tropics north of Australia and pushed it some 3000 miles through tropics , desert and finally to grasslands in rural Victoria. One town in Victoria at the end of the line took 100mm in an hour.

In between similar falls have occurred.

Coastal North Queensland, which leads the country with falls typically of around 200mm per year is not getting this gulf stream of rain.

Western Australia itself is scarcely touched. Only the Kimberley region in the State’s far north has been receiving heavy falls.

In Perth we are having one of our worst years for rain. Water restrictions are in place.

People will look at this disaster and say that an opportunity has been lost amongst the devestation and loss of life.

If there were more dams, more reservoirs, more water catchments…some of this would never have happened.

Australian agriculture could be the most advanced in the world, but we have never harnessed water, and many have paid for that.

It hurts to think that we are not smart enough to harness the one commodity which we will depend on for evermore. Or can we?

TAKE A LOOK AT THESE LINKS

Brisbane River Swallows CBD

Flood Disaster Surges on

Brisbane in Flood

Editor PS : With the amount of rain and flooding not to mention Dams being released, there has been a flow on effect, if you’ll pardon the pun, with rivers and tributaries in New South Wales and Victoria experiencing flooding and flash flooding of towns. This is SERIOUS. And please hope and pray that the tropical NORTH of Queensland doesn’t get any cyclones happening – this is their (wet season)  monsoon part of the year and they’re only half way through it at the moment. That would be the last thing they need. It will take years to get the State of Queensland’s infrastructure alone back to where it was, let alone move ahead after this disaster.

And just so you know: Australia recorded its third-wettest year on record in 2010, with two wet-season months to go. Weather officials are forecasting an above-average cyclone season, while scientists said climate change is likely to have intensified the monsoon rains behind the floods.

Donations: Premier’s Flood Relief Appeal

Funds raised as at 11.00am, 12 January 2011:

$35,868,270 (Queensland Time)

Rockhampton, Queensland, wading thru chest high floods to get house insurance papers Photo Janie Barrett