I know it pales in comparison to other world events and probably isn’t making news outside Australia, but South-East Queensland is in the middle of a weather event of biblical proportions. On Thursday an intense weather system sat off the coast just north of Brisbane, and there it has stayed, moving south at less than walking pace. It was meant to clear Friday lunch, then Saturday morning then last night, and now they are saying it is here until tomorrow at least. We have had at least one meter of rain since then, probably well over. At least six people have died in the floodwaters.
The Wivenhoe dam, Brisbane’s water supply and a huge catchment probably the size of an English county, was at under 50% capacity on Monday and sits at 165% now. The Brisbane river has broken it’s banks due to the water inrush and dam releases and a significant flood is on the cards. There was a major flood in 2011, so it’s a bit soon for comfort.
The gentle, picturesque rainforest creek in front of our house has been a raging torrent now for three days, rolling boulders the weight of small cars down in a deafening grind. I have no idea if our access culvert, currently a couple of meters under water, still exists. We have been trapped for three days now, as our house sits between a steep mountain and the creek.
I’m genuinely worried about what will happen here over the next few hours, as a major storm with probably the heaviest rain of the whole event is heading right for us. If the creek breaks its banks it will be the first time in at least 60 years. Our house is up high enough to be safe, but we have sheds, cars and infrastructure (e.g. our access road that) will get obliterated.
My thoughts go out to others facing weather and world events. My family will at least be safe and happy, regardless of what happens, and that is a lot more than many in the world can say right now.
Btw, I have some amazing videos, and if I knew how to post them I would.
I’ve been thinking of you, @podicle, given the astonishing Mt Warning rainfall figures. Hope you keep safe and as dry as possible. Friends in Brisbane have said that it’s not as bad as 2011 – but there’s probably another 24 hours of it…
It’s certainly attracting attention outside Oz if my sisters are any guide. They’ve been pumping me for bulletins for 2 days now. Down here on the Tweed people have been ordered to evacuate downstream, but here in Murwillumbah things are ok so far. Just rain, rain and more rain – storms tonight, and nonstop rain for another 24 hours at least. So who knows? Fortunately our rental is well above flood level. Here’s the view from the deck this afternoon – it’s a fucking monsoon.
Jeez, a metre of rain. 39 inches of rain. Waist deep. Over one long weekend. That’s really hard to visualise. If that happened in the UK, after three quarters of a century of lazy infrastructure neglect, there’d be nothing left. The whole country would be a foetid swamp occasionally lit by alarm lights still flashing from recently submerged cars, and the odd empty Red Bull can floating past with a trail of plastic takeaway trays.
Stay safe, Oz Afterword Team!
It’s still hammering down.
We are tantalisingly close to being clear of it, but it is moving so slowly.
On the rainfall map, I live in Highvale just to the west and north of Brisbane. It’s right on the edge of the deluge, but it’s been like this most of the day. It just keeps reforming around the back edge and coming through.
http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDR663.loop.shtml
Biblical proportions indeed! I’ll keep my finger crossed for you, Podicle, and hope that the deluge will soon be over.
Your account made for a dramatic read and put our weather problems into perspective. Here in Stockholm the biggest headache is footpaths covered by large, thick slabs of ice which convert them into slippery, mini icerinks.
When it comes to dramatic nature, Australia wins hands down.
Keep safe!
Then again, it’s about 25 degrees Celcius here and I’ve been digging ditches in my swimmers, so I suspect similar rain in Stockholm would be a much bigger deal!
Still bucketing down outside.
Yep Pods, my son is in Brissie too. Always reside on higher ground seems to be the rule.
Fingers crossed.
Good luck with all of that Podicle. Sounds grim. Meanwhile here in Spain our water reserves are currently *below* the average for late summer. So unless there’s a bit more than the drizzle we had last night over the next couple of months (at the same time as hopefully avoiding catastrophic downpours on parched land) who knows where we’ll be come late summer this year. If it weren’t for internal political ructions on the right (good), Ukraine (understandably) and other issues this might actually make the news but I kind of doubt it. The desertification of much of Spain continues. Nobel prize or world presidency to the person who works out how to convince planet earth to share water equitably or who stops us from stopping it doing so…
Plague, floods, famine, war… and the bloody Ting Tings.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-60509221
Crikey! I had no idea this was going on. We have friends in Didillibah which isn’t too far [all relative in Aus, I know] and looking on the weather map they seem to be getting it quite bad as well. I’ve just messaged him to check on them.
🤞for you all
I was not aware of the heavy weather situation in your neck of the woods till I read your post. I hope that the weather breaks better for you soon. I have an old friend, a fellow Scot, who left Scotland over 20 years ago and moved to Australia with his Australian wife. He now lives on Tamborine Mountain where he earns his living as a singer & songwriter. I think he is also involved in film production as an art director. I haven’t been in touch with him for a while but your post has prompted me to find his contact details so that I can check how he and his wife and daughter are doing.
Tamborine would have been spared rain on the initial days, but I believe that whole Gold Coast hinterland is copping it now as the system has drifted south.
Have woken to the wonderful sound of no rain. The creek is still roaring and will do so for a day or two before we can cross. Brisbane river will peak in several hours, and my next priority is getting to my mother, who lives in a flood-prone part of Brisbane. She evacuated yesterday morning, and current estimates are that her house will be OK. She has been through the 1974 flood, where we lost everything and the 2011 flood where she had minor water damage but much of the street was wiped out. This is her first flood without my father, who passed away just over a year ago, so she is feeling particularly vulnerable.
Flood modelling shows that water will be above floorboards for at least 1000 houses in Brisbane today. Having spent a week in 2011 helping people sweep mud out of their houses and throw out literally everything they own, this is heartbreaking.
Hope you’r mum’s ok Pod, and you can get to her. She really doesn’t need that at her time of life.
The Blob is now right overhead – been raining all night. Major flood declared here, worse than 2017. South Mbah is being evacuated. Grim times…
This post sent a shudder up the spine.
It’s stopped raining a couple of times – the silence is really eerie after hours of rain hammering on the tin roof. But the CBD has been evacuated, all roads out of Murwillumbah are cut, we are on water restrictions (irony of ironies) because treatment plants have gone under, the levee has broken so it’s going to get worse before it gets better, AND I’VE RUN OUT OF WHISKY.
Perhaps you can stare at that picture I posted in Facebook of top shelf Tassie product.
I found a bottle of tequila, by no means the same but a nice warm feeling nevertheless
Crisis averted.
If I may be so bold to offer advice……once you get 3/4 down the bottle……buy another!
Whisky https://imgur.com/a/PmtqtUk
Being flippant of course. I hope you’re all ok.
Have friends in Townsville who I’ve not heard from recently…any idea if that’s a badly affected area?
Townsville is 1500km north and is unaffected,
Ah, ta @podicle
Geography of Australia not my strong point
The distances are deceptively large. It’s another 1000km or so from Townsville to the tip of Cape York up the top of Queensland. So from Brisbane to the tip of Queensland is roughly the distance from London to the Sahara desert!
Townsville gets its own share of weather events, usually cyclones.
I can recommend the live album “Townsville” by the Necks, which was recorded in the city.
Probably because the internet only works on alternate days in Townsville, and that’s only if the Cowboys win*
* I have been to Townsville and enjoyed visiting it. Couldn’t live there but.
I lived there for four years. A horrible place, both physically and socially.
Great stadium, and one really good restaurant – A Touch of Salt
Well, Mum’s place is intact but many of the people in her neighbourhood haven’t been so lucky. Reports are that 15-20,000 homes were affected in Brisbane, and now there are major flooding events in northern NSW.
There are questions being asked about the meteorological advice given during this event. For four days we heard that it would be clearing in 12 or so hours, when in fact it progressively intensified. I’m a big defender of the Bureau of Meteorology and people sometimes forget that predictions are exactly that. They were obviously giving the best advice they could based on the information they had.
There will also be scrutiny again on management of the dam during the event. This was a big deal in the 2011 floods and resulted in a large and successful lawsuit against the dam’s operator. I’m not sure what else they could do this time, as the event was not foreseen and the water inrush was off the scale. They had to let water out to preserve the integrity of the dam and they appear to have done so in a controlled manner. The flood was obviously going to occur, dam release or not. It’s annoying that people look to apportion blame for an event such as this. Every now and then Mother Nature just likes to grab humanity by the balls and remind it who’s boss.
That’s good news for you @podicle, glad your mum’s ok. The friend we’re renting this house from has had her house in Fairfield flooded up to ceilings (no insurance) and her partner’s house in Cabarita Beach flooded too.
Murwillumbah is still cut off and under water – from where we sit in our privileged position on the hill it’s flooded as far as the eye can see, though receding slowly. It was really harrowing yesterday helplessly reading desperate pleas for rescue on Facebook, also people worried about their loved ones. The clean-up starts today – at least the sun’s out.
Meanwhile in Lismore it’s still the apocalypse…
Fairfield usually cops it as bad as Chelmer, where my mother’s place is. I was in a complete news black out for much of yesterday as I was at Mum’s place and the power loss has taken out mobile towers. I was stunned at the pictures of Lismore I saw last night. Sad that Murwillumbah is so affected: it’s such a lovely little town.
Take care and stay off the roads!