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Floods in Australia

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  • Floods in Australia

    There have already been sever floods in parts of Australia over the past few months, but these are something so much worse. In Queensland several towns were hit by what was literally a wall of water. In another people have just returned this week after evacuating over New year - they are evacuating again. More flooding is expected in parts of NSW & Victoria. Brisbane, Australia's 3rd largest city, is shut down. The death toll is 10 with 78 more people missing. This is serious stuff already & the rain will keep falling until weeks end.

    Brisbane braces for flood disaster Selma Milovanovic

    January 12, 2011

    LARGE areas of Brisbane were bracing last night for a potentially catastrophic flood surge coming in from the Toowoomba region, where more than 20 people are now feared to have died in Monday's disaster.

    As dozens of people remained missing after the Toowoomba deluge, authorities warned that thousands of homes in Brisbane and the regional city of Ipswich were likely to be inundated over the next two days by the approaching flood, expected to be the worst on record.

    Last night, the official death toll in Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley stood at 10. Another 59 people were listed as missing. Queensland Premier Anna Bligh warned that grave fears were held for 15 of them.

    ''With so many others outstanding and unaccounted for we still face very grim news as we continue the search and rescue activity,'' Ms Bligh said.

    Entire families were believed to be among the missing, and five children were among those confirmed dead in the wake of Monday's ''inland tsunami'', which turned city streets into raging rivers that swept away cars and houses.

    ''Many of the people who are stranded or unaccounted for are families and young children,'' Ms Bligh said. ''This took everybody so unawares that there was no opportunity in most cases for people to get to safety so we do anticipate that those numbers [of dead and missing] are very preliminary''.

    The official toll rose to 10 last night with confirmation that a four-year-old boy had been swept away in floodwaters at Marburg, west of Ipswich.

    The deaths in the past two days come on top of 11 lives lost in others parts of Queensland since the floods began on November 30.

    Deputy Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said grave fears were held for residents of the Lockyer Valley communities of Murphys Creek, Grantham and Withcott. ''It is expected we will find further persons deceased in those areas. The number we just don't know at this stage,'' he said.

    Among those confirmed dead were a woman and two children who were found in a car in Grantham and another woman and a child discovered in a car in central Toowoomba.

    In Murphys Creek, which has a population of 450, severe flooding yesterday prompted police to abandon the rescue effort, as they feared for their own lives. Mr Stewart said police hoped to return to the town today when the water subsided and check isolated houses and creek areas. He could not discount the possibility there were survivors in the town stuck on roofs and waiting to be rescued.

    As the water level rose suddenly in the Lockyer Valley town of Forest Hill, the Defence Force airlifted 300 people to the safety of nearby Gatton.

    Prime Minister Julia Gillard expressed grief for the dead. ''There are still more dark days ahead … but the spirit of Queensland is to face these circumstances with courage and determination,'' she said.

    While Ms Gillard said it was too early to put a price on the damage, Ms Bligh has previously spoken of at least $5 billion in losses to the mining, agricultural and tourism sectors.

    Ms Bligh said almost 40,000 properties were expected to experience flooding in Brisbane in coming days. ''We would expect to see 9000 properties affected significantly by this water level and more than 30,000 other properties having some impact,'' she said.

    Ipswich, south-west of the state capital, is also braced for a record peak of up to 22 metres, possibly up to two metres above the 1974 level, flooding up to 3000 properties. It will be the largest flood since 1893, when flood levels reached 24.5 metres.

    Ms Bligh said the situations developing in both cities were ''frightening'' but emergency services were ready. ''We will only pass this test if we are calm, if we are patient with each other … and if we listen carefully to the instructions we are being given. Now is not a time for panic, now is the time for us to stick together.

    ''Ipswich and Brisbane are now facing their greatest threat and their toughest test in more than 35 years.''

    An evacuation centre that can hold 3000 people was set up at the Brisbane showgrounds. Lord Mayor Campbell Newman warned residents to evacuate early ahead of an expected flood peak on Thursday.

    Managers of the Wivenhoe Dam, built to protect Brisbane after the 1974 flood, had no choice but to continue with increased, controlled releases of water into the Brisbane River when the dam reached full capacity yesterday. ''Releases from the Wivenhoe are not optional, there is no discretion here,'' Ms Bligh said.

    In Ipswich, evacuation centres were being set up as the Bremer River was expected to reach 19 metres early this morning. Mayor Paul Pisasale warned residents to prepare for the worst. It was feared that a third of the city would be flooded in a situation similar to the 1974 disaster, in which 1800 homes and businesses were totally or partially inundated and 41 homes were washed away.

    Ipswich Councillor Trevor Nardi said up to 3000 homes could be inundated.

    In Toowoomba, which bore the brunt of Monday's flood, residents described the scene as a ''ghost town'', with business owners surveying the damage while others simply left. Cameron Mayes, owner of the Irish Club Hotel, who watched the torrent rage 20 metres from his front door, said he had never seen anything so powerful.

    ''It was just heavy rain, it was like a storm coming across and it did not stop for a good, solid hour,'' Mr Mayes said.

    ''It was just an inland tsunami sort of thing,'' he said. ''There were cars, shipping containers floating down, water tanks, bridges lifting up.''

    In southern Queensland, residents of Condamine were preparing to evacuate for the second time in a fortnight ahead of a massive flood expected today.

    The Condamine River is expected to peak at around 15 metres, similar to the height it reached in December.

    Nearby, in Dalby and Chinchilla, floods inundated about 200 homes and damaged a further 2000 properties over the past two days.

    In northern New South Wales, about 4500 people were cut off by floodwaters and many swollen rivers were yet to reach their peaks. The Clarence River in Grafton was expected to peak at 7 metres today. Heavy rain cut off Tenterfield, which has a population of 2700 and split the town in two, but the rain was expected to ease today.

    Flash flooding was forecast for the Northern Tablelands, Northern Rivers and Mid North Coast districts of NSW.

    Daniel Gschwind of the Queensland Tourism Industry Council, said flooding in southeast Queensland would affect tourism in the entire state. ''All economic activity … is so heavily dependent on perceptions and sentiment,'' he said.

    Greg Barnes, chair of Bundaberg North Burnett Tourism, said the biggest impact on tourism operators had been the dramatic number of unnecessary cancellations of accommodation in towns not affected by floods.

    With AAP
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    Win nervously lose tragically - Reds C C

  • #2
    Furkie posted on this in the Random Thread. I said it there, I'll say it here too: I spent a long time there, and Queensland and Queenslanders will always hold a special place in my heart. Thankfully everyone I know there is safe, and I've already sent in a donation, and will probably donate more before this is all over
    Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

    Abusing Yellow is meant to be a labor of love, not something you sell to the highest bidder.

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    • #3
      In regards to the Flooding in Queensland,


      I was reading yesterday that the Federal Government has contributed little in terms of relief to the disaster, I was wondering if this is true?

      In addition, I was wondering what effects the floods are having on the Gillard Government's politically?

      Comment


      • #4
        Wikipedia:

        About 35 State Emergency Service personnel from New South Wales and 20 personnel from Victoria were deployed to provide relief to exhausted staff and volunteers.[65] A national appeal was established on 29 December, with the state and federal governments giving AU $1 million each.[28]

        Small businesses and primary producers in 13 local government areas became eligible for grants of up to AU$25,000 to pay for costs from damage incurred as a result of the floods.[66] National Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements were made available to a total of 31 local government areas across Queensland.[67]
        Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

        Abusing Yellow is meant to be a labor of love, not something you sell to the highest bidder.

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        • #5
          On behalf of Queenslanders thanks for the kind wishes all and support, it is very much appreciated. .

          I'm currently hosting my flood affected mother, brother, two cats and a dog in my two bedroom unit. We had to get them out of their place in Ipswich in a rush yesterday and only just made it before one of the creeks between there and my place broke it's banks. Just as well, or we would have had a very long wait in the cars! The other downer is that my grandfather's funeral was due today and had to be postponed. He always was difficult and dying at a time like this is completely in character for him :-/.

          Anyway, there are 10 dead and 90 missing in Queensland at the present time, so we are considering ourselves lucky.

          Also, let's not forget that there is severe weather or the risk of it in Northern NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Northern Territory and Northern Western Australia as well. Southern Western Australia is having bushfires (WTF?!), with Southern NSW and the ACT also at risk. I never thought that Alice Springs would be the most desirable location in Australia.

          I'm about to shoot off to the local SES depot to see if I can put those skills I learned in the Australian Capital Territory SES to good use.
          Last edited by Aussiegunner; 11 Jan 11,, 23:44.
          "There is no such thing as society" - Margaret Thatcher

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          • #6
            Godpseed to the relief efforts, RIP to the dead.

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            • #7
              All the best to our Qld brothers and sisters up North.

              You all know i love this country... we don't need large apex predators that eat humans (although the crocs and sharks are pretty nasty all you need to do is keep out of the water)... if the insects, snakes and spiders dont get ya, the floods and fires will.

              Some of these places in Qld had drought for over a decade, now they get 30ft of water... hundreds of kilometers from the coast... gotta love Australia.
              The best part of repentance is the sin

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              • #8
                Originally posted by chakos View Post
                You all know i love this country... we don't need large apex predators that eat humans (although the crocs and sharks are pretty nasty all you need to do is keep out of the water)... if the insects, snakes and spiders dont get ya, the floods and fires will.
                Yes, well there was a bull shark seen swimming down the street in the suburb where my mother's house has gone under. Hopefully it will get some of the f*cking looters who have been seen in the area.
                "There is no such thing as society" - Margaret Thatcher

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Kevin Brown View Post
                  In regards to the Flooding in Queensland,


                  I was reading yesterday that the Federal Government has contributed little in terms of relief to the disaster, I was wondering if this is true?

                  In addition, I was wondering what effects the floods are having on the Gillard Government's politically?
                  Kevin,

                  Disaster relief is basically a state & local responsibility. As a result they are best placed to deal with it - they have the people & the infrastructure. As pointed out, there are personnel & equipment from other states arriving - this is quite common in other major disasters including bushfires. It is hard to tell at this stage, but apart from the flash floods (which happened too quicly to respond to) the emergency services seem to have dealt pretty well with things.

                  From what little I have noticed the Federal govt has offered money & put the Defence Forces at the disposal of the state Premier. Given that there is a disproportionate amount of military infrastructure & personnel in Qld this has considerable potential to help. Beyond that there isn't a lot in terms of hands on actions that the Federal Govt can take right now. The real impact it can have is in the aftermath - when people need money, housing etc. The article below is out of date, but it gives some idea of what was initially offered.

                  Gillard unveils flood assistance
                  Updated Mon Jan 10, 2011 6:43pm AEDT


                  Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced plans to assist people who have lost their income as a result of flooding around the country.

                  The Federal Government has already had 8,000 claims for emergency assistance from people, most of whom have been placed in evacuation centres.

                  Ms Gillard says the income assistance will be available to those not able to do their normal job because of the recent floods in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.

                  "To take some examples of that, it could be a truck driver who is stood down because the mine in which he or she works isn't working because of floodwaters," she said.

                  "It could be a small business person who owns and operates a coffee shop and they are in a flood-affected area their coffee shop is flooded and not working."

                  She says the payment will be the same as the unemployment rate - about $500 a fortnight - and will last for 13 weeks.

                  "This payment has been triggered in earlier natural disasters, for example it was triggered in the wake of Cyclone Larry and also in the wake of the very devastating bushfires in Victoria," she said.

                  Regional Australia Minister Simon Crean says it is important support.

                  "For those who are unemployed as a result of the loss of business opportunity in the area, on the basis that it's important we retain their skills and their presence in the area," he said.

                  The payments will start to flow from next week.
                  As for the politics of this sort of thing, it is far too early to tell. The next election is a while away & there will be a lot of other things to happen between now & then. This might have an impact on state politics. Queensland goes to the polls soon & the govt is expected to be voted out. A good performance could help the Premier, a bad one hurt her, but not necessarily enough to change the result. It is too early to know just how her performance will be assessed.
                  sigpic

                  Win nervously lose tragically - Reds C C

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Aussiegunner View Post
                    Yes, well there was a bull shark seen swimming down the street in the suburb where my mother's house has gone under. Hopefully it will get some of the f*cking looters who have been seen in the area.
                    Sharks in the streets of Ipswich - sorta makes me wish Pauline was still there. ;)
                    sigpic

                    Win nervously lose tragically - Reds C C

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                    • #11
                      Sad, very sad

                      Sad, very sad, I feel sorry for the people there

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                      • #12
                        This just sucks big time folks, my sympathies to everyone
                        In the realm of spirit, seek clarity; in the material world, seek utility.

                        Leibniz

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                        • #13
                          RIP to the dead.

                          And good wishes to those who are still fighting.
                          sigpic

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Bigfella View Post
                            As for the politics of this sort of thing, it is far too early to tell.
                            Virtually nobody here is worried about politics right now, we are still in the middle of the crisis. That said, Bligh seems to be doing a good job and Gillard has made a substantial defence capability and income assistance where necessary, so I don't think we can fault them at the moment. It is going the way the rebuild of infrastructure is managed that will matter the most.
                            "There is no such thing as society" - Margaret Thatcher

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                            • #15
                              For those who want a bit more of a fell for this you may fine this useful:
                              ABC Qld Flood Crisis Map
                              It is by the ABC and has a level of interactivity.

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