Newbies in Mudland – Bris Venice

How do you write something remotely readable after a disaster? We're over mud in Mudland let me tell you. This is what flood victims have been through.

Nearly all of their personal belongings and most of their houses are now smelly, toxic junk.  One day they  are using it and living in it, four days later when the river level falls, it’s all absolutely useless.  It all stinks, so does the situation; it’s likely the flood protection dam should have had water released earlier and in greater quantities - this flood was probably preventable in Brisbane at least. Some insurance companies only cover “flash floods” not the slow, choking flood we experienced. 15 people have been arrested for looting, thus tying up valuable police resources.

There is a bright side. There were so many people volunteering their help, they had to turn them away - not enough mud to go round it seems. God bless you wonderful, wonderful people.   Everyone was brown – you couldn’t tell us newbies from the rest and there were plenty, plenty newbies there doing their bit. (For newbies read refugees and immigrants.)

Adversity brings out the best in people – here are some quotes;

From Geoff P to Jeremy O staying with us while he waited out the flood “It pays to know people in high places”

Jeremy O “We’re suffering from premature evacuation” after the river stopped 2 meters from his house.

Man on boat to Channel 7 reporter also on a boat floating in about a meter and a half of water at the same level as the traffic lights “Ask them to turn off the speed cameras mate!”

When we parked a mile or so away from Mike O’s house to walk across the fields to get there, this was the rego of the ute behind us.  Ironic eh?





Wet, Wet, Wet and Parking

Happy New Year to all my loyal followers. 

This edition of the blog will be a little sad.  According to the Bureau of Meteorology "It was Australia's wettest July to October on record and also the wettest July to December on record".  I do appreciate that my loyal followers in the UK will be experiencing severe winter weather, but even so what’s happened in Queensland has been staggering.

For us city folk, the issues have been when to pump out the swimming pool.  For the people who provide the food we eat and dig the coal we export, it’s been a disaster.  If you want to see more got to: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/environment/weather/nasa-satellites-capture-amazing-pictures-of-queensland-floods-20110106-19gql.html

The scale of the flooding is difficult to grasp.  This area could comfortably accommodate England, Scotland and Wales, (although after the recent test results, perhaps only Scotland and Wales).  To put that distance into perspective, it takes 7.5 hours to drive the 646 kms from Brisbane to Rockhampton, about the same time as it takes to drive from London to Edinburgh, a distance of 533.33 kms;  remember that “Rocky” is roughly only half-way up the coast.   Going inland from “Rocky” to Emerald takes 54 days, 10 hours (oops that’s Emerald in Canada).  Emerald in Qld.is roughly as far as from Norwich to Cardiff.   Rocky was built on the Fitzroy River which afforded access to the interior, beef country.   Further north is coal country and Rocky has some major coal lines.  The Fitzroy River is obviously now severely flooded, indeed Rocky was cut off due to the water. 

To put these distances even more into perspective, it takes 5+ hours to fly from Brisbane to Perth, about the same time as it takes to get out of Heathrow on a snowy day, of which I read there have been a few.

My guess is that if you imagined every river on the drive from London to Edinburgh has risen by say 9 to 13 meters, that would give you an idea of what people here are experiencing, admittedly far fewer than the more densely populated UK.  If like me all this metric stuff is confusing, that is roughly 1.79 rods.  Okay, okay say 30 to 40 feet.  So if you lived near a river that had 29 foot banks, look for a punt and a pump quick.

 

 For those of you that recall my pathetic attempts to park Freddie Falcon (newbies, October 3^rd), here’s how the professionals do it.  And yes, it was raining at the time.  Although it doesn’t show in the picture, the gap between the shops is just enough for 2 cars (one car if I’m driving). This guy backed a Mack truck and a refrigerated trailer into it and left room for cars to come in and out. I swear to God that Freddie was laughing when we got back so I drove through all the puddles on the way home.  Cheeky bugger! The scale on the photos is misleading.  Freddie is not bigger than the Mack Truck – it seems that way when backing the thing into a car parking spot. 

 

For  those that like Bambi, he showed up at the Toowong Mall over the Christmas period.  Unfortunately, I couldn't get close enough for an autograph, so here's a photo anyway.

Keep Well, Stay Safe,

Kidner Jeremy and Mrs K