Do you remember me a few weeks ago complaining about the rain in my post Rain? What Rain!
Well it is still raining and things are getting pretty serious here in Queensland now.
It started raining on Saturday 18th December 2010. Since then we have had two days in which it did not rain - one day was overcast and one day was sunny and unbearably hot.
Today flash floods hit Brisbane which is where I am located. Up until now the floods have been in the Rockhampton and Toowoomba area with Toowoomba being hit very badly with 72 people missing and 9 people confirmed dead. Nearly the entire town has been evacuated.
Here is an arial shot taken a few days ago... it is now much worse. Yep... the murky brown patches are water!
I had to leave work early today as the only two highways which lead into the suburb where we live were in danger. One was closed and there was talk of the other flooding. Thankfully I got home safely and without any dramas but at this stage I am not sure if I will be going to work tomorrow as some of the train lines are down as well as the roads.
The Brisbane River is now starting to peak in several areas with parts of the city being evacuated today. The river winds through Brisbane for many miles as you can see by image below which is just a section of the river.
Here are some photos taken today (not by me) of the ferry terminal located about 5 minutes from where I work.
This afternoon when I got home from work we called into the local shopping centre to pick up a few things for dinner. To our surprise so were hundreds of other people. Half of the shopping centre was closed as staff had either left early to get home safely or hadn't been able to get to work.
There was very little milk, no bread whatsoever, no eggs and the shelf of flour was nearly empty, assuming people were planning on baking their own bread.
People were stocking up on everything they could buy. The frozen vegetable section was nearly empty and people were buying bottled water by the case load.
Our local dam, which recently due to drought was down to around 24% capacity is now sitting at 190% capacity with the fear that it is going to rise in the next 24 hours. Apparently it can reach 200% before they start to panic.
It is all a little scary in this part of the world at the moment. The rain never stops. It might ease off... but it never stops.
My thoughts go out to those in areas which have been affected by water. I cannot comprehend what you are experiencing. My sister lost her home in the 2007 Newcastle floods which helps me understand what you must be going through to a small degree...pure devastation.
Surely it will stop soon?
♥
