Spare a thought if you could for us in Australia at the moment...

As some of you may know, there is a major flood event happening in the Australian state of Queensland. As I type this, 75% of the state has been declared a disaster zone and the city where I live in Brisbane is going to be flooded also for the worst time in living memory.

To put it in perspective, the flood plain is the size of Texas or Germany and France combined. I can't stress this enough. Yesterday we had a rural town called Toowoomba that got hit by a flash flood that was described as an inland tsunami.

Today from 9am AEST we had a rainfall event that was unprecedented in that per hour we were having two inches of rain. That lasted for about nine hours and that rain system has since headed south. The levels of water are so much that three states are being affected.

The story is here: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/floodrelief

I'm in Brisbane and I have to admit to being a bit scared even though where I live won't be affected. But up to 9000 homes will be.

Wish us luck.


S.

Indeed Super, I hope you guys pull through okay and lost lives are at the very minimum.

This reminds me of when Hurricane Isabelle hit some years ago in SEVa and we had a particularly bad storm surge come through which led to alot of property damage and loss of life.

Keep safe!

I saw the news story the other day. It was described as an area as big as Texas and New Mexico, or France+Germany. It is difficult to imagine the magnitude. The news indicated that most of the area is not densely populated, but there were certainly some signficant areas of concern.

I live in Florida, where the danger of Hurricanes is quite real. I personally have avoided going through the devastation, but I have family members who have lost homes to Hurricanes. It is a terrible time. You have to do everything you can to prepare, and then you still are not prepared for the tragedy of losing so much.

. . . but it is just stuff. The most important thing is to keep people safe . . . the stuff can be rebuilt. Years later, my brother who lost his home has recovered and gone on with life. Be Smart, Be Safe, and don't take unnecessary chances with the most important things . . . the lives of yourself and your loved ones.

Praying for you and others in Australia...never heard of this until I read it here (then again I don't watch the news so ).

I've been following this on the news, and it's awe inspiring. Terrible, but awe inspiring.

I hope the people affected by it make it through okay. Stay safe down there. And good luck to you Super, I hope you won't need the luck, but in case you do: Good luck.

This.... is why I want Superpowers.

Godspeed and stay safe.

I've been watching some of the videos that are showing up on climate change sights. It's pretty unreal what the folks in Queensland are going through. Small streams and drainage ditches turned into class 5 rapids, washing away entire parking lots full of cars as if they were bits of wood. Absolutely amazing.

Stay safe and find high ground, good people of northern Oz.

Thanks for all the good words, folks. As you can imagine, I've only really catnapped and have been following radio and tv reports. My only plan for the day is to stock up on essentials like batteries, water and food.

This video I filmed yesterday on my iPod: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PdoEuuMqBs This was as of 5pm yesterday. I hope to film the river again today.

With luck, I should retain electricity and internet and will be able to sit this out. I feel incredibly sorry for those who are and are continuing to evacuate their homes.


S.

I've been thinking of you guys often. We've had a couple instances of similar 1,000-year floods here in the US, but none to this scale since Hurricane Katrina. Stay out of the water, stay safe.

As a native from a place nicknamed "Flood city" my prayers are with you. With a flood of this magnitude, the problems have only begun once the waters recede. You're going to be facing years of rebuilding if for no other reason than there's only so many construction material to go around. It will be slow, sloppy, and unnervingly frustrating. Fresh, clean water will be scarce. Utilities, will be questionable, and there will be friggin mud absolutely everywhere.

EVERYWHERE.

Keep your spirits up. During our '77 flood, about 4-5 days after the waters had receded, leaving mountains of muck was everywhere. Most homes were unlivable. People were struggling to get sites set up for food, water, dry clothing and beds for everyone. One of the pastors in the area trucked in generators, a band, a whole lot of kegs, and declared, "If we're going to have to live in the mud and work in the mud, we better know how to PLAY in the mud." The block party- during a state of martial law- may trivial or even frivolous, but it kept spirits up when everything felt so damn overwhelming.

Your flood area is so much bigger than that little town. Recovery over that vast space is going to take much, much longer. Compared to your lives before the flood, you're going to living in a mess for some time. Keep safe. Keep as dry as you possibly can. Keep your friends and family close, as you'll be drawing on their strength as they draw on yours... but when you start to get a little frazzled, take some time to play in the mud.

I've got several good friends who live in Australia. I used to work with a company out of Brisbane, so I've been keeping everyone in my thoughts.

Stay safe, all.

Mother nature just hit us hard with a blizzard here, and it looks like she's determined to flood Queensland as well.

My sympathies and best wishes to those affected by the flooding.

I grew up in an area plagued with backwater floods (slow flooding as opposed to flash floods), and I remember well watching the water creep up every few years, and wondering if the levee would hold it back, or the sandbags. Beyond a certain point, all you can do is try to stay safe, ride it out, and start cleaning up.

Does this mean that there are Crocs in the streets? Now that would scare the bejesus' out of me.

Good luck. Stay dry.

PS. Sorry but I can't help thinking of a cheap SyFy movie of the week with poorly CGIed crocs roaming the streets of Brisbane, eating a faux Paul Hogan and terrorizing the tourists along the Gold Coast now.

Heh, first of all...no crocs in the water. Some smart alec posted a photo of one right in the heart of the city, but it was revealed to be a hoax. The water's moving way too fast for that (probably 10-15 knots) and there's tons of debris coming down (I've seen boats, pontoons, concrete pontoons...a whole riverside restaurant got smashed to pieces today...) to prevent any animals riding in. What is the fear is dengue fever, something spread by mosquitoes. Mosquito coils are on the shopping list now.

I posted up a new video just now on my Youtube channel showing the higher level. Still have power, still have net. Time to sit and wait.


S.

All the best to anybody caught up in this event, it's difficult to imagine for me as I'm a pom who lives at the top of a hill so is never likely to be flooded.

Be safe man. Praying for you guys out there

<american>I thought it was really dry there and you would like getting a bit of water?</american>

Seriously, though, yeah. I am utterly amazed at the scope of this.

Meanwhile, those of us near Paragon City's location are dealing with water in a slightly different form.