Floods & Landslides
- Thread starter Third_Density_Resident
- Start date
Ivecky
The Force is Strong With This One
3D Yes I realised a few hours after my post when I was looking at the tide chart, that'll teach me to take info from the media for granted :/ The death toll has been raised to around 13 and will likely climb higher with tens of thousands of homes have been affected in our city alone but the thought of those in the country areas makes me a little sadder where whole towns are unrecognisable. The Premier in a press conference has said that around 75% of the entire state has been affected by the floods which is just under 2 times the area of the the state of Texas in the U.S.
Otherwise the flood peak wasn't as high as they where expecting thankfully and the waters are slowly receding, but the extent of the damage is still devastating and I think the recovery is going to be a lot harder than many people will think. But at the same time I think how fortunate we are for the responsiveness of the emergency services and government here when I remember back to New Orleans and the Hatian earthquake and how much they are still picking up after those disasters.
Brisbane is my home as well so checking in - the situation has stabilised now and the city is in the cleanup mode. This was a very scary experience, indeed.
A lot of people have lost everything, there is extensive damage to the infrastructure in and around the city. Pretty much anything build on or around the river has been destroyed or severely damaged. For example - a beautiful floating bridge which went along the bank for about a kilometre is pretty much gone. The river just took the hundreds of tons of concrete and purged them into the bay.
Countless restaurants and buildings along the river bank were flooded and severely damaged. We also had a good public transport system on the river but that has been annihilated - the ferry stops became completely submerged, some ferries were taken out to the ocean etc.
There are many low-lying areas of Brisbane and those were flooded, too - some suburbs like West End and Rocklea were inundated - i.e., submerged. The only way to get around them was by kayak. While the waters are now receding, Rocklea is still under water - and that was the main food hub for the whole of Brisbane! We now have to get supplies from other states. The damage is immense and is being compared to a post-war type situation.
Another example is a main arterial which runs next to the river - it was submerged during the floods and is feared to collapse (Coronation Dr.). It is a problem because only two main roads lead in the Western direction - and the other one is still under water.
We have been effectively stuck for the last three days. The CBD area is shut down which means that city workers are having days off. Travel on roads is actively discouraged by the government so that the clean-up crews can get around. The public transport is slowly coming back online today after being suspended for the last three days.
Things are going back to normal very slowly but it will take a while before the city is repaired. "A while" meaning more like a year or so. I have taken some pictures in the surrounding area - whatever was accessible on foot (here). But that is very little and it's not particularly spectacular. Some of the pic don't show the full damage (e.g., the local supermarket Coles was submerged further) because I was exploring while the water was still coming up.
Ironically, the Sun came out after the floods took hold of Brisbane. We have had beautiful and sunny days since Wednesday. Mind you, the rains will be back soon enough...
This was an insidious and slow-moving disaster. It took two days to fully unfold and it was the waiting that took it's greatest toll on us. I am totally exhausted mentally and stayed at home by myself doing nothing yesterday. The stress and the freakouts are pretty much a given around here - I have little to complain about, my place is safe and not affected at all - other people lost everything. And this is just in Brisbane - there are so many other places in this state that have been severely damaged, people lost their lives in a matter of seconds!
Now the floods are moving to other states - Victoria and Tasmania in particular. The situation may not be as severe there but it is still serious. Fewer people live in the affected places over there - whereas Brisbane is packed to the brim in the low-lying areas. I think it is safe to say that there is something weird with the weather - most definitely, no matter how many La Nina references are made on tele - this ain't right!
And I'm not even talking about the events in places like Sri Lanka or Brazil where 400 people died due to flash flooding...
At this point, I would like to talk about the process of emergency itself. It is interesting how a big city of two million people deals with a natural disaster - but also for survival purposes. Some of us on this forum - or maybe even all of us - will experience something similar at one stage or another. Be it a flood, a freezing event - a volcano or an earthquake. It is important, methinks, to exchange these sorts of experiences to be better prepared for what may come in the future. If this helps one other person, then sweet.
There has been a large amount of precipitation in Queensland in the last few months. The summer season has been rather interesting and wet - the Sun hasn't been out all that much in Brisbane. I was watching the weather and the events with utmost attention - I have my own website which monitors live data (Earthwatch) and I have been following the local Bureau of Meteorology (BOM).
The importance of paying attention to what is going on around you cannot be underestimated - the stuff coming out of the newsmedia is not always reliable, to put it mildly. Events are downplayed and bogus announcements from the meteorologists are prevalent. But when you look at the raw data - and out the window, things do make a bit more sense. We had ongoing precipitation since October - with very few breaks. In the two weeks prior to the flooding event, we had ongoing and massive amounts of rainfall in Queensland - around 3 metres. Where is all that water going to go? Do you know if flooding is possible in the local area? These sorts of questions must be asked - even if TV is saying that the rain is gonna go away and that we really are in drought anyways (sic!).
As the dissonance between my personal observations and what was being said on tele grew, I began to obsessively follow the news. The rain was getting out of hand by Tuesday and by then I knew we all had to watch out. On Tuesday morning I read that the local suburb of West End is in the process of evacuation due to waters encroaching on the populated areas - that was a major warning sign. Surely, the City was going to be next!
At that point, another worker got a call from home to come back as the city of Ipswich was already being flooded and the inbound roads might be closed soon. After a brief chat with my supervisor, I decided to take action in the office - I am a fire warden at work and have a duty and responsibility to act in times of emergency. I went to see the big boss and explained to him that we all must go home soon, that the CBD was about to get flooded and many roads were being closed. We might indeed be away from work for several days. My area was "red-dotted" meaning "imminent flooding danger". He was not very receptive although he did understand - the attitude was more like, "I have work to do - you just do whatever you need to do for yourself". Very irresponsible.
Since we are fairly closely-knit in the office, I approached a few people and asked them the following questions:
1. Are you aware of the situation? Do you know that the suburb next door is being evacuated?
2. Have you been following the news? Can you get home safely? Are the access roads to your house still open - will they remain open for the rest of the day?
3. Do you have enough food supplies to survive at home in isolation for a few days?
4. Tell others.
People were grateful and polite but rather dismissive of the whole thing - it was bizarre and disturbing. I knew that at least some of them would be in trouble but that's pretty much everything that can be done. I then had to act for my own safety - the waters would be quick and nobody knew what the extent of the flooding was going to be.
It was time to go shopping.
It's amazing how a human mind works in time of an emergency - the inner guide just switched on and my mind was racing at a thousand miles an hour, going through the things that needed to be accomplished in case I was cut off at home by the flood waters.
Guess what - first, I got a haircut! LOL - the dampness was horrible and my hair was constantly wet and getting in the way. I know, it only took a minute but in that time I was able to get the latest updates from the TV and just discussed the events with people in the shop. Maybe I was freaking out too much, maybe Brisbane would be OK - but no, we all agreed that this was going to hurt a lot.
15 minutes later I was in the City supermarket stocking up on essentials. It was still early (11am) and people were only just beginning to freak out so there was time to buy essentials. It's difficult to explain but I knew what to do - get supplies that will not perish if there is no electricity. Sticking to the detox diet in times of an emergency is hard but, fortunately, I was able to find the right brands. I got enough to last at least a week (if not a fortnight) expecting major infrastructure damage and issues with food supply. Interestingly enough, nobody else was buying can food - it was weird, surely, the power would be cut off at some stage, why weren't they doing it? Well, that also meant that there was enough to go around for those who wanted it early.
Next was buckwheat - I could not find the right gluten-free brands anywhere in the City within a reasonable time (~ 1 hour). It was getting scary and I decided to get closer to home and try the local supermarket, I knew they always had plenty of stock. It was all very dramatic - the lightning was striking very close and the heavy rain was just constant. I was afraid and also concerned for friends and family - but I knew to achieve the most important thing - to get the food supplies.
When I arrived at the local supermarket, everyone was well and truly freaked out. There were no vegetables, fruit, fresh meat or anything of use really but, somehow, I had the feeling that nobody would buy the buckwheat flour or the kernels. Sure enough - there was heaps there. I bought enough for two weeks - nobody else wanted it.
After getting home, it was time to do a quick review around the house, in case the water got really high up. I checked in the garage downstairs whether there was anything of importance there and brought any papers/documents upstairs. Other things got placed on the higher shelves in the garage.
When all of this was done, it was time to listen to the latest updates on television (I get mine via the Internet, don't really have a TV). By then, the situation was very serious and several suburbs were under water. Even though I knew I had done everything I could, there was still this fear. I made a few calls to family and moved to a friend's place to just wait it out.
We did end up losing power. The infrastructure did end up being completely destroyed. We are now facing food shortages and problems with the cleanup - the supermarkets are either closed due to flooding or without food. Because sewage was spilt into the waterways, there are now warnings about disease and infections. Of course, mosquitos will end up breeding in huge amounts so we will have to watch out for those as well. In the meantime, we just have to wait it out and help others as much as possible.
When the power goes down, it's not long before the mobile phones and other gadgets lose power as well. It is so important to have a phone which does not require an external power source. I had a neighbour come to see me worried about it since she had one of those spiffy handsets that requires a power plug - it was not working. Something to seriously think about.
There was an ongoing coverage by the local news stations so the information was plentiful. It all sounded very dire and the government announced a state of emergency, giving it special powers to forcefully remove people from their residences and to demolish buildings that are in the way. All of this further histericised the population - we were told to stay at home, not to travel and to stay away from the water. Evacuation centres were set up everywhere and thousands of people ended up in them - all very shocking.
The drinking water supply was not affected because we have a desalination plant off the coast of Gold Coast. Thankfully, the gas remained on as well. The disease is now a major concern and so I am eating the supplements religiously (probiotics, fish oil, magnesium, zinc, Vit B with amino acids, Vit C, melatonin).
I'll stop now. I'm sure volumes could be told about the whole saga - I did want to focus on the personal dimension though, how a person reacts in this sorts of situations. It may help others.
The final thing is my shopping list - it took two early visits to the supermarkets and one to a corner store in anticipation of the difficulties that inevitably followed. My advice would be not to underestimate the dangers and to ensure supply of food and water in case of major disruptions - as is the case in Brisbane right now.
- 2kg of canned meat (pork, pork and chicken mix - no gluten or other scary additives)
- 1.5kg of canned diced tomatoes (my blood type handles them fine)
- 600mL of tomato sauce
- 1kg of buckwheat flour
- 1.5kg of buckwheat kernels
- 5 x 1.5L of drinking water
- 330g of duck fat
- 500mL of grapeseed oil
- 1kg of jam (yeah sugar is bad but there was no fruit and sweet food is an anti-depressant, especially with buckwheat pancackes!)
- 1L of coconut cream
- a large box of tissues
- Savlon - a disinfectant cream
- Mosquito repellent
- Toothpaste
Phew. What a week!
A lot of people have lost everything, there is extensive damage to the infrastructure in and around the city. Pretty much anything build on or around the river has been destroyed or severely damaged. For example - a beautiful floating bridge which went along the bank for about a kilometre is pretty much gone. The river just took the hundreds of tons of concrete and purged them into the bay.
Countless restaurants and buildings along the river bank were flooded and severely damaged. We also had a good public transport system on the river but that has been annihilated - the ferry stops became completely submerged, some ferries were taken out to the ocean etc.
There are many low-lying areas of Brisbane and those were flooded, too - some suburbs like West End and Rocklea were inundated - i.e., submerged. The only way to get around them was by kayak. While the waters are now receding, Rocklea is still under water - and that was the main food hub for the whole of Brisbane! We now have to get supplies from other states. The damage is immense and is being compared to a post-war type situation.
Another example is a main arterial which runs next to the river - it was submerged during the floods and is feared to collapse (Coronation Dr.). It is a problem because only two main roads lead in the Western direction - and the other one is still under water.
We have been effectively stuck for the last three days. The CBD area is shut down which means that city workers are having days off. Travel on roads is actively discouraged by the government so that the clean-up crews can get around. The public transport is slowly coming back online today after being suspended for the last three days.
Things are going back to normal very slowly but it will take a while before the city is repaired. "A while" meaning more like a year or so. I have taken some pictures in the surrounding area - whatever was accessible on foot (here). But that is very little and it's not particularly spectacular. Some of the pic don't show the full damage (e.g., the local supermarket Coles was submerged further) because I was exploring while the water was still coming up.
Ironically, the Sun came out after the floods took hold of Brisbane. We have had beautiful and sunny days since Wednesday. Mind you, the rains will be back soon enough...
This was an insidious and slow-moving disaster. It took two days to fully unfold and it was the waiting that took it's greatest toll on us. I am totally exhausted mentally and stayed at home by myself doing nothing yesterday. The stress and the freakouts are pretty much a given around here - I have little to complain about, my place is safe and not affected at all - other people lost everything. And this is just in Brisbane - there are so many other places in this state that have been severely damaged, people lost their lives in a matter of seconds!
Now the floods are moving to other states - Victoria and Tasmania in particular. The situation may not be as severe there but it is still serious. Fewer people live in the affected places over there - whereas Brisbane is packed to the brim in the low-lying areas. I think it is safe to say that there is something weird with the weather - most definitely, no matter how many La Nina references are made on tele - this ain't right!
And I'm not even talking about the events in places like Sri Lanka or Brazil where 400 people died due to flash flooding...
At this point, I would like to talk about the process of emergency itself. It is interesting how a big city of two million people deals with a natural disaster - but also for survival purposes. Some of us on this forum - or maybe even all of us - will experience something similar at one stage or another. Be it a flood, a freezing event - a volcano or an earthquake. It is important, methinks, to exchange these sorts of experiences to be better prepared for what may come in the future. If this helps one other person, then sweet.
There has been a large amount of precipitation in Queensland in the last few months. The summer season has been rather interesting and wet - the Sun hasn't been out all that much in Brisbane. I was watching the weather and the events with utmost attention - I have my own website which monitors live data (Earthwatch) and I have been following the local Bureau of Meteorology (BOM).
The importance of paying attention to what is going on around you cannot be underestimated - the stuff coming out of the newsmedia is not always reliable, to put it mildly. Events are downplayed and bogus announcements from the meteorologists are prevalent. But when you look at the raw data - and out the window, things do make a bit more sense. We had ongoing precipitation since October - with very few breaks. In the two weeks prior to the flooding event, we had ongoing and massive amounts of rainfall in Queensland - around 3 metres. Where is all that water going to go? Do you know if flooding is possible in the local area? These sorts of questions must be asked - even if TV is saying that the rain is gonna go away and that we really are in drought anyways (sic!).
As the dissonance between my personal observations and what was being said on tele grew, I began to obsessively follow the news. The rain was getting out of hand by Tuesday and by then I knew we all had to watch out. On Tuesday morning I read that the local suburb of West End is in the process of evacuation due to waters encroaching on the populated areas - that was a major warning sign. Surely, the City was going to be next!
At that point, another worker got a call from home to come back as the city of Ipswich was already being flooded and the inbound roads might be closed soon. After a brief chat with my supervisor, I decided to take action in the office - I am a fire warden at work and have a duty and responsibility to act in times of emergency. I went to see the big boss and explained to him that we all must go home soon, that the CBD was about to get flooded and many roads were being closed. We might indeed be away from work for several days. My area was "red-dotted" meaning "imminent flooding danger". He was not very receptive although he did understand - the attitude was more like, "I have work to do - you just do whatever you need to do for yourself". Very irresponsible.
Since we are fairly closely-knit in the office, I approached a few people and asked them the following questions:
1. Are you aware of the situation? Do you know that the suburb next door is being evacuated?
2. Have you been following the news? Can you get home safely? Are the access roads to your house still open - will they remain open for the rest of the day?
3. Do you have enough food supplies to survive at home in isolation for a few days?
4. Tell others.
People were grateful and polite but rather dismissive of the whole thing - it was bizarre and disturbing. I knew that at least some of them would be in trouble but that's pretty much everything that can be done. I then had to act for my own safety - the waters would be quick and nobody knew what the extent of the flooding was going to be.
It was time to go shopping.
It's amazing how a human mind works in time of an emergency - the inner guide just switched on and my mind was racing at a thousand miles an hour, going through the things that needed to be accomplished in case I was cut off at home by the flood waters.
Guess what - first, I got a haircut! LOL - the dampness was horrible and my hair was constantly wet and getting in the way. I know, it only took a minute but in that time I was able to get the latest updates from the TV and just discussed the events with people in the shop. Maybe I was freaking out too much, maybe Brisbane would be OK - but no, we all agreed that this was going to hurt a lot.
15 minutes later I was in the City supermarket stocking up on essentials. It was still early (11am) and people were only just beginning to freak out so there was time to buy essentials. It's difficult to explain but I knew what to do - get supplies that will not perish if there is no electricity. Sticking to the detox diet in times of an emergency is hard but, fortunately, I was able to find the right brands. I got enough to last at least a week (if not a fortnight) expecting major infrastructure damage and issues with food supply. Interestingly enough, nobody else was buying can food - it was weird, surely, the power would be cut off at some stage, why weren't they doing it? Well, that also meant that there was enough to go around for those who wanted it early.
Next was buckwheat - I could not find the right gluten-free brands anywhere in the City within a reasonable time (~ 1 hour). It was getting scary and I decided to get closer to home and try the local supermarket, I knew they always had plenty of stock. It was all very dramatic - the lightning was striking very close and the heavy rain was just constant. I was afraid and also concerned for friends and family - but I knew to achieve the most important thing - to get the food supplies.
When I arrived at the local supermarket, everyone was well and truly freaked out. There were no vegetables, fruit, fresh meat or anything of use really but, somehow, I had the feeling that nobody would buy the buckwheat flour or the kernels. Sure enough - there was heaps there. I bought enough for two weeks - nobody else wanted it.
After getting home, it was time to do a quick review around the house, in case the water got really high up. I checked in the garage downstairs whether there was anything of importance there and brought any papers/documents upstairs. Other things got placed on the higher shelves in the garage.
When all of this was done, it was time to listen to the latest updates on television (I get mine via the Internet, don't really have a TV). By then, the situation was very serious and several suburbs were under water. Even though I knew I had done everything I could, there was still this fear. I made a few calls to family and moved to a friend's place to just wait it out.
We did end up losing power. The infrastructure did end up being completely destroyed. We are now facing food shortages and problems with the cleanup - the supermarkets are either closed due to flooding or without food. Because sewage was spilt into the waterways, there are now warnings about disease and infections. Of course, mosquitos will end up breeding in huge amounts so we will have to watch out for those as well. In the meantime, we just have to wait it out and help others as much as possible.
When the power goes down, it's not long before the mobile phones and other gadgets lose power as well. It is so important to have a phone which does not require an external power source. I had a neighbour come to see me worried about it since she had one of those spiffy handsets that requires a power plug - it was not working. Something to seriously think about.
There was an ongoing coverage by the local news stations so the information was plentiful. It all sounded very dire and the government announced a state of emergency, giving it special powers to forcefully remove people from their residences and to demolish buildings that are in the way. All of this further histericised the population - we were told to stay at home, not to travel and to stay away from the water. Evacuation centres were set up everywhere and thousands of people ended up in them - all very shocking.
The drinking water supply was not affected because we have a desalination plant off the coast of Gold Coast. Thankfully, the gas remained on as well. The disease is now a major concern and so I am eating the supplements religiously (probiotics, fish oil, magnesium, zinc, Vit B with amino acids, Vit C, melatonin).
I'll stop now. I'm sure volumes could be told about the whole saga - I did want to focus on the personal dimension though, how a person reacts in this sorts of situations. It may help others.
The final thing is my shopping list - it took two early visits to the supermarkets and one to a corner store in anticipation of the difficulties that inevitably followed. My advice would be not to underestimate the dangers and to ensure supply of food and water in case of major disruptions - as is the case in Brisbane right now.
- 2kg of canned meat (pork, pork and chicken mix - no gluten or other scary additives)
- 1.5kg of canned diced tomatoes (my blood type handles them fine)
- 600mL of tomato sauce
- 1kg of buckwheat flour
- 1.5kg of buckwheat kernels
- 5 x 1.5L of drinking water
- 330g of duck fat
- 500mL of grapeseed oil
- 1kg of jam (yeah sugar is bad but there was no fruit and sweet food is an anti-depressant, especially with buckwheat pancackes!)
- 1L of coconut cream
- a large box of tissues
- Savlon - a disinfectant cream
- Mosquito repellent
- Toothpaste
Phew. What a week!
Third_Density_Resident
Jedi Council Member
Hi Adam, interesting post you made there. I'm just curious as to what bogus statements you heard in the media, and from meteorologists? I don't know if you remember this, but back in October last year, the chief Bureau meteorologist in Brisbane gave a special brief to Anna Bligh explaining the dire situation Queensland was facing over summer in terms of flooding. Although he was referring mainly to cyclonic activity, he was still definitely on the right track. I myself warned numerous people back then that Brisbane was headed for a disaster it had not seen since 1974. I based this on the fact that all the dams were full, the ground was saturated, and we were in the most intense La Nina phase in many decades. Had the Wivenhoe Dam not been in place, the flooding may well have been worse than the record-high 1893 floods, meaning that what the area just experienced was unprecedented in terms of rainfall amount, intensity and distribution.
By the way, where do you get all your supplements from?
By the way, where do you get all your supplements from?
Ivecky
The Force is Strong With This One
Hi Adam, Good post.
I was in the clean up today and was heartened to see such a turn out but people where right when they said the smell was bad, a whole group of us where gagging as we where entering Fairfield. I guess it was very much the same situation everywhere.
I usually like watching storms (especially at night) but the one that was happening on Tuesday was quite scary. I was in a shopping centre myself and couldn't hear much rain but there was one moment when an almighty boom sounded throughout the noise of the mall and pretty much everyone stopped in their tracks, it was then that we realised it was just about crunch time.
I was in the clean up today and was heartened to see such a turn out but people where right when they said the smell was bad, a whole group of us where gagging as we where entering Fairfield. I guess it was very much the same situation everywhere.
It does make one think about the term "natural bomb" and what other forms they might take.
3D Resident said:
OK, perhaps bogus is not the right word here as it implies fraudulent behaviour. I'm not sure there is enough evidence - if any - for that. Perhaps "misled" or "short-sighted" is a better way to put it.
There are definitely two aspects here. BOM is very good at situational assessments - i.e., describing the current weather as it is happening - give or take 3-5 days. But anything medium to long-term just doesn't add up. And I'm sure that BOM is not the only one struggling with this.
I am not aware of the report you mention - perhaps it was on the news somewhere (do you have the link by any chance?). But let's have a look at some of those short-to-medium predictions - issued just a month in advance. Let's just forget about the long term for the moment - let's just say it's too hard.
Seasonal Rainfall Outlook published by BOM is widely quoted - it's talked about a lot in agriculture. ABC's Landline mentions it quite a bit. If you follow the reports, it's easy to see why the warning was issued.
On 25 May 2010, BOM said (and issued a nice graph to support the announcement):
BOM said:Drier conditions favoured for parts of Australia
The national outlook for total rainfall over winter (June to August), shows a moderate to strong shift in the odds favouring a drier than normal season over a broad band stretching from the NT and WA to southeastern Australia.
The pattern of seasonal rainfall odds across Australia is due to recent higher than average temperatures in both the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The influences from these two oceans counteract each other in eastern Queensland and northern NSW: the Indian Ocean pattern promotes wetter conditions while the Pacific biases the climate towards a drier than normal season.
La Nina gets a mention - perhaps it will be active. Cool. But what did actually happen?
BOM said:
That's not a very accurate prediction - and not really cyclonic at all, is it? What went wrong - what kind of explanations can we find to explain this discrepancy? There must be a reason or two - perhaps one of them is ignorance or denial of the global developments.
Then this happens on 22 July 2010:
BOM said:Neutral rainfall outlook over most of Australia
The national outlook for total rainfall over the late winter to mid-spring period (August to October), is neutral with the odds favouring neither wetter nor drier conditions across most of the country with the exception of small parts of Victoria, Tasmania and northern NSW.
The pattern of seasonal rainfall odds across Australia is a result of recent warm conditions in both the Indian and the Pacific Oceans, although both of these oceans have cooled over the last few months.
Incredibly, the results shocked everyone:
BOM said:
Now, the report you mention was issued in October. Well, that's obvious because by then, the state was being drenched by the rain with no clear sight of a break. On top of that, the Southern Oscillation Index was doing something weird - weird enough to warrant such an announcement. La Nina not only set right in but refused to go away and intensified instead.
I still remember watching Landline on the net (mid-2010) and waving my fist at some chick from BOM that was predicting the fall in the SOI, with a reduction of precipitation levels. The analysis, of course, made perfect sense if you were disconnected from the global reality and only looked at the 5-month weighted mean. By God, let it be true!
And if you look at all the historical data, the current persistence and the intensity are very interesting. 1973-1975 had a few comparable months but back then the global temperatures were declining as well. The ice age did not arrive as was feared - but then the Sun cycles became a lot stronger, too.
BOM said:
3D Resident said:
Exactly - unprecedented is a great word to describe this situation. Look, I am not a weather expert by any stretch of the imagination. As opposed to you, I just dabble in it. But something weird is going on and it is global.
For example, this La Nina business - can you explain to me why the precipitation on the other side of the Pacific has greatly increased as well? I mean even Wikipedia talks about dryer conditions on one side and the wetter than normal conditions on the other side. What am I missing - or is that unprecedented as well. I'm asking because this increase appears to be global and not just localised to Australia.
Do we really understand what La Nina is and what is truly driving it?
Another question you may be able to help me with is this. Have you heard of a theory that with the weakening Gulf Stream, the Pacific and Indian Ocean currents will become more prominent? This is just a comment a friend made and I wonder if you are aware of this.
Well, I'm glad you've been warning people and stuff. We all should be doing it - and I have certainly copped a fair amount of strange looks for talking about the dams being full soon enough when they were at almost empty. And when they did finally fill up - every one of them - it was clear a flood in Brisbane would follow. But nobody wanted to listen to that either.
Next, I reckon Brisbane will get a cyclone. And more floods.
3D Resident said:
If you're referring to the photos, I took them myself. More here.
It's good to hear from you. Always interested in your point of view.
Ivecky said:
Hi, good on ya for pitching in. How are you feeling - not too sick, I hope? Just keep in mind that the mud and rubbish are toxic with raw sewage and chemical waste mixed right in. I hope you are wearing the right protective gear! Put Dettol or Savlon on all cuts and scratches.
Thanks for getting this thread started, man.
Glad you reported in adam7117, I was wondering if you were ok. Looking at those pics, what an ordeal!
Good on you for keeping your head, paying attention and making sure you had the necessary supplies. Quite the lesson for anybody who went through this.
I have heard from some friends in the area that they are predicting cyclones coming next?
Good on you for keeping your head, paying attention and making sure you had the necessary supplies. Quite the lesson for anybody who went through this.
I have heard from some friends in the area that they are predicting cyclones coming next?
paralleloscope
The Living Force
Glad you are allright Adam and Ivecky, 3d resident. Thanks for the rapport, it's 'nice' to have some pictures to imagine your stresses.
here are som Brisbane aerial photos of before and after (scrub over the images):
http://www.abc.net.au/news/infographics/qld-floods/beforeafter.htm
here are som Brisbane aerial photos of before and after (scrub over the images):
http://www.abc.net.au/news/infographics/qld-floods/beforeafter.htm
Johnno
The Living Force
Every cloud has a silver lining dept.
About two weeks ago I was along the River Murray/Murrumbidgee where a lot of this water ended up. It never looked better, it was clear, wide and flowing rather fast, much different to the stagnant, muddy stream I had once showed a British visitor some time back. The wildlife around it (including mosquitoes)
were in abundance. A few things I saw and heard along the way.
At Mildura, the boat docks and mooring posts were underwater. The river was at its widest for sometime. The local paper had a reports of steamers that had gone the furthest ever up the Murray as the large tree that once blocked the water..... was now 6 meters under the surface.
At Blanchetown the river lock was out of action almost being submerged by the river.
The Hay Plain had transformed to the Hay marsh. It was wonderful. I actually saw DUCKS there. This is normally a flat brown area of saltbush where you can see for miles. I was bitten by mosquitoes whilst taking some pics. Sidenote, occurrences of mosquito borne Ross River fever have increased significantly over the past month.
Mum told me that and aboriginal lady who knew the weather cycles rather well had said last year that the Murray would be very full next (this) year. Looks like she was right.
Dragonflies and eagles were everywhere!
About two weeks ago I was along the River Murray/Murrumbidgee where a lot of this water ended up. It never looked better, it was clear, wide and flowing rather fast, much different to the stagnant, muddy stream I had once showed a British visitor some time back. The wildlife around it (including mosquitoes)
were in abundance. A few things I saw and heard along the way.At Mildura, the boat docks and mooring posts were underwater. The river was at its widest for sometime. The local paper had a reports of steamers that had gone the furthest ever up the Murray as the large tree that once blocked the water..... was now 6 meters under the surface.
At Blanchetown the river lock was out of action almost being submerged by the river.
The Hay Plain had transformed to the Hay marsh. It was wonderful. I actually saw DUCKS there. This is normally a flat brown area of saltbush where you can see for miles. I was bitten by mosquitoes whilst taking some pics. Sidenote, occurrences of mosquito borne Ross River fever have increased significantly over the past month.
Mum told me that and aboriginal lady who knew the weather cycles rather well had said last year that the Murray would be very full next (this) year. Looks like she was right.
Dragonflies and eagles were everywhere!
NewYorker
The Force is Strong With This One
Thanks for that good news, Johnno - it is wonderful to see that conditions for wildlife have improved so much somewhere in this country!!
adam - you might want to look at this link concerning a new weather pattern that has been ID'ed in 2008 by CalTech called an ARK storm - short for atmospheric river - which is what the West coast of the US has been having since December on a small scale. This type of storm system goes right across the Pacific which flies in the face so to speak of the El Nino pattern.
http://urbanearth.gps.caltech.edu/winter-storm/
3D - I'd like to ask your opinion about the next drought conditions. Do you follow space weather at all? Here in the tropic north, we were in severe drought during the last solar max period and apparently this area was also in drought around the time of the previous cycle's solar max. The BOM has said that La Nina is still present but weakening. We have also finally had our first solar X class flare last week. Would you agree with my "theory" that northern Australia will be back in drought by next year?
With the SEQ flooding this year, I am wondering what differences the extent of development (i.e., all those houses instead of land and those underground pipes that are designed to take all the water runoff away faster, plus very few water tanks) and the length of drought (which was still in existance when the rains arrived) might have affected the severity of the flooding. My experience up here with the last drought and its affects on soil structure, soil composition and a change in the soil's ability to hold water, makes me suspect that more water ended up in creeks and rivers than what should have happened if there was no drought or massive housing deveopment. Are there any soil experts who participate in this forum to cast a more educated light on this subject?
Cheers.
adam - you might want to look at this link concerning a new weather pattern that has been ID'ed in 2008 by CalTech called an ARK storm - short for atmospheric river - which is what the West coast of the US has been having since December on a small scale. This type of storm system goes right across the Pacific which flies in the face so to speak of the El Nino pattern.
http://urbanearth.gps.caltech.edu/winter-storm/
3D - I'd like to ask your opinion about the next drought conditions. Do you follow space weather at all? Here in the tropic north, we were in severe drought during the last solar max period and apparently this area was also in drought around the time of the previous cycle's solar max. The BOM has said that La Nina is still present but weakening. We have also finally had our first solar X class flare last week. Would you agree with my "theory" that northern Australia will be back in drought by next year?
With the SEQ flooding this year, I am wondering what differences the extent of development (i.e., all those houses instead of land and those underground pipes that are designed to take all the water runoff away faster, plus very few water tanks) and the length of drought (which was still in existance when the rains arrived) might have affected the severity of the flooding. My experience up here with the last drought and its affects on soil structure, soil composition and a change in the soil's ability to hold water, makes me suspect that more water ended up in creeks and rivers than what should have happened if there was no drought or massive housing deveopment. Are there any soil experts who participate in this forum to cast a more educated light on this subject?
Cheers.
beetlemaniac
The Living Force
Quite a tragic individual account of the disaster.
_http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/12/23/climate-change-a-stark-reality/
_http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/12/23/climate-change-a-stark-reality/
Mikha'El
Jedi
Well, we had an interesting weather phenomenon occur in Southern California yesterday. A freak summer storm, similar to a monsoon, hit the mountainous area of Big Bear, mostly over the Forest Falls area which is slightly south of Big Bear city. The rainstorm lasted only half an hour but managed to dump over 3.5 inches of rain!
While mudslides and flooding are a common occurrence in that region, the short duration of this storm caught many people by surprise and stranded many of them before they even had a chance to react. So far only one death has been reported and, thankfully, it appears that is as high as the death count will go.
The weather in California over the last few weeks has been interesting, to say the least, and I have a sinking suspicion that this is only the beginning of what this year will have to offer.
http://www.sbsun.com/general-news/20140803/flash-flooding-in-forest-falls-washes-out-roads-causes-evacuations
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/video/#!/on-air/as-seen-on/Heavy-Rains-Trigger-Flash-Flooding-in-Forest-Falls/166609356
While mudslides and flooding are a common occurrence in that region, the short duration of this storm caught many people by surprise and stranded many of them before they even had a chance to react. So far only one death has been reported and, thankfully, it appears that is as high as the death count will go.
The weather in California over the last few weeks has been interesting, to say the least, and I have a sinking suspicion that this is only the beginning of what this year will have to offer.
http://www.sbsun.com/general-news/20140803/flash-flooding-in-forest-falls-washes-out-roads-causes-evacuations
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/video/#!/on-air/as-seen-on/Heavy-Rains-Trigger-Flash-Flooding-in-Forest-Falls/166609356
Buddy
The Living Force
Mikha'el said:
Wow! I spent a Christmas camping in those mountains years ago. I can easily imagine tons of water and mud flowing in some of those narrow canyons where I've been rock-hopping.
Mikha'el said:
Interesting choice of words. Beware possibilities of sinkholes and keep safe!
