Brisbane, QLD


Monday, January 28, 2013

A WILD WEEKEND HOLIDAY

This weekend was a holiday weekend for our national day Australia Day. It is also the last weekend of the school summer holidays. Hundreds of holiday makers flock to the beaches and camping grounds. However, brewing up north just off the coast was tropical cyclone 'Oswald". It developed into a huge low pressure storm which came down the east coast of Queensland dropping a huge amount of rain flooding all the creeks and rivers and northern towns. Then it came further south to central Queensland and stalled over the town of Bundaburg where 7 tornadoes developed and ripped the town to shreds. Many homes and a few lives were lost.
The storm slowly picked up again and headed towards Brisbane flooding rivers and towns on its way. I can tell you I was a bit worried about those tornadoes which develop fast and give little warning. The holiday makers clogged the roads in their effort to get home before the extreme winds and rain hit.The wind and rain blew for three days. It has started to clear now.  However, flood waters and high tides are causing the Bremmer River and Brisbane River to flood again like they did 2 years ago. Although we have been told it wont be quite so bad because water has been pumped out of the dams for the last week. I feel sorry for those who were flooded 2 years ago and have just had their houses fixed and now it comes again. Meanwhile the storm has gone on its way to Sydney, leaving a trail of destruction behind it.
We were relatively lucky as we don't live near creeks or rivers but on the side of a hill which seems to protect us a bit. We did have a tree fall down and broke our washing line but luckily it missed the house. The damage to businesses, houses, cars and roads is unbelievable. The heroic rescues are unbelievable. I guess many of you have seen television reports but here are a few of my photos and a couple from the news media which really tugged at my heartstrings.

At first it just rained and rained heavy tropical rain.

The next day the buffeting winds started. All these shots are taken through the windows.

The rain is so heavy that the gutters can't cope with the volume of water and they overflow and surge down our balcony shade blind.

The poor birds are bedraggled and hungry from not being able to get out and forage. This one shelters under the balcony rail with drips coming off its tail.

Looking down from the deck 
On the third morning when I looked out of the window I saw a tree had fallen onto the washing line.It was an old tree and half was dead. I was intending to have it lopped but alas I waited dithered too long. Now I need a new washing line and clean up the mess. 

The rain eased for a few minutes so I went downstairs to investigate the damage.

It had bent one of the steel arms of the washing line into a rightangle.

The bottle brush tree (Callistamen) had four trunks. One fell onto the washing line and one fell the other way onto the footpath two thin ones are still standing.


I saw two heroic rescues on TV:
A young teenager decided to go for a swim in a swollen creek and nearly lost his life and that of his rescuer. This rescuer had a rope on and managed to get through the surging water to the tree where the boy was clinging. He grabbed the boy and only just managed to get him to helping hands but the water was so strong it was holding the rescuer under the water so he released his rope and let the river sweep him under a bridge and down stream . Luckily he managed to grab a rock and held on until colleagues hauled him out.

Two young women and a baby were stranded on a flooded road. The water rose rapidly and they climbed to safety of the tray of the truck. An amazing helicopter rescue took place. Because the baby was wet and slippery she had to be put into a waterproof bag which was zipped up and attached to the helicopter line to be lifted to safety.

34 comments:

  1. It was amazing to see the baby zipped up into a bag and hoisted to safety. Sorry about your clothes line. It looks quite new, but if the rain continues, you may not need it immediately.

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  2. Great that you shared the photos of the rescues. The SES,[State Emergency Service for non Australians] police and others risk their lives hugely even for people who go into flood waters after being strongly asked not to do so. This was also illustrated in our suburb, Sandgate, where people were surfing and playing in the wild foam on the beach.

    We had a favourite grevillea come down so no more honey eaters joining us as we sit out on the deck. Hope the 1500 people stranded in Bundaberg are rescued somehow as soon as possible.

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  3. I take my hat off to those rescuers. The baby video was amazing. I saw the young boy being rescued on our TV. So glad you didn't have any more damage. Mother Nature has been wreaking havoc lately.

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  4. First it's ravaging heat-waves and bush-fires ... now it's tornadoes and floods - not a good start to 2013. pleased to know you are safe Diane and haven't had to evacuate. It was distressing to hear there have been lives lost.

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  5. That kid in the video, he thankfully has been made to explain on TV and tell others not to be as stupid. His mother was furious with him. I think, if his father was there, he was chained to a chair to stop an attack.
    Stupid boy, hope he got the message across! I hope the Emergency man who risked his life is suitably rewarded for his heroic efforts.
    Good report Diane, well done.
    I went to the CBD today, what takes 8 minutes, took one hour both ways, QR was not prepared, people were furious. The trip was free. Nothing worked with the Go Card thing. Coming back QR had staff all over the place. My God did they ever get a tongue lashing.
    Why weren't they prepared?
    I was for 12 hours in blackout from 7.35pm last night, no problems compared to others still with no electricity and flooded.
    Summer in Australia, you never know what you will get.

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  6. Thanks for the post. I was worried about you when I woke up this morning to distressing news reports of the destruction, flooding and loss of life. Keep safe.

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  7. Well I'm glad to see that you didn't sustain much damage at your place, or have any serious flooding. Summertime is always the time when we see Mother Nature's worst.

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  8. Meant to say Diane - I love your new blog colours ... lovely and fresh .... perfect with your header

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  9. Mmm, the previous comment doesn't look right to me.
    The weather is realy scary at your place. Nature can be very devastating and to be in the middle of it and to wait what will come must be horrible.
    Glad the tree didn't land on your house.

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  10. I guess we could have expected, a long dry patch usually ends up with a more than acceptable amount of wet. From the news it looks pretty horrible up your way -- an your post adds to the picture. We are in Adelaide where it's cool and dry. My sister is trying to get back to Brissie and is stuck at the airport judging from her last facebook status update.

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  11. Thank you Biebkriebels for alerting me to the spam comment which appeared above yours. I have now removed it.

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  12. Fires then floods...that's our country.
    Clothes lines are not made like they used to be, like most things aren't.
    Be safe.

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  13. Scary times for lots of people, glad you are safe.

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  14. i saw the baby rescue on TV this morning and a lot of photos of the devastation of the floods, and am glad to know you are safe. sorry you lost your trees and have a mess but so happy it was not worse for you. when it came on the news this morning my first thought was how it effected you.

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  15. Incredible! Poor little guy. Probably scared to death. But maybe not as much as the mother. It sure seems like the earth is exploding in very tragic weather now. I suppose it was always that way. Glad you are safe and sound. We have been showered with rain since Friday evening. Very unusual. But I love it.

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  16. Yes I saw dramatic pictures on TV and remembered the tragedy of 2 years ago and also that you live in a relatively safe place ! But still the wind must have been terrible to fold metal ! I am not scared very quickly, but when such a natural force comes down on you, you just feel helpless !

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  17. Holy cow, I hope all of that mess is over now! Be safe!

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  18. So scary. So glad the tree didn't fall on your house. A few years ago our little neighborhood creek was flooded from some recent rains and three neighborhood kids were playing in it. (Where was their Mother?) They had no idea how strong those currents were. The oldest boy was washed away down stream while the other boys ran for help, but it was too late. The brother of the boy who drowned was in my daughter's class at school. He struggled for many years after that (drugs etc) and I'm convinced it was because of the loss of his brother.

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  19. Wow .... in the midst of devastation and homes flooded a second time in as many years, that photo of the teenager and the baby rescue just makes you grin in admiration at people during tough times.

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  20. We should never underestimate the power of nature.

    Greetings,
    Filip

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  21. I saw a news report about the flooding in Brisbane and about the rescuer who got swept away in the flood. I'm just glad you didn't have any more damage at your house and hope you can now enjoy some 'tame' weather.

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  22. When I see stories like those I say a few silent words of gratitude to the dedicated people who help others in emergencies. Thank God for the rescuers!

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  23. You have certainly had a real trial of it down there. And I can only imagine how hard it must be for those who were damaged just two years ago, and now are facing it again.

    How awful. Sorry about your fallen tree, but honestly, even in the storm the rest of your landscaping looks so lush. I am quite envious. We struggle to grow good weeds around here. :)
    Stay safe.

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  24. Just a practice - let me know if you get it, please. Yes avoid train travel until all this flooding business is over.

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  25. I am so glad you are safe and did not too much damage! This storm and flooding looked scary. I saw the rescue on TV here. I do hope you weather has turned for the better.

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  26. Oh my gosh -- I know from the reports here that your weather has been terrible, but this personalizes it more...how awful it has been. The two pictures from the news are heart-stopping.

    I am glad you are OK with only minor damage and I hope for better soon.

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  27. So glad to know you are ok and didn't suffer too much damage.
    I have actually seen both of these rescues on TV. They did a great job under the circumstances.
    Here's hoping you'll get to enjoy some better summer days soon.

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  28. Oh Diane! I am so happy that you did not have any flooding or severe damage to your home from these terrible storms!

    Tornadoes and Cylcones are sacry occurances that I hope to never experience firsthand. Stay safe and I hope the pleasant weather returns soon.

    The weather can be very changable where we now live -- it will all be new to us!

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  29. I'm glad you are okay. This type of thing always makes me sad because I know what people are having to deal with.

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  30. Those are two amazing rescues. I hope the foolish young man has learned his lesson. Sorry about your tree and washing line but I'm glad that was the only damage. Also glad to hear you are safe. We have been seeing some footage on TV.

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  31. Holy moley! I was worried about you after seeing the news reports of your horrific weather. I didn't realize it was the Australia Day weekend on top of all that, so you would have crowded roads with folks heading home. I'm sorry for the damage at your home, but I gather it could have been much worse. So happy to know you were dry and safe indoors.

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  32. Amazing rescue footage and our hearts do go out to those faced with the mammoth task of clearing up and starting over again - some for the second time in as many years. What resilience! (Loved your capture of the wee bird sheltering). Keep dry and safe Diane. (and thanks for stopping by my blog: glad you have happy memories of Chain of Ponds).

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  33. so scary storm and flooding.

    i'm so glad you're safe!!

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  34. It's times like this that remind us we are not always in control of our lives or circumstances and keeps us humble!

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