Status - Bad weather and damages in Australia ..

[Kiriakos-GR]

In every TV news report in Greece , there is an reference about Bad weather and damages in Australia ..
Constant Rain - floats , many city's had be even under water.

The other half country are dry and hot ...  

I worry about Dave , and our Australian posters , so share your status ..

Are you Ok and dry ?  







.

[Uncle Vernon]

In every TV news report in Greece , there is an reference about Bad weather and damages in Australia ..
Constant Rain - floats , many city's had be even under water.

The other half country are dry and hot ... 

I worry about Dave , and our Australian posters , so share your status ..

Are you Ok and dry ? 

I think you'll find  the good majority of our wide brown land is in no risk of flood.  Though some in Queensland and Northern NSW may find that hard to believe.

If the floods line does reach Bella Vista then Dave has some sturdy shelves above the water line to climb onto. And his meters are safe in  waterproof floatation capsules.

As for being dry, there is no chance in 38C and 90%rh unless your near an air conditioner. Sydney in the Summer you have to love it.

[GeoffS]

As Uncle Vernon said, the flooding is restricted to the north east corner of the country, extending part way down the east coast.
A lot of the area now under water was subject to a drought less than 12 months ago.

Sydney in the Summer you have to love it.

Or move somewhere cooler, In my case it's Hobart, Tasmania after nearly 40 years

[Uncle Vernon]

Or move somewhere cooler, In my case it's Hobart, Tasmania after nearly 40 years

Am making an exit myself. To a coastal spot just as warm but sensibly where you can construct a dwelling appropriate for the conditions.

There is very little truth to the rumour that the Suburb of Sydney City is being renamed to "Westfield" however accurate that may be. Wouldn't the sale proceeds of a Sydney Terrace be sufficient to purchase Tasmania? Or was it New Zealand?   

[TheDirty]

I knew a guy named Bruce in Australia.  If you guys see him, say Hi for me.  Thanks!

[Uncle Vernon]

I knew a guy named Bruce in Australia.  If you guys see him, say Hi for me.  Thanks!

RideyHo New Bruce, will do!   

[PeterG]

I am fortunate enough to be in Sydney. There are a lot of people who have lot there homes and/or farms in northern New South Wales and Queensland.

[the_raptor]

I am in Northern NSW and currently it is either way too hot or pouring with rain and threatening to flood.

But that is what this country is like in general.

[Uncle Vernon]

it is either way too hot or pouring with rain and threatening to flood.

I Love A Sunburnt Country Written by  Dorothea MacKellar (1908:  written 1906)


    The love of field and coppice,
      Of green and shaded Lanes,
      Of ordered woods and gardens,
      Is running in your veins;
      Strong love of grey-blue distance,
      Brown streams and soft, dim skies -
      I know but cannot share it,
      My love is otherwise.

    I love a sunburnt country,
      A land of sweeping plains,
      Of ragged mountain ranges,
      Of drought and flooding rains,
      I love her far horizons,
      I love her jewel sea,
      Her beauty and her terror -
      The wide brown land for me.

    The tragic ring-barked forests
      Stark white beneath the moon,
      The sapphire-misted mountains,
      The hot gold hush of noon.
      Green tangle of the brushes
      Where lithe lianas coil,
      An orchids deck the tree-tops
      And ferns the crimson soil.

    Core of my heart, my country!
      Her pitiless blue sky,
      When sick at heart around us
      We see the cattle die -
      But then the grey clouds gather
      And we can bless again
      The drumming of an army,
      The steady, soaking rain.

    Core of my heart, my country!
      Land of the Rainbow Gold,
      For flood and fire and famine,
      She pays us back threefold;
      Over the thirsty paddocks,
      Watch, after many days,
      The filmy veil of greenness
      That thickens as we gaze.

    An opal-hearted country,
      A wilful, lavish land -
      All you who have not loved her,
      You will not understand -
      Though Earth holds many splendours,
      Wherever I may die,
      I know to what brown Country
      My homing thoughts will fly.

[Kiriakos-GR]

I am fortunate enough to be in Sydney. There are a lot of people who have lost there homes and/or farms in northern New South Wales and Queensland.

Yes Queensland is the most projected by the news channels area !!

[EEVblog]

I am fortunate enough to be in Sydney. There are a lot of people who have lot there homes and/or farms in northern New South Wales and Queensland.

Yes, it's getting very bad up in QLD in particular, sadly it will get a lot worse before it gets better. They will need a lot of help.
The problem is it's just the start of the wet season, and I believe the forecast is another 3 months of rain (well, they don't call it the wet season for nothing!).
My mum grew up in QLD and tells horror stories of the droughts and floods.
It's a tough arse country, I'm glad I'm in Sydney that pretty much is ideal all year round.

Dave.

[Jimmy]

I live in Southeast QLD and it is flooded to the west and north of us but I live on a hill. The main problem is that people forget that it floods and build low set homes. The rain has only just started and we will have floods like this for years to come.

[EEVblog]

I live in Southeast QLD and it is flooded to the west and north of us but I live on a hill. The main problem is that people forget that it floods and build low set homes.

That's not uncommon, even in Sydney actually.
The Windsor area for example is all low lying flood plain, and will eventually flood again given enough time. yet they let 10's of thousands build their mcmansions on these plains.
The government love to put flood evacuation plans in place and have built a nice new elevated road to get everyone out in time, but most residents would be oblivious to the risk because nothing has happened in this generation. But it won't stop all the urban residents screaming blue murder when the next one in 50 year flood hits and wipes out their home.

Dave.

[RayJones]

I knew a guy named Bruce in Australia.  If you guys see him, say Hi for me.  Thanks!

If anybody's name is too difficult to pronounce, you will be instantly renamed to Bruce.
That's just the way it is 

[RayJones]

Oh of course, Kiriakos - you may now be called Bruce from this point on in time 

It must be difficult to assess the true state of events from afar, especially if via the media.
Two years ago we had the other extreme where bushfires ravaged the mountain areas about Melbourne, now the Queenlanders are under water.
From scorched parched land to a sodden mess.

The old "I love a sunburnt country" poem sums Australia up perfectly.

[Uncle Vernon]

I live in Southeast QLD and it is flooded to the west and north of us but I live on a hill. The main problem is that people forget that it floods and build low set homes.

That's not uncommon, even in Sydney actually.
The Windsor area for example is all low lying flood plain, and will eventually flood again given enough time. yet they let 10's of thousands build their mcmansions on these plains.
The government love to put flood evacuation plans in place and have built a nice new elevated road to get everyone out in time, but most residents would be oblivious to the risk because nothing has happened in this generation. But it won't stop all the urban residents screaming blue murder when the next one in 50 year flood hits and wipes out their home.

Dave.

There were sizable block of land going in Riverstone for $30-40K just before Christmas. Within a stones throw of the new technology park the promo said. If you could get approval to build on them you'd want some mighty tall and sturdy posts below your home. Either that of several thousand cubits of timber and two of every animal.

Urban planning? That a schedule of deals to property developers isn't it?

[Uncle Vernon]

Pictures say it all

[GeoffS]

That video shows dramatically just how quickly flood waters can rise.
The guy who moved his 4WD was lucky, another minute and he would have gone with his vehicle.

8 confirmed dead so far with 11 missing.

For once, I'm happy to be in hot, humid Sydney.

[RayJones]

Letting the air out of the tyres?

More like locking the front hubs in, but he was on bitumen anyway....

[Mechatrommer]

8 confirmed dead so far with 11 missing.

thats bad. its confirmed the OP's concern, about the bad wheather news.

[PeterG]

They are now saying 9 confirmed dead and 66 missing.

[EEVblog]

They are now saying 9 confirmed dead and 66 missing.

And the toll sadly keeps rising, this is getting bad.

Many parts of Brisbane are now being evacuated, including the city centre that is effectively shut down.
If you don't know Australia, Brisbane is the capital city of the state of Queensland, a city of 2 million people.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brisbane
Live footage of Brisbane river:
Brisbane River Flood
They say it won't peak for another 2 days?

Dave.

[PeterG]

Kevin Pietersen Queensland Flood Relief Appeal

Kevin Pietersen has an eBay auction going to help out the flood victims.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Kevin-Pietersen-Queensland-Flood-Relief-Appeal-/110635351373?pt=UK_Sporting_Goods_Cricket&hash=item19c2617d4d

[Jimmy]

Well guys I live in Ipswich and I was living on and Island with water views for 2 days and I couldn't go to work and we had no ice or power for 3 days. That was a bugger because they really needed me at work on Tuesday night as a bloody robot blew a drive card and they had to replace it with humans until I was able to repair. So I was in flood water trying to help people move out on the phone trying to diagnose problems for work. Due to floods there was no way of replacing them in a hurry so lucky I could scrounge parts from a different type of drive. At work we make cleaning produces eg bleach, disinfectant and others. We currently have no stock and can’t keep up with the orders so it is going to be flat-out until 2012 I recon with ZERO time for maintenance so I am going to get allot of callouts this year.

At home I was without power for 3 days without warning as I was on afternoon shift on Monday night and didn't get warning until I woke up at midday. I drove around could not find any ice as it had all gone same as bread, milk, fresh fruit, Torches, Batteries and anything you could cook on  bbq. I bought 10 boxes of Icy polls to keep stuff cold in the fringe and lost everything in freezer.

The rubber seal on the gas bottle had perished and was leaking because I hadn't used it in a while so I had to make a new one out of a bike tire tube and some heat. Yay I can cook but I can’t see

Dave it is your fault that I got some Cree leds still unwrapped and I had some 12v RGB led light strips here from my wedding centrepiece project which also had 8 x 12v lead acid batteries that were charged. Well after learning how to solder with a gas bottle and old soldering Iron together in candle light I managed to rig up some good lights.

The old radio that I had with no batteries 8 x D cell well that took me 2 secs to hook-up to one of these Batts that I had lying around. Yay we have a house that has the Radio blearing with chicken cooking on bbq and blinding light that night with a couple of neibours it was such an eary unhappy felling we all had know what was takeing place right at our doorstep.

There are alot of people that have lost there life I woulden't like to guess but I know it will be a 3 diget figure.

So far I have been putin in the time at work and on the way home I have been giving out some disinfectant on my way home from work stopping off at people's house yesterday and today helping people where I can ( I don't the them I am a electrician)  I can do more good at work making sure we get product out the door as fast as we can.

[Mechatrommer]

sorry to hear that Jimmy. thats the spirit to be proud of...

"stopping off at people's house yesterday and today helping people where I can ( I don't the them I am a electrician)"