Guess who I saw today?
The Sun.
Yes, after what seems like an eternity, but clearly wasn’t, today the rain has stopped and the clouds have started to clear. I know you are probably sick of hearing me talk about the rain, but at the moment, rain is the talk of the town.
Why?
Because people are saying, well, not just people but Lord Mayor of Brisbane Campbell Newman in particular, that the situation right now is very similar to 1974 when Brisbane suffered severe flooding, with the loss of around 7000 homes and 14 lives.
A quick look at Wikipedia’s Brisbane flood page will explain why there is concern. Very early in, the article states “It had been an exceptionally wet spring, and by the end of October most of southern Queensland’s river systems were nearing capacity.”
Well, now we have dams. But if you read my post on Monday, you will know that those dams are all full and gates have been opened releasing megatons of water back into the rivers. So Wivenhoe Dam is pouring water back into the Brisbane River. Somerset Dam is pouring water back into the Stanley River. North Pine Dam is pouring water back into the North Pine River.
So it won’t be long until our river systems are nearing capacity again. But what eventually sunk Brisbane in ’74 was Cyclone Wanda, a relatively weak cyclone that crossed the coastline on Thursday, January 24 of that year.
Without doubt, we have a La Niña event right now, and that means we have more rain to come and the higher risk of tropical cyclones.
So maybe we are just one weak cyclone, anytime in the next 4 months, away from disaster.
But words alone cannot describe fully the effects that rain has had over the last few days here in Brisbane. Luckily we have YouTube. I have two videos for you, the first is short, but gives a very good idea of the situation….
The second is a classic piece of archive footage, wait to hear the soundtrack, showing the floods back in 1974…..
Like most people around these parts, I want my hot, sunny and clear blue skies back. My barbeque is getting rusty!
I have changed to another mail address.
Please reply to this please. Thank you.
Hi Yoko
We don’t worry about email addresses, we all talk openly here in the comment section.
Anyway, how do we cope with cyclones? We batten down the hatches, as they say, and if we get hit, with clear up afterwards. There is always plenty of warning, and those who suffer severe damage are very much in the minority.
Townsville has had something like seven cyclones in the last 120 years or so. They are not an everyday event and, in my view, should not be a deciding factor whether you choose to live there with your husband or not.
Nowhere is 100% safe, not even the UK. Why not try living somewhere else for a change? What do you say?
Hi Bob,
Thank you veyr much for your comment. And I will start thinking as you do ” Nowhere is 100 % safe”. After our retirement, we are going to travel all around Australia by car (takes about 1 year) and we wil decide where we are going to live. I am looking forward it very much !!
Have a lovely day.
Best regards,
YOKO
I’m not surprised you are looking forward to it, it should be a fantastic road trip! It’s certainly what I intend to do when I retire.
Do let me know how it goes.
Cheers
Bob
Hello Bob,
I am Yoko and my husband is Australian and we are living in U.K. last 16 years. My husband would like to live in Australia (townsville) after retired (another 13 years to go) but I really want to stay in U.K. because Austlalia have been hit by cyclone many times. I just don’t like any flooding and cyclones…..
Could you inform me how Australian people is living with these weather problem?
Thank you veyr much for your time.
Best regards,
YOKO