Thread: Australia. Brisbane's next.

Cyclone Floods Fires, and the ocasalnal Eart Quake, Oz gets

and Earth Quakes, Oz get it all , thinking of those who lost Loved ones.

From a former Brissie resident to all the Queenslanders on here,

Stay safe and don't take any unnecessary risks.

Homes to go under 'in hours' as Brisbane River bursts its banks - 90 missing
Paul Tatnell
January 12, 2011

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has warned Brisbane residents that homes will go under within hours after the Brisbane River broke its banks this morning.

As the city awoke to blue skies, Ms Bligh told Sky News the break in the weather would allow rescue workers to search for the 90 now missing.


Two-year-old Damien Vieritz has a very unusual sleepover at the evacuation centre at the Ipswich Showgrounds.
Photo: Jason South

She said it would be a ‘’gruesome day for rescue workers and a heartbreaking day for families’’ who are still missing loved ones.

"I think we will all be shocked by what they will find,’’ she said.

The number of missing in the devastating Queensland floods has now risen from 72 to 90. she said, with the confirmed death toll at 10. The missing include entire families.

Flooding at Suncorp Stadium, Milton, on January 12.
Photo: reader Della Churchill

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The banks of the Brisbane River broke at Yeronga and into parkland, Ms Bligh told Sky News, with nearby homes expected to be inundated by water within hours.

Sign of things to come

She said it was a sign "of things to come" in the days ahead with the Brisbane River expected to peak at 4.5m today and eclipse 1974 levels tomorrow.

View Larger Map

About 30,000 people are expected to be affected in Brisbane by rising flood waters with more than 9000 homes expected to be damaged.

The city of Ipswich is the latest crisis point, with hundreds of people evacuated from its suburb of Goodna after the Brisbane River broke its banks. Floodwaters have risen six metres and are still rising today.

Ipswich councillor Paul Tully says the Goodna Shopping Centre is already flooded.

It’s ‘‘total chaos’’, he says, with water rising at one metre per hour this morning.

Emergency services were kept busy rescuing ‘‘countless’’ distressed residents overnight.

A Queensland police spokeswoman said none of the missing were found overnight.

As the Ipswich evacuation centre filled up, she said scores of people were rescued in Ipswich as floodwaters peaked.

Looters target empty Ipswich

There were also reports of looters targeting empty Ipswich.

‘‘[Emergency Services] were kept very, very busy in Ipswich last night, very busy,’’ she said.

‘‘I am not sure of the number [of rescues], we were just told there was too much going on to really report.’’

The spokeswoman said Oxley had just ‘‘gone under’’ as had towns in the Milton area as the water level continued to rise in Brisbane’s CBD.

Major flooding is also expected across the border in NSW today. With the Clarence River expected to peak at seven metres, evacuations are underway in Grafton.

In Brisbane, at least 100,000 homes and businesses could be without power and thousands of people face evacuation.

Whole blocks of the CBD of Ipswich, west of Brisbane, are under floodwaters metres deep this morning.

The Coles supermarket was inundated to a depth of eight feet deep (2.44 metres), with just the awning and store logo showing above the floodwaters which continue to rise.

A number of inner-city suburbs are likely to be inundated, and police advise against all non-essential travel.

Power cut to CBD

Energex has also advised that power to parts of the CBD will be cut from 8.30am (AEST), closing many workplaces.

About 100,000 homes and businesses will be blacked out for safety reasons, until it is safe for Energex to reconnect them.

With the Brisbane and Bremer rivers rising to levels exceeding the devastating floods of January 1974, computer modelling suggested 6500 homes and businesses would be inundated.

SEQ Water said flood levels were falling slowly at the Wivenhoe Dam, west of Brisbane as it makes controlled releases of water into the Brisbane River.

But the water level behind the dam was at 190 per cent at 10pm on Tuesday, including its extra flood mitigation capacity.

The Somerset Dam was holding 183 per cent.

All South East Queensland Water dams were reportedly safe and stable overnight.

Premier Anna Bligh has warned the state to prepare for yet more tragedy, saying there were "grave" fears for 15 people in addition to those already confirmed dead.

Queensland Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts said Brisbane port would be closed "to all but emergency situations".

- 1300 993 191: hotline for Toowoomba, Murphy's Creek, Grantham and Withcott areas.

- Donations can be made over the phone, online, in the mail or in person at any branch of the Bank of Queensland, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, ANZ, NAB or Suncorp.

smh.com.au

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POLICE and SES volunteers are evacuating homes in the Oxley Creek area with five evacuation centres ready across Brisbane. About 1500 people have already been evacuated from homes in Brisbane.
More than 50 Brisbane suburbs will be hit by flooding as the Brisbane River gets to 4.5 metres this afternoon before surging towards its expected peak of 5.5 metres on Thursday - the worst flooding the city has seen in more than a century.
The south Brisbane suburb of Yeronga is just one area of the city likely to be completely underwater as floodwaters rise in the Brisbane River.
Lord Mayor Campbell Newman says new flood modelling now indicates that 19,700 residential properties and 3,500 commercial premises in 2,100 streets are likely to be flooded in the city.
"For the low-lying areas, for the ones that were on the original list, those properties are going to under to a significant extent," he told the Seven network.
Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.

• City council: List, maps of Brisbane flood area
• Gallery: Massive flood hits Brisbane
• Gallery: New QLD flood pictures
• Send us your pics or MMS 0428 258 117
• Ipswich flood disaster

End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.


Email your flood pics or MMS to 0428 258 117

"In 1974 there were properties in Yeronga, for example, that went completely under. That's what we're staring at.''
Premier Anna Bligh is warning residents to take no comfort in the blue skies above Brisbane this morning.
Even the Premier was gobsmacked by what she saw floating down the Brisbane River- pontoons, boats and even garden furniture.
The Brisbane River has broken its banks at the Brisbane Corso in Yeerongpilly and at Indooroopilly. Coronation Driver is closed.
Water is inundating parks and low-lying streets.
About 143 people are taking refuge at the RNA showgrounds with other centres to come on line as needed.
Brisbane City Council advises a second evacuation centre has been activated at ANZ QEll Stadium on Kessells Road in Nathan.
Up to 40,000 properties are expected to be impacted by flooding by Thursday based on the latest flood modelling.
Of these, 19,700 are residential properties which will have flooding across their entire property. A further 12,000 are expected to have flooding across part of their property.
About 3500 commercial premises will have flooding across their entire property and a further 2500 will have flooding across part of their property.
A further 2300 properties such as parks and vacant land will also be flooded.
The depth of flooding on individual properties is not known because this flood event is expected to exceed all previous records.
The figures were produced using Brisbane City Council's computer modelling using information provided by the Bureau of Meteorology and SEQ Water.
More than 2100 streets across Brisbane will be impacted.
Suburbs which are expected to experience flooding are Acacia Ridge, Albion, Anstead, Archerfield, Auchenflower, Bellbowrie, Bowen Hills, Brisbane City, Brookfield, Bulimba, Chelmer, Chuwar, Coopers Plains, Coorparoo, Corinda, East Brisbane, Fairfield, Fig Tree Pocket, Fortitude Valley, Graceville, Greenslopes, Hamilton, Hawthorne, Hemmant, Indooroopilly, Jindalee, Kangaroo Point, Karana Downs, Kenmore, Lytton, Milton, Moggill, Murarrie, Moorooka, Mt Ommaney, New Farm, Newstead, Norman Park, Oxley, Paddington, Pinkenba, Rocklea, Sherwood, South Brisbane, Sumner, Taringa, Tennyson, Toowong, West End, Woolloongabba, Windsor, Wacol, Yeronga and Yeerongpilly.
On the Sunshine Coast, four evacuation centers have been set up and residents in the Buderim streets of Sam White, Devon and Dover drives have been evacuated with concerns about land slides.
The Brisbane River and Moreton Bay are now closed to boat traffic and campers on Moreton Island have been moved to Tangalooma Resort.
The number of people missing has been increased to 79 with the death toll standing at 10 with grave concerns for 18 people.
Evacuation centres have been set up on the Sunshine Coast at Lake Kawana Community Centre, the J at Noosa, the Nambour Civic Centre and the Beerburrum Community Centre.
The SES received 32483 calls for help overnight with the majority of callers from Brisbane and Ipswich. Currently about 51,000 homes across the southeast are without power.
A telephone hotline - 1300 993 191 - has been set up for people seeking information on friends and relatives caught up in the flooding disaster.
Lifeline crisis line: 13 11 14

DRIFT Restaurant, formally Oxley's on the River, is bearing the full brunt of rising floodwaters. It was reported about 10am today the jetty, and part of the bridge, broke completely away from its moorings and was now floating down the Brisbane River.
Owner David Moore said police and emergency services last night instructed him to open all the doors and windows of the restaurant to allow floodwaters through as they attempted to secure it.
"The idea was that the water would rush through, not destroy the place," he said.
"It was completely gut-wrenching to open everything knowing water would be rushing through."
When Mr Moore went to his beloved restaurant this morning, which he described as his "home away from home", the jetty, which had been tied to the bridge by authorities last night, had been "smashing into the restaurant".

• Stay away: Sandbag city looks like ghost town
• Video: Restaurant washed away in flood
• Floods hit Brisbane, January 2011
• New QLD flood pictures

"The force of the water was lifting it and it was smashing into the windows and doors," he said. "With the way the water is flowing its not surprising it has been ripped off."
"I'm gobsmacked. we've lost everything."
Mr Moore, who said he was unable to get flood insurance because the restaurant was on the river, said there had been nowhere to take anything because the nearby car park and streets were now also under water.
"The place has been completely destroyed... I really don't know what to do," he said.
"This is going to have a big impact on the industry.
"There is a lot of water and its going to affect a lot of people."

Locals are in awe of the speed and ferocity with which the river burst its banks overnight into this morning, ripping whole sections of jetties away and sending them spinning downstream in the raging torrents.
Just before 7am (AEST) the river was still rising rapidly.
The water had entirely engulfed the lower promenade at Eagle St Pier, in the city's entertainment precinct, flooding dozens of restaurants and threatening many more.
A unmanned catamaran tugged at its fraying moorings.
A small speedboat drifted past, still attached to its pontoon, with a serenity which belied the river's now fierce nature.
A small sailboat sped past, its masts entirely demolished and lying prone on the deck.
Some boat owners opted to brave the imminent danger and move their vessels downstream.
They were spoken to by police in a launch which appeared to be checking they were safe and intended to be on the move.
"I've never seen anything like it," Charlie Gibbs, a Brisbane resident, said.
"The catamaran is certain to break its mooring. I've seen other boats drift by.
"I'm pretty worried someone's going to end up being killed by it all."
Another Brisbane resident, Kelly Sergeant added: "I'm praying someone isn't hurt".
"It's all happened so quickly. I think it might take some people by surprise."
Large chunks of debris, including what appeared to be logs were also being washed rapidly along the river.
Ironically, the sun is out over Brisbane and the rain has ceased.
Debris, boats rage down Brisbane river | Courier Mail

flood ipswich hotel | New QLD flood pictures | Courier Mail

New Farm


Centenary motorway.


Toowong


CBD




Milton



Suncorp Stadium.




New Farm.

BRISBANE'S Suncorp stadium is on fire

That's not where they're playing the cricket, is it?

That would be a disaster.

nope.

I think the players (Eng and Aus) have offered to give their match fees to the flood victims.

Brisbane's Central Business District survived its first high tide test, with floodwaters failing to hit predicted levels




BRISBANE'S central business district dodged a major flood bullet this afternoon but there were still plenty of problems.

It had been expected the 3pm high tide, combined with the mass of water in the river, would cause major flooding in the CBD but the situation was helped by no rain falling in the city all day.
But Lord Mayor Campbell Newman, while welcoming the relative lack of damage today, warned that the worst of the flooding was still ahead of the city.
``I'm feeling a sense of history. I am feeling a sense of horror and awe about the power of the river and I am just constantly thinking about the people whose livelihoods are going down that river in front of our eyes,” Cr Newman said
``At the moment we are seeing pontoons and people's boats...sadly in coming hours we might be seeing bits of people's houses...and that breaks my heart.''
The next really big test for the CBD will come tomorrow morning on the high tide as the river continues to rise in the Victoria Bridge section.

Thousands of people ignored pleas from police to stay out of the CBD as they gathered at vantage points to watch the rampaging Brisbane River.

Public transport problems and cut roads meant they arrived on foot, bicycles, skateboards, and even scooters.

At every vantage point, sightseers were taking photographs.

There was flooding in the lower southern end of the CBD at Alice St, Mary St, Creek St, Eagle St and Margaret St, but not to the depth that had been predicted.

The walkway at the Eagle Street Pier and Waterfront Place was underwater in most parts, but the river did not reach the high levels.

Police patrolled the area keeping sightseers behind lines.
Across the river in South Brisbane, coffee shops and businesses in Boundary and Melbourne Streets sandbagged desperately as floodwaters spread more than 1km into the suburb.

Businesses and industrial workshops in access streets to the river were inundated.

Worst affected as the flood neared its predicted afternoon peak were in Kurilpa, Victoria, Beesley and Jane Streets - and further downstream access to the Go Between Bridge was cut off when Montague Road become flooded.

Floodwater entered houses and units in riverside streets at West End from early morning.

Police went door to door advising residents.

South Brisbane and West End resembled suburbs under siege, as police set up roadblocks to turn back sightseers.

Popular Orleigh Park at West End and the Davies Park rugby league ground at South Brisbane disappeared as floodwaters rose.

The river lapped at the floor of the historic South Brisbane Sailing Club, and inundated the nearby Brisbane & GPS Rowing Club boatshed and a cluster of school and club boatsheds near Davies Park.

The large Brisbane City Council pontoon used by kayakers at Orleigh Park broke away from its moorings and was swept down the river about 1pm.
More than 100,000 people in the southeast are without power as Energex continues to disconnect suburbs inundated by floodwaters.
Around 115,000 people state-wide are without power, including 60,000 customers in the CBD.
Cr Newman said there had been ``a number of furphies and rumours going around'' about the safety of the city's drinkng water, but said there was no problem with the water supply.

``There is capacity in the hilltop reservoirs around the city of Brisbane for two to three days should the power go out,'' Cr Newman said. ``I want to stress that we would like people in case of power outages to be careful with the use of water.
``Please don't go and fill up the bath. Just be very prudent in the way you use water.''


Brisbane's Central Business District survived its first high tide test, with floodwaters failing to hit predicted levels | Courier Mail

Originally Posted by Sir Wilson

nope.

I think the players (Eng and Aus) have offered to give their match fees to the flood victims.

found a link

Teams get behind flood-relief effort
Brydon Coverdale
January 12, 2011
Comments: 2 | Login via | Text size: A | A

Up to 20,000 homes are expected to be inundated in Brisbane © Getty Images
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Related Links
Matches: Australia v England at Adelaide
Series/Tournaments: England tour of Australia
Teams: Australia | England
The limited-overs series between Australia and England will turn into one continuous flood-relief effort, as the situation worsens in parts of south-east Queensland. Twelve people have died in the floods but that number is likely to rise, and up to 20,000 homes are expected to be inundated in the state capital, Brisbane.

The Australia and England teams will be collecting donations in the crowd at the Adelaide Twenty20 international and it will be the first of many fundraising drives during the series. England's players will donate part of their match fees for the first Twenty20 to the flood relief appeal, as will their Australian counterparts, while Kevin Pietersen is keen to auction a shirt and bat he used during the Ashes to assist the flood victims.

Shane Warne and Darren Gough are also becoming involved, tweeting their interest in setting up a "legends" Twenty20 match to help raise funds. Cricket New South Wales will donate all gate receipts from their Big Bash match against Queensland on January 29, the day before the Brisbane ODI, which Queensland Cricket remains hopeful will go ahead.

"It's been really heartening to see how many people are so willing to stop and do something to help," Cricket Australia's spokesman Peter Young said. "Everyone is feeling the pain. It's really heartening to get calls from clubs in the community who are having sausage sizzles, and they're saying 'where do we send the money?' We have a program called Cricket Cares. What's been demonstrated today is that cricket does care.

"We decided a week or so ago that we, Commonwealth Bank and Channel Nine would run a fundraiser during the Brisbane ODI, on January 30. Given the deteriorating situation with the floods, we've decided to broaden that, so we're starting the fundraising tonight at the international T20 in Adelaide and we'll run fundraising through the matches culminating in the match at Brisbane."

The offices of Queensland Cricket in Brisbane have been sandbagged and the state's staff were working from home on Wednesday, as the city was in the grip of a major natural disaster. The Brisbane River was expected to peak at 5.5 metres on Thursday, which would be the worst flooding in the city in more than a century.

Donations to the Queensland flood relief appeal can be made here

Brydon Coverdale is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

Feeds: Brydon Coverdale
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.

Moggil Ferry, Island party boat and riverwalk will be sunk if they a considered a risk of being a danger to the public




Brisbane City Council has decided to destroy the riverwalk in the CBD. Picture: Peter Wallis Source: The Courier-Mail



BRISBANE City Council has decided to demolish the troubled floating riverwalk, after it began breaking up under the pressure of the surging Brisbane River.

The riverwalk breaking up today under the pressure of the surging Brisbane River
Authorities have deemed the riverwalk too dangerous and cumbersome to secure.

It is already partly submerged and is believed to be at risk of floating off its piles.

Council considers the structure to pose a public safety risk if it is left to deteriorate without intervention.
The Moggill Ferry and The Island party boat may also be sunk after both suffered significant damage in the floods.
Premier Anna Bligh said the Moggill Ferry may be scuttled, and poses a potential danger to the public downstream after one of its guidelines snapped earlier today.
"If it's needed for public safety it will be done," she said.


Ms Bligh said if the ferry breaks away completely it could act as a "torpedo" and cause havoc on the river towards the Brisbane CBD.
The Island is currently listing in water on the Brisbane River, and is in danger of being washed away, Ms Bligh said.
"It's operating its engines to hold it against the tide," she said.
Authorities are considering demolishing the vessel to prevent it breaking free of its moorings and losing control in the raging floodwaters.

Brisbane is in public transport chaos for the foreseeable future, with ferry infrastructure in tatters and bus stations inundated with water.
Lord Mayor Campbell Newman said most of the CityCat pontoons and terminals had been damaged or destroyed by the floodwaters and debris.
"The CityCat service is substantially destroyed," he said.
"It will take many months I imagine to repair."
All bus services in and out of the city have been cancelled, and floodwaters have seeped into inner-cty stations including Queen Street and King George Square.
Cr Newman said the council will attempt to re-establish bus services as soon as possible, although it may not operate at normal levels for some time.
"We are going to do our utmost to provide a sembelence of a bus service,"
Trains are still running, although on a severely limited schedule and are likely to be disrupted further after rolling power shutdowns in the CBD.
Cr Newman said people in the CBD would have trouble getting out of the CBD from 6pm.


Moggil Ferry, Island party boat and riverwalk will be sunk if they a considered a risk of being a danger to the public | Courier Mail

Speaking to a friend of mine in Brissie this morning, it's bright and sunny, must be surreal seeing all this carnage from up country.

I believe the carnage is happening in Brisbane despite the good weather. This is water coming down the Lockyer and Brisbane valleys from inland. the peak has yet to arrive.

The Brisbane peak flood level has been revised downward to 5.25 meters, which is due to arrive between 4 and 5 am tomorrow morning. Many people have been forced to leave their homes; they were predicting some 19,700 homes will sustain major damage.
The people in the Lockyer Valley got it bad without any warning my heart goes out to them.
It’s been interesting to watch this unfold, at least here in Brisbane people have been warned this was going to happen since before Christmas. Some have chosen not to believe it, hopefully their hardheadedness will not cause harm to others.
Suncorp Stadium has water on the pitch and it is up field level seats. The fire is said to be caused when the water reached the electric substation inside the station. It’s the ruby (union and league) stadium. The Gabba is dry (cricket and AFL). Hopefully it stays that way otherwise I am going to get very, very wet.
Along with the homes and farms that have been destroyed the infrastructure of Queensland has been devastated. It will take years and billions of dollars to return it to a normal level. A benefit for the civil contractors who were looking a bit of a dry spell, with most of the government project finishing up.

The aerial pictures shown on the TV News shows look very similar to what you saw last year in Issan, except the land is more fertile with rolling hills.
On a less serious side, they are shutting down the electric grid…if they decide to shut down my area what the hell do I save? The ice cream or the beer? Have to feel lucky when that is the hardest question you have to ask yourself.

FAAARK !

Farking chaos..all good here but loads of folks well fucked

What an amazing country we live in.
What are the words to the song:
"Of droughts and flooded plains"
She forgot to mention the fires.