Re: OT: Australia flooding

[mdj <mdj.mdj@gmail.com>]

On Jan 14, 10:29 am, "Michael J. Mahon" <mjma...@aol.com> wrote:
> mdj wrote:
> > On Jan 13, 4:39 pm, "Michael J. Mahon" <mjma...@aol.com> wrote:
>
> >>I hope you're OK, Matt--the pictures of Brisbane that I've been
> >>seeing on TV look pretty scary.
>
> > Thanks Michael. It has been an interesting few days to say the least
> > but everyone is fine.
>
> I'm very glad to hear that!
>
> > Things are going to be pretty interrupted in Brisbane for a few days,
> > but I expect they'll have it all cleaned up in time for the wet
> > season ;-)
>
> ;-)
>
> In the US, TV networks tend to focus on a few minutes of footage
> showing the most dramatic damage, giving the impression that the
> entire region affected is in the direst straits.  I expect they
> are doing much the same with Austrailia's woes...

The most dramatic bit of footage would be from the small city of
Toowoomba, about 100km from Brisbane. They had what could only be
described as an inland tsunami sweep through the CBD (Central Business
District, Australian for 'Downtown'). That was pretty horrendous and
people died, particularly as they water travelled downhill and
destroyed a town and took the lives of about 40 people. That's the
footage I imagine has been syndicated on networks throughout the
world, along with the flow on effects in the Lockyer valley.
Fortunately this region is very sparsely populated compared to
Brisbane.

Ipswich where I am currently located had its CBD under 15-20 feet of
water, and Brisbane (which I believe you've travelled through) has had
the river break its banks in several low lying locations. The office
buildings where my company is located are surrounded by water and
completely isolated for the time being.

It's all going to take quite some time to recover from. The biggest
concern at this stage is that the 'wet season' hasn't really started
yet, and with cyclone activity already being detected in the northern
tropical waters it's highly likely we could have a repeat performance
in the next few weeks :(

Matt