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Brisbane flood alert

Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2011 1:42 pm
by Captain Obvious
Hope all our Brisbane and areas members are doing ok looks like its going to be a bad one down there the next few days!!

Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2011 4:12 pm
by INEEDABEER
How are you goin for food Bryan.We managed to get some supplies yesterday and what about fuel?

Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2011 4:12 pm
by dibs
same from us at glassy i hope it stops soon

Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2011 4:31 pm
by INEEDABEER
Does anyone know how Trevor at Toowoomba is getting on after yesterdays mess?

Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2011 6:21 pm
by Gannon
Just watching it on 7pm Project, its simply gob smacking. Those poor families, both those who have lost their homes and possessions, and even more, those who have lost family members or friends.

Ive never seen anything like it in Australia.

On a lighter note, here is a clip of a Forester caught up in the water
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt-FT-skins

Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2011 6:57 pm
by Captain Obvious
Yeah we are ok gav stocked up yesterday as well and filled the cars!

Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2011 8:27 pm
by rtcb65
Suparoo wrote:Just watching it on 7pm Project, its simply gob smacking. Those poor families, both those who have lost their homes and possessions, and even more, those who have lost family members or friends.

Ive never seen anything like it in Australia.

On a lighter note, here is a clip of a Forester caught up in the water
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt-FT-skins
That so true. I havent lost family in the floods, but in the earily 90's,, the house i was in went under water to the gutters. It not nice to be caught like that.

Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2011 9:11 pm
by subybrumby
Trevor from Toowoomba here. Thanks for the concern but I actually live at Highfields which is about 10klm north of Toowoomba and a bit higher on the Crows Nest road. We copped the rain but it all got away ok so we are pretty well sittin tight. My wife's sisters car is one of the ones bobbing down east creek in Toowoomba so its totally lost. Its a mitsubisha magna and is probably one of the ones now jammed under the bridge in Ruthven street, if not, its on its way to the Murray. My eldest son saw the whole thing whilst shopping in town yesterday and is still shocked at the carnage that he saw.

As I work for the council, I was part of the cleanup crew today and I was driving a large John deere tractor with front bucket loader. The force of the water has been unbelieveable and I will get some photos for you tomorrow. Concrete rubbish bins and picnic tables have been destroyed and removed off their mounting slabs and forced up to 60metres plus through the parks. It took 6 of us to lift one of the table tops onto a truck yet the water had carried it quite some distance along the grass. Footbridges across these creeks have been destroyed and most that remain have the pipe railing broken and flattened over from the force of the debris.

Those that know Toowoomba may realise that it actually sits in an old volcanic crater and has two creeks that drain to the south and meet up and form one creek called Gowrie Creek. These two creeks, east and west creek sit on Toowoomba like the letter Y and the town centre is actually built across the area where the two meet. (That was smart) The original town was to the south outside this crater in an area called Drayton. The present town of Toowoomba was an area called the swamp and was drained to create the area where Toowoomba now stands. Both the creeks in Toowoomba are actually spoon drains and the water eventually drains back to the west towards Oakey and then the Condamine river. News reports are misleading people saying that the water that flowed thu the centre of Toowoomba then came down throught the lockyer valley and on to Gatton. That is not correct. The top of the range at Toowoomba is actually part of the Great Dividing Range and the water to the west of it goes off to the Murray River System. The water that is affecting Gatton and the Lockyer Valley is coming from all the rain that fell on the eastern side of the escarpment. Same storm but different destination. Thought I would point that out because it gives the impression that those cars and the water through the centre of Toowoomba went down through Grantham etc. Not so. Will try to post some damage photos tomorrow if you like.

Cheers (Oh and both my brumbies are in a shed here dry and safe).

Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2011 10:00 pm
by littlewhiteute
I evacuated my sister from her Jindalee home tonight, she'll be with me for a while, the prediction is her home will be under to the second floor by Wednesday night / Thursday.

We brought as much as we could, but the big furniture will be lost. :(:(

Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2011 11:09 pm
by Subyroo
Captain Obvious wrote:Hope all our Brisbane and areas members are doing ok looks like its going to be a bad one down there the next few days!!
Wife & I got trapped at Bellmere (suburb of Caboolture) today for a couple of hours whilst we were babysitting the Grandson.
Once the water dropped at the bridge over the Caboolture River on Bellmere Rd we made a bee-line for the SSC seeing as our daughter and her family were safe.

Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2011 1:18 am
by RSR 555
subybrumby wrote:Trevor from Toowoomba here. Thanks for the concern but I actually live at Highfields which is about 10klm north of Toowoomba and a bit higher on the Crows Nest road. We copped the rain but it all got away ok so we are pretty well sittin tight. My wife's sisters car is one of the ones bobbing down east creek in Toowoomba so its totally lost. Its a mitsubisha magna and is probably one of the ones now jammed under the bridge in Ruthven street, if not, its on its way to the Murray. My eldest son saw the whole thing whilst shopping in town yesterday and is still shocked at the carnage that he saw.

As I work for the council, I was part of the cleanup crew today and I was driving a large John deere tractor with front bucket loader. The force of the water has been unbelieveable and I will get some photos for you tomorrow. Concrete rubbish bins and picnic tables have been destroyed and removed off their mounting slabs and forced up to 60metres plus through the parks. It took 6 of us to lift one of the table tops onto a truck yet the water had carried it quite some distance along the grass. Footbridges across these creeks have been destroyed and most that remain have the pipe railing broken and flattened over from the force of the debris.

Those that know Toowoomba may realise that it actually sits in an old volcanic crater and has two creeks that drain to the south and meet up and form one creek called Gowrie Creek. These two creeks, east and west creek sit on Toowoomba like the letter Y and the town centre is actually built across the area where the two meet. (That was smart) The original town was to the south outside this crater in an area called Drayton. The present town of Toowoomba was an area called the swamp and was drained to create the area where Toowoomba now stands. Both the creeks in Toowoomba are actually spoon drains and the water eventually drains back to the west towards Oakey and then the Condamine river. News reports are misleading people saying that the water that flowed thu the centre of Toowoomba then came down throught the lockyer valley and on to Gatton. That is not correct. The top of the range at Toowoomba is actually part of the Great Dividing Range and the water to the west of it goes off to the Murray River System. The water that is affecting Gatton and the Lockyer Valley is coming from all the rain that fell on the eastern side of the escarpment. Same storm but different destination. Thought I would point that out because it gives the impression that those cars and the water through the centre of Toowoomba went down through Grantham etc. Not so. Will try to post some damage photos tomorrow if you like.

Cheers (Oh and both my brumbies are in a shed here dry and safe).
:o:o:o:o Glad to hear you're all good Trev and the Brumbys too :cool:

Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2011 6:22 am
by 1111giles
So glad to hear you are safe Trevor.

Heard about this on the Radio early doors today as I drove south have still to see our news though. Felt numb and empty not knowing if you were gonna be OK.
Great to hear you are ok mate.
Our thoughts go out to all those effected there - floods are a shocking thing.
Hope you can get back to normality as soon as possible.

Best regards
Giles.:D

Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2011 10:03 am
by TOONGA
To everyone affected by the flooding, you are in my thoughts and prayers.

TOONGA

Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2011 2:58 pm
by vincentvega
Well I just finished moving expensive / essential gear to the second level at work. I suspect we will only get about 6" through here but better safe than sorry. The water is only about 30m away though.

My boss' place at Yeronga is already up to the second level. He was a bit complacent about it all and now looks like he will lose everything. I can't believe this is really happening.

Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2011 7:51 pm
by dibs
my cousin drove out a street hearing the noise of the water comented to his wife .looked in the mirror to see the wall of water go past.

Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2011 7:55 pm
by dibs
Storage king has just put out an offer for those who live in Brisbane affected by floods for free storage, they have trucks and trailers available to help evacuate just call 1800storage.

Paste this on your page let's get the word around guys

Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2011 8:19 pm
by Captain Obvious
fark danger bad news for your boss!!!

Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2011 8:32 pm
by subybrumby
Hi all. Back again. Spent all of today directing traffic in the CBD of Toowoomba whilst shop owners were trying to clean out there businesses. I was right outside the coffee club in Margaret street which bore a lot of the overflow water from one of the main channels. I took some photos but can't find the lead I need to hook up to the computer. And they tossed out all their beer!!! Anyway I have made a link to the local paper here, the Toowoomba Chronicle and it carries quite a few snaps. Stay safe everyone and my thoughts are for the families in the Lockyer Valley, Grantham and all downstream to Brisbane.

http://www.thechronicle.com.au/photos/galleries/

Trevor

Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2011 8:46 pm
by steptoe
Absolutely gob smacking viewing on the telly.

One observation in comparing flooding of any magnitude to bushfires through towns or cities is that bushfires spare some properties for no apparent reason, but floods - gees they treat everyone on the same level, literally.

Having had some very close experience to the after effects of natural disaster I can see humans are very resilient and bounce back after the numbing days and weeks after - just get stuck into the clean up and repair and replacement of whatever possible.

What still seems to be pushed under the carpet and not in the media is the stats of those who do not cope - do not cope to the extent that they top themselves. This is something the huge recovering community need to watch out for in their peers

Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2011 10:26 pm
by riksta
Hi Trevor, glad that you are allright up there.

As the club Co Editor, I was wondering If you would mind if I could use your post about what you have gone through the last cupple days in the club mag.

I think others would like to have someone from up there tell us all just how you are going and the things you have seen.

Rik.

Rik.