Natural disasters in SEQ and Vic

[CAMS290]

A friend of mine shifts from Alice Springs to Bundaberg in the 1st week of March, he has been in Alice for 12 years and decided that it was time for a change, he purchased a property that back onto a river as he is a keen fisherman, and took advantage of only paying 25% of the normal stamp duty that the QLD Govt has got going.

It's not sounding good for him at the moment, or anyone else in the affected areas, the pictures and footage in the media are absolutely terrible.

[JG34JA]

Originally Posted by mik

don`t really know, but when the plumber rows by to fix a leaking tap in the bathroom a couple of times in a decade they need some sort of plan,
perhaps the worst effected homes that are wiped out every time and it`s not feasible to stop the problem, start a buy back scheme with a ban on the block ever having a house on it again, obviously no one is is going to buy a block that wipes your house out every time there`s a flood, let the council make park land out of it or something.

Tend to agree; perhaps a phased withdrawal of development from floodways could be put before the electorate?
I come from a cane farming family on the Sunshine Coast, the farm which fronted the river long gone to housing development. My grandmother mentioned that the land had been completely inundated twice in her time on the land, and that every 25-50 years one could expect a very large flood where the houses now are.

Everyone out there affected stay safe.

[cs123]

Originally Posted by mik

don`t really know, but when the plumber rows by to fix a leaking tap in the bathroom a couple of times in a decade they need some sort of plan,
perhaps the worst effected homes that are wiped out every time and it`s not feasible to stop the problem, start a buy back scheme with a ban on the block ever having a house on it again, obviously no one is is going to buy a block that wipes your house out every time there`s a flood, let the council make park land out of it or something.

There is one area in Moreton Bay Region that is continuously flood affected. The council is looking to buy back that land. The problem is that a whole street is affected and this would be a bit pricey.

[XR6TCraig]

Sounds like Twin Waters! LOL

[TC200six]

I have never seen a natural disaster that knocked out so many sets of traffic lights in my life. The amount of bent sign posts and debris from trees all over the road is a first for me too.

The most extraordinary thing I saw today was Cleveland Point completely flooded by a tidal surge. The first time since 1974.

The Lighthouse Restaurant appears to have suffered some flooding damage that it normally gets away with

[grandpa_spec_F6]

Yeah had a couple near misses at the lights that are out around our area. Saw one bloke just plough through the intersection, then slam on the brakes in unison with the oncoming traffic to his left... not fun!

[flappist]

Originally Posted by mik

don`t really know, but when the plumber rows by to fix a leaking tap in the bathroom a couple of times in a decade they need some sort of plan,
perhaps the worst effected homes that are wiped out every time and it`s not feasible to stop the problem, start a buy back scheme with a ban on the block ever having a house on it again, obviously no one is is going to buy a block that wipes your house out every time there`s a flood, let the council make park land out of it or something.

So they are going to "buy back" most of almost every city on the east coast of Australia including the CBDs?
And of course the west coast as well.
And lets not forget the north.

Paid for with what? Carbon tax? An extra 10% on the mocha lattes sold in Bourke St?

While we are at it lets buy back all the areas that are prone to fires and prone to drought and tsunamis and earthquakes.........

You don't like cyclones, tornadoes, floods, fires, drought or nasty animals that can kill you?

You are in the wrong country........

[Agent86]

They have bought back a surprising amount of land from the black saturday fire.

Sadly society seeps to by and large want big brother to look after them so they are free to do whatever menial activity has their attention for the now.

Sad to see how far we have 'evolved' over the last 25-30 years.

[4stanger]

There have been record flood levels recieved in some areas.
Pretty hard for councils to have town planning for that.
The unfloodable bridge at Gayndah is proof that Bundy is gunna get alot more water yet!
You can plan to have areas away from record floods.
No doubt these records will be reset in the future.
How much is enough, how long is a piece of string.
That Bundy flood is unreal, we are not getting enough media reports on this, all we get is the flooded bremmer & brisbane rivers, don't the tv stations have enough 'make up' for their precious reporters to go to Bundy?

[flappist]

What is it with people and the media?

Locals don't evacuate because the floods have never got this high before.

Meanwhile city cowboys in 4WDs will not cross a causeway with 100mm of water over it because it might "sweep them away" blocking access roads to all traffic including emergency vehicles and there are lineups at the petrol stations because the roads are cut so no fuel can get in.
Guys, the roads will be open in 2 days and fuel will arrive then but until they are YOU CAN'T GO ANYWHERE so why do you need the fuel?

[LTDHO]

I've been talking to a lot of people in QLD who have suffered a loss from the recent flooding. They are very patient and understanding.

If you are a tradie around Australia, get to QLD. There will be heaps of work!

[fordomatic]

Trying to get to Canberra from Gladstone, not happening right now, even the roads out west are flooded. We have been stuck here since Saturday night. All the people who are saying the Bruce will be re-opening in a few days are severely misinformed. There is a major bridge out at Miriam Vale and they think at least a week to get that up and running. Then you have Bundy to think about as well, this is going to take a lot of time. There are literally hundreds of trucks up here waiting to get through.

My friend is a depot manager at a petrol station here and the police have asked her to stop all traffic going south. The amount of arrogant and ignorant people saying it will be fina and then coming back two hours later is astounding, people are just really stupid. They seem to think that this is like all the other times and it will be good to go in two days, it wont be.

I went to Tannum Sands beach yesterday and the amount of dead fish in all the debris is phenomenal.

[vanman_75]

I live in a flood zone my house was built 3 metres off the ground for a reason , you will see most of them houses " flooded" are low set .I lose my lawn worst case scenario.councils should be a little smarter , the weather has never changed and never will .as for who pays noone should ,its all by your own choice ..like buying a used car you can't guarantee its always going to be perfect ..and if govco can't budget for the rare emergency , same as insurance companies then they shouldn't be in business.my heart goes out to people that have lost a lot but 5 days in people are still carrying belongings out is pure stupidity ..people lifting stuff onto a chair cause they are to lazy to carry it upstairs amazes me ..this of course doesn't include all affected as sometimes there is no warning but people need to be responsible for their own actions/house .

We lost 20 head in the flash flood , but nothing at our homes cause we are proactive , yet lots in my street lost cars , furniture ...why should I pay for their laziness.

On a plus side all my friends and family are safe , many had some damage but its all material .keep safe folks

[2011G6E]

Son in law was evacuated very efficiently from north Bundy by Blackhawk yesterday and is hopping on another one today to be taken to evac centers on the south side of town, and this morning my daughter (who's having trouble with her pregnancy and doesn't want to go into early labor just yet) is being loaded onto a Hercules to be flown to Brisbane with dozens of other critical patients from the Bundy hospital.

In the future any time I hear some lefty pinko commie greenie whinger complaining about military funding, they get a poke in the damn nose...

[flappist]

Originally Posted by fordomatic

All the people who are saying the Bruce will be re-opening in a few days are severely misinformed. There is a major bridge out at Miriam Vale and they think at least a week to get that up and running.

The Bruce Highway is 1600km long. Just because one bridge is out does not close the highway for its entire length.

Parts of it are already open with most of it expected by tomorrow.

If Calliope-Gin Gin is cut for an extended period there is the Burnett Hwy, Tablelands Hwy depending on where the cut is, Rail, Sea, Air and all of the inland routes.

[Smoke Pursuit]

I have been told that Energex have up to 750 power lines still on the ground... From their point of view this storm has been one of the worse on record, but hopefully they will have most of it fixed within the next few days which is commendable.

Another interesting fact is the damage, while no where as many houses will get flooded as last time in and around Brisbane (thank god) nearly everyone I talk to has had some form of damage, roofs, water ingress, fences etc.

[4stanger]

Originally Posted by fordomatic

Trying to get to Canberra from Gladstone, not happening right now,

Still possible, But would be a long drive, first head to Mackay, then go west and south ward from there.

[cheap]

We're 4km's from Brisbane CBD and 48 hours without power. The problem is that trees (literally hundreds) haven't been pruned and have interfered with the power lines. My guess the eco-terrorists greenies have struck again within BBC and Emergex. +1000 houses impacted, I've had the generator and camping fridge running nonstop, we've been working with our neighbours and have salvaged most cold items, and enjoy a coldie with the neighbours, we're putting up with cold showers, living at home is sort of like camping in an expensive tent!

A couple of less than ideal nights and a bit of inconvenience, we're grateful as it could be much worse

[2011G6E]

The missus is still waiting in Rockhampton to get her wrist operation which was postponed until this friday. She rang up her work here and said she'd be another two weeks after that, and extra week away than what was expected. One manager told her to "simply" drive up to Mackay and back through the inland way...about an eight hour drive. She said "How? I don't have a car down here, I'm with our son and his family". The guy said that I could go and get her.

Sorry knobend...I'm not undertaking a minimum of a sixteen hour round trip drive just to get my missus back out here to work for you...you can wait an extra week. She rang a higher boss, and he laughed and said "Don't be bloody stupid...you can't do that! Stay where you are until you can get back safely!". Common sense does exist...

I've heard the rail track is washed out in a dozen places from here to the coast...pretty much like last floods two years ago. I can see a few days off work coming up...awww...

[Sam_Boss260]

Originally Posted by DASH GT

Another interesting fact is the damage, while no where as many houses will get flooded as last time in and around Brisbane (thank god) nearly everyone I talk to has had some form of damage, roofs, water ingress, fences etc.

Indeed. Dues to the different nature of the events, ie storm surge, extreme winds etc, more people are effected even with a lower damage cost per household.

Funny thing is in 2011 when we lost power in the western suburbs and we were isolated, many people on the other side of town were like "floods? nah they can't be that bad...". Now that they have lost power and their creeks have flooded they are going on about the event. Funny that.

But agree almost everyone has been effected, even in a small way.

We were very very lucky this time round.

[TheSneakiness]

There has been a new land release near me which has had all the trees removed buffeting the wind, now that they aren't there you can easily double the wind speed at my place. Needless to say when the plaster collapsed in our garage because of water being blown underneath the flashing to the house the property manager wasn't impressed.

Also got a gum that came down on a garage across the street from me which crushed all access in and out the the neighbours house and cops providing blockades to downed lines.

[fordomatic]

Originally Posted by flappist

The Bruce Highway is 1600km long. Just because one bridge is out does not close the highway for its entire length.

Parts of it are already open with most of it expected by tomorrow.

If Calliope-Gin Gin is cut for an extended period there is the Burnett Hwy, Tablelands Hwy depending on where the cut is, Rail, Sea, Air and all of the inland routes.

Burnett Highway is also out around the area you need to bypass Bundy and Gladstone. Trucks have been stopped for 4 days, if they aren't going anywhere nothing is open mate. We are going out to Biloela and down the Leichardt tomorrow but that is also cut at Miles so have to go further west again. This was only just opened at lunch time

[mik]

Originally Posted by vanman_75

I live in a flood zone my house was built 3 metres off the ground for a reason , you will see most of them houses " flooded" are low set .I lose my lawn worst case scenario.councils should be a little smarter , the weather has never changed and never will .as for who pays noone should ,its all by your own choice ..like buying a used car you can't guarantee its always going to be perfect ..and if govco can't budget for the rare emergency , same as insurance companies then they shouldn't be in business.my heart goes out to people that have lost a lot but 5 days in people are still carrying belongings out is pure stupidity ..people lifting stuff onto a chair cause they are to lazy to carry it upstairs amazes me ..this of course doesn't include all affected as sometimes there is no warning but people need to be responsible for their own actions/house .

We lost 20 head in the flash flood , but nothing at our homes cause we are proactive , yet lots in my street lost cars , furniture ...why should I pay for their laziness.

On a plus side all my friends and family are safe , many had some damage but its all material .keep safe folks

are most of the houses in your neck of the woods raised up?

[flappist]

Originally Posted by fordomatic

Burnett Highway is also out around the area you need to bypass Bundy and Gladstone. Trucks have been stopped for 4 days, if they aren't going anywhere nothing is open mate. We are going out to Biloela and down the Leichardt tomorrow but that is also cut at Miles so have to go further west again. This was only just opened at lunch time

And in a couple of days most of it will be open again.

The rain has gone, all we are waiting for now is the runoff to go into the sea.

[Thornie]

Originally Posted by fordomatic

Trying to get to Canberra from Gladstone, not happening right now, even the roads out west are flooded. We have been stuck here since Saturday night. All the people who are saying the Bruce will be re-opening in a few days are severely misinformed. There is a major bridge out at Miriam Vale and they think at least a week to get that up and running. Then you have Bundy to think about as well, this is going to take a lot of time. There are literally hundreds of trucks up here waiting to get through.

My friend is a depot manager at a petrol station here and the police have asked her to stop all traffic going south. The amount of arrogant and ignorant people saying it will be fina and then coming back two hours later is astounding, people are just really stupid. They seem to think that this is like all the other times and it will be good to go in two days, it wont be.

I went to Tannum Sands beach yesterday and the amount of dead fish in all the debris is phenomenal.

It's unreal how many people have ingored the warnings then got themselves into trouble, I was just thinking the other morning how i drove down to bray park on the boyne river after night shift and there would have been 20-30 people standing on the pontoon there. Not 2 hours later the pontoon was gone. River mouths about 50 metres wider now as well from the beach erosion.

[vanman_75]

Originally Posted by mik

are most of the houses in your neck of the woods raised up?

All , its prone to flood ..I have built in downstairs with flooding in mind , aircon boxes at top level, as are the gas hotwater ,powerbox,all my PowerPoints ..I literally drive my car away and wait for it to go down ..I'm at Rocky and there should be about 500 under house now , neighbour will hose it off when it goes down

[Thornie]

smart building vanman

[mik]

Well done Vanman, i wonder how much it would cost to raise up an already built house on the ground like yours is, i was looking at a news article with a picture of a young couple on their house roof with the water lapping around about a foot under the eaves, if as flappy mentioned in an earlier post there would be way to many houses to ever do a buy back in the worst area`s , perhaps this would be a cost effective fix in many cases.

[vanman_75]

Between 5 and 10 for a restump , depending on stumps ..I have always believed in these areas they should be up and you would find a lot of them were back in the day .less interference with flood waters means less height / greater flow etc etc .and I know it looks good having plaster walls but it isnt very water proof ..when you look at these low areas it really makes you wonder what councils think ..

I now know of at least 3 of my friends that had their house go under in different towns over the last couple days ... Would have been zero if high set , it doesn't fix everything but it could solve a lot .my 2 cents

[buggerlugs]

Just got power back on. Been off since 11.00am Saturday. Big damage up here in the hinterland. One Macadamia farmer has lost 450 trees in one section of his farm alone.......Great job by all the Energex crew, working in very tough conditions........