I can assume that those of you that read this blog are aware of the flooding that is going on in Australia. My youngest son and his wife live in a suburb of Brisbane, and as of yesterday, are affected by the flood. Since they are 15 hours ahead of us in time, as I write this at 1:30 p.m. MST it is 6:30 a.m. Wednesday morning there. We haven't heard from them since yesterday afternoon. Water was lapping at their doorstep at that time. Having been to Brisbane a few years back, and having spent several days in the area that is now under water, I thought to include a few pictures my wife and I took at that time, for perspective to those of you that might have seen enough news to be aware of what I am talking about.
This picture is looking eastward, I think, across the Brisbane river with the Brisbane LDS Temple on the point above the river. This is in the Kangaroo Point area of Brisbane.
This picture is a similar view, but with a zoom lens.
This is just a picture trying to capture the old Cathedral on the bank above the river. It is a ways north of the LDS Temple but in the same general area.
This picture is across the road from the LDS temple on Kangaroo Point, looking northwest, kinda, toward Eagle street. Eagle street is probably in the area of the buildings in the center of the picture, or maybe just beyond. This area is under water today, and the peak of the flood has not yet arrived.
This is a picture of one of the numerous boat ramps that line the river. Many people live on boats on the river, and use a small boat to get to shore, then bicycle, walk or taxi around the city. River taxis, called River Cats, ply the river during the day, and a lot of people use them to get to and from work, or school, across or up or down the river. It is an inexpensive way to traverse the city. Many, if not most, of these ramps are now gone in the current flood, and the water is almost up to the bottom of the many bridges across the river.
A River Cat. We spent a very pleasant time going on a tour of the city in one of these one evening.
I took this picture of a barge pushing a drill rig up the river, but I included it in this post because it shows many of the office buildings across the river that are similar to the building in the next picture.
I don't remember the name of this building. The dark colored rectangular squares show the heights of where past floods have reached. This building is in a similar position to the river as the buildings in the background of the previous picture. It takes a lot of water to spread out that far and to that height.
The land is quite flat and the river feeds into the Pacific ocean and is subject to tides. Those tides are expected to come tomorrow, well today in Australia, and meet the flood waters coming down. Where ever they meet, it will be catastrophic. When we were there a few years ago, I saw more water than this old southwest desert dweller has ever seen, not counting the ocean, but they said they were in a drought. This is not a good way to end the drought.We need to keep these people in our prayers, as well as those who have suffered from the snow and cold in the Northeast United States, and those who are suffering from the senseless shooting last weekend in Tucson, Arizona. We need to daily count our blessings. Especially those of us who have so much. And that is the View From The Ditch Bank
We're still here, Dad. We got the trenches dug and the levy banks built in the front yard, and that's funneled the majority of the water away. We're far enough away from the main rivers that we should be okay with no more rain. Also, those black markers on the building, (ps. that pic is upside down, but the idea is still conveyed) the top-most is the level of the 1974 floods. They built the Wivenhoe Dam after the '74 floods to try and prevent this from happening again. Good thing they did, as without that dam, the whole city would pretty much be under now. As it is, the dam is currently at 190% of capacity, and they're worried about it breaking the walls. That would be catastrophic. Also, even with the dam built, the water levels are exceeding the '74 floods in most places already, and the water is meant to peak on Thursday. Will see how we go from there..
ReplyDeleteD
I put Dustin and Cindy's name on the prayer roll at the Temple here yesterday, and we are including them in our personal prayers. Things like this makes you feel so helpless in doing anything else to help. Keep us posted!
ReplyDeleteYep, I scanned it in upside down then didn't flip it before I put it on the blog. I'll send the upright one next blog.
ReplyDeleteFor any who are interested, (Thanks Aunt Kay! You guys are awesome!) we're okay, and it seems that the worst of it is over with. The King Tide that was due seems to not have come, which has let some of the water out. Now as long as it doesn't start raining again, we'll be okay. Hopefully the cyclone season that starts in Febuary will be mild... :)
ReplyDeleteIf you go here: http://au.tv.yahoo.com/sunrise/ this is our version of the Today show. They have archived videos there of the flood, but on the right hand side you'll see a tab/button that says "Watch Live". Click that and you can watch everything that we are watching right now... I just tested it and it is live.
Dustin