To our Australian friends

I hope everyone is safe from all the flooding in your country! Just heard on the news that 10 people have died from a flash flood.

Hi Cindy,
Thank you for your kind thoughts.
Although we are a long way from Queensland/New South Wales we feel very much a part of the situation.
It is absolutely devastating! One cannot comprehend the huge amount of water, & the resultant destruction. 10 dead so far, over 90 missing after weeks of rain leading to mass flooding & a huge tsunami style flash flood down through a valley 2 days ago. Now the city of Brisbane is experiencing record breaking flooding through its centre with the river unable to cope & a king tide holding it back!
NSW & Victoria are also copping it. We certainly live in an extraordinary country!

Sally - are you OK?

mj

Meredith,

This is really alarming to me. I haven't been up on the news the last few days. My nephew and his wife and two young children are in Brisbane, and I know they live very close to a river , can even see it from their balcony. What do you mean by a "king tide holding it back"? I don't understand that?? And, do you know if there's more than one river there? I know it must be a main one, as my nephew commutes to work by boat on it. Have there been any deaths in Brisbane? I know that is where Sally is from, so hope to hear from her, too.

Worried,
April

Thanks for your well wishes and kind thoughts. I am in NSW, but nowhere near the floods, we are experiencing a lot of rain on and off and a lot cooler weather then we normally get at this time of year. It is devastating to watch the news, I am so saddened to see it. If you want to help, please donate by going to this website, we really need some help www.qld.gov.au/floods/donate.html

Hi April,
A big hug for you in your concern.
Have been watching the continued flood coverage on TV - there is one main river through the centre of Brisbane, ending up in the ocean. By a 'king tide' I mean a very high tide preventing the river flow.
75% of Queensland has been flooded over the last 3 weeks, accumulating in the Brisbane catchment area.
People in affected suburbs have been warned & are evacuating to friends, relatives or relief centres.
They are expecting the peak at 4 am tomorrow morning & again at 4 pm in the afternoon, coinciding with the tide times. That is about 6 hours from now. The city centre is shut down.
The emergency services are doing an amazing job. It is really a case of waiting for the water to go before anything can be done to begin the enormous clean up. It could take days or even weeks.
The deaths have been in regional areas, so far, and mainly as a result of the flash flood that caught everyone unawares. Whole houses swept off their bases, cars etc., ended up miles away.
I hope your nephew & his family are safe,
love Meredith

Does anyone know where Cathy and Trev live? I hope they are ok. Glad you guys are all safe!

Thank you, Meredith, for the further update. I feel a bit relieved, as it sounds like they've likely been evacuated. I guess what worries me most is neither myself or my sister have heard from them, letting us know they're okay. That is very unusual. Do you know if communication has been affected greatly in that area?
So, we will wait and see what happens. The weather is kind of wonky all over the world right now, it seems. We had record rains and a lot of flash flooding , too, here in Southern California a couple of weeks ago.
I hope all remain safe in Australia.

Thanks,
April

I know the were cutting power off in Brisbane to stop any electrical fires, and if they are with optus for their mobile phones, they won't be getting much reception I have been told, I hope they are safe. I have a few friends up that way and my dad hasn't heard from one of his friends for two days.

Cindy,
Cathy & Trev live in NSW. They are OK at this stage. Recently had flooding of roads & burst dams.
I keep in touch regularly.

April,
Live coverage is on www.abc.net.au/news .
Contact number for missing people enquiries - 1300 993 191 (don't know if you have to put international connection number before it - 61)
Hope you hear soon,
mj

I appreciate the additional information, Lauren and Meredith.
I finally heard from my niece. Her husband was out of town on business, so she was alone with her little ones, no electricity or water--just 7 houses from the river. So, I guess she moved all she could upstairs and was evacuated, went to her mum and dad's place in the further out suburbs. She said the emergency crews were great! They're praying that their house will hold, but it looks to be a bit before they'll be able to return. Was a great relief for all of us to hear from her, though. She wasn't able to contact her husband, so he was pretty frantic, didn't want to alarm any of us here in the states, until he knew more.

It looks like it will be a big mess to clean up, but sounds like the evacuation is running smoothly.
Thanks again for all of the information, Meredith!

April

Thanks, MJ! I just heard on the news that flood levels have peaked in some places and water should start to recede.

I am sooo proud to be an Aussie right at the moment. I have heard that so many people have been willing and ready to volunteer to help clean up that they have actually had to send people away because they have had so many people want to help and either not enough for them to do or not enough space for them all!! Aussies always get up and help others in need, just makes me so happy to see.

My heart goes out to everyone involved - I just cannot imagine the damage done even though I finally saw it on television the other night.