QLD Floods 2013: Brisbane, Australia #2

I have been so slack with posting on Blogger of late... so much going on, and I have had no motivation to post or take photos. I hope that will change as this year I really will need my photography outlet (more on that in the next week). This post was prepared a couple of weeks back but I never hit the publish button.

Here are a couple of shots I took in July 2012... look how low the water is (usual high tide), compared to the next pics taken in 2012.



Here are some more shots of the same area, from the recent Brisbane floods.

We also took a drive out to a rural area south of Brisbane where the Logan River burst it's banks. There was flooding on major roads cutting off townships.

This is Logan Reserve Road where the State Emergency service (SES) had a boat ready to take anything needed to the affected homes. While we were there they took off with a generator for a family who had no power. Almost 3000 homes were affected by the Logan River flood and were also without power for quite a few days.

The SES are an amazing bunch of people. Their tireless work in times like these is amazing!!

This is also Logan Reserve Road, but from the other side of the flood waters...

 On the way home we took an alternate route to the highway, which was also in flood.

Although the flood waters have receded across SE Queensland, the clean up will continue for quite some time.

QLD Floods 2013: Brisbane, Australia

2 years ago (January 2011), Queensland was devastated by floods. In some areas, they were the worst on record. In Brisbane, the river rose just short of the 1974 flood levels. There were many homes and lives lost in and around Brisbane and so much devastation across our entire state of Queensland.

Fast forward to the 24-28th January, 2013 (including Australia Day weekend)... Queensland was again devastated by flooding caused by Tropical Cyclone Oswald, including 6 tornados just off the coast of Qld. Some parts of Queensland were much worse off than in 1974 & 2011 with all-time record breaking flooding.

The high winds have caused a great deal of destruction along the coast. The areas of Wynnum, Cleveland, and other bayside suburbs along Moreton Bay were ravaged by torrential rain and wind speeds of 95km/hr which caused king tides, uprooted trees and flooded coastal roads & businesses.

It has been heartbreaking to watch the news. Many people who lost their homes in 2011, had only just rebuilt, and have again lost everything. But the "Aussie Spirit" is evident... communities brought together, neighbours and strangers lending a helping hand to clean up once again.

In Brisbane, we were much luckier this year. The Brisbane River peaked at half the level of 2011. The city centre didn't go completely under as it did back then. But certain businesses & homes right on the river were affected once again.

The Bicentennial Bikeway, running along the Brisbane River, the length of Coronation Drive, was completely under water...

On Tuesday, Michael & I took a walk along the riverwalk below Kangaroo Point (which was totally under water in 2011). Some parts were under only a few centimeters of water but most of the walkway was spared.
Here are some shots (with some comparisons from 2011 - all images are mine)...



January 13, 2011. 5:35pm (after the river levels had subsided a little - peak levels were at 3am)



January 29, 2013. 11:29am

January 13, 2011. 5:30pm - 14 hours after the highest river peak
(these sculptures and the picnic table rooves were almost entirely submerged at 3am that same morning)



January 29, 2013. 11:58am - Around the peak in river levels.



Across the river, the Eagle Street Pier precinct riverwalk was underwater. This time around, the restaurants were spared.

More flood shots to come!

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