Through the week we received a huge number of phone calls, emails and messages from friends and family around the world concerned for our safety. We're touched by the good wishes that you've all sent our way and would like to restate that Alison, the baby and I are perfectly well, as is the house. Minor inconvenience was all we suffered through this week so everyone can stop worrying about us now.
Monday already had Alison and I in shock as we watched the footage of the flash floods that struck Toowoomba and would continue to rush through the Lockyer valley on the way to Brisbane. The already saturated ground could no longer hold any more water and 200mm of rain that fell in an hour started a deluge that ripped through the main streets of Alison's home town. This video on YouTube gives an idea of how quickly conditions changed providing little chance for anyone to do anything to prepare.
Brisbane thankfully had a little more warning and we were advised that the river would start to swell on Tuesday morning. Alison and I were at work and debated the merits of getting home before roads would get cut off by the rising water. By 1pm we decided to chance the rain and wet roads, joining a mass exodus from the CBD of people that were trying to get home to prepare by moving valuables to higher ground or sandbagging their properties in hope of keeping the water at bay. Even though we probably would have been able to wind through back streets to get home later in the day, I'm still glad that we left early while the main roads were still open. They didn't remain that way for long come Wednesday morning.
Wednesday was largely disaster prep for us to last until the waters would subside. Even though we live in one of the high risk suburbs, at no point did we fear for our house as our street is on a pretty high hill. If waters were lapping at our doorstep then most of Brisbane would be completely submerged. Instead we focussed on getting essentials before general panic set in, stocking up on bread, canned goods, fuel and other bits and pieces early in the morning. By 9AM the power was cut in Oxley to minimise any risk to flooded houses which meant that any work I expected to accomplish from home went out the window. We had a brief reprieve at noon which allowed us to heat up our lunch to eat before the power failed yet again an hour later. Now we were worried about the food in our fridge, fully expecting the power to remain off until the waters were due to subside in three days time. By this point all gas canisters, bottled water and packed ice was sold out at the few remaining stores that were still open, so it would have been pretty tight for us to last without resorting to an unhealthy portion of canned goods and packet biscuits. After transferring the majority of our perishables to a friend's place that did have electricity and charging up our emergency flash lights we retired to bed wishing luck to the poor people down the road that have been slaving away to save their possessions for the past 48 hours. Imagine our relief when the power came back on at 11PM.
Water from the flash flood and tides were expected to peak at 4AM on Thursday. Since I could barely sleep I turned on the TV to get an update on the news. Through a mammoth effort by the hydrologists controlling our flood gates at Wivenhoe dam and a blessed day with less rain than forecast on Wednesday, the peak was lower than the 5.45M above the river originally expected and only came up to 4.45M at its highest. Damage to the city was severe and we even lost a portion of the floating walk way in New Farm which could have caused even more chaos were it not for a little tug boat that saved the day.
Walking down the street the next morning it didn't seem like the impact was any less severe, certainly not for houses that have been well under the water for over two days. Household items, food and waste now polluted the body of water that stretched up our main roads from the train station. Already we could detect a scent of the stench that would grow to permeate the area once the waters retreated, leaving behind mud, rubbish and sewage through homes and neighbourhood streets.
Trekking further afield we drove out to see how some of our highways had fared and the result was shocking. The off ramp from Jindalee to the Centenary Highway had become a vast river, adorned with road signs and street lights. We were now truly cut off from getting out by road and the trains were no longer running into the city except to transport emergency personnel. Once again the general advice was to stay home which we did.
Buildings in the CBD were also losing power so my machine at work was turned off, again eliminating any productivity for the day. Thankfully our projects can be delayed a few days, for other people in the company they had to continue to work and service Flight Centre stores across Australia and internationally that were not affected by the flood and would still need to continue operations, perhaps more than ever to accommodate the logistical nightmare of getting emergency workers interstate as necessary. We actually had new centres set up in our disaster recovery sites and staff flown to Sydney to keep working. Pretty intense and inspiring.
By Friday limited services were running again without charge so Alison and I managed to get a train into work. Aside from the water cooler talk about the obvious subject on our minds and occasional exchange of photos, the day went by with a surreal air of normality. The train ride to and from the city highlighted how many areas were still inundated and the extent of the damage where water had receded. The shops suffered blackouts were stark and even those that retained power were bare of essentials that were snapped up in the initial rush.
This whole experience has been a stressful affair and in the end we were the lucky ones compared to a lot of people. Friday afternoon marked the start of the long clean up ahead, with mountains of ruined furniture and items piled on the sidewalk in front of dirt encrusted houses. By now the pong was discernibly present even from our house close a kilometer from the water line. While we did not participate in the clean up effort, over 7000 volunteers showed up to lend a helping hand to affected homes. The recovery and repairs for houses, roads and businesses will likely take months but the effect of this event will scar Brisbane and Queensland for many years.
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