Aussie City Braces For Worst Flood In 118 Years

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Aussie City Braces For Worst Flood In 118 Years

Posted by ryuzaki0 on Tuesday January 11, 2011 @02:03AM from the good-luck-down-there dept.

aesoteric writes "As parts of the Australian state of Queensland either experience or prepare for the worst floods to ravage the state in over 100 years, Australia's techies have taken it upon themselves to keep communications services on as the crisis unfolds. One man is mirroring flood information from a faltering Brisbane City Council website, and others have opened WiFi channels in their neighbourhood whilst mobile signal gets choked. But there is major damage to telco networks — at least one major fibre link has been severed by flood waters, telephone exchanges have been knocked offline and cell towers put on battery or generator back-up (or offline altogether). On a sombre note, the floods have claimed 10 lives, including children, and 78 people are still missing after facing a torrent of water up to 8 metres (26 feet) high."

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Please Donate by H0D_G · 2011-01-11 02:09 · Score: 5, Informative

The Queensland Government has set up a disaster relief fund for donations
http://www.qld.gov.au/floods/donate.html
Please Give.

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1. Re:Please Donate by Pojut · 2011-01-11 02:12 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  I'm doing my part!
  But no, seriously...I donated $15. Do it, people...what's going on down there is affecting everyone. I know that seems like an obvious thing to say, but it's true: no one is being spared from this disaster. "If we all do a little, we all do a lot."
  
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  Living With a Nerd
2. Re:Please Donate by Moryath · 2011-01-11 02:26 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  It's awesome to see techies and everyone else working to do their part.
  What I find actually uplifting is this part: On a sombre note, the floods have claimed 10 lives, including children, and 78 people are still missing after facing a torrent of water up to 8 metres (26 feet) high."
  Think about that number and compare it with the number of dead and missing from many "classical" disasters - for floods, the usual death count is in the multiple thousands. Roughly 3000 in the monsoon floods for the past few incidents in Asia, for instance.
  It's a tragedy when people die in a natural disaster, but if the death count is below 100, they did a great job preparing and minimizing casualties!
3. Re:Please Donate by antifoidulus · 2011-01-11 02:34 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  Thats not really a very good comparison, Australia has one of the lowest population densities on the planet, even the cities aren't anywhere near as dense as those in places like Indonesia and Bangladesh. Comparing just the sheer # of casualties isn't a very good way to judge disaster preparedness per se.
  
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4. Re:Please Donate by Cimexus · 2011-01-11 02:37 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Very true. Australia is a first world country with good warning systems etc. so you would expect death tolls to be lower than in developing nations. (Having said that, most of the '78 missing' are unfortunately likely to be dead too - the flooding in Toowoomba was so quick that people were washed away before they knew what was happening and may have ended up many, many miles downstream, so it will not be until the water subsides that the true toll will be known).
  There's one other thing about the low death toll that has nothing to do with preparation though. Australia is simply not as densely populated as the places you hear about with the multi-thousand death tolls. It's a huge, US-sized continent, with a tiny population. So just due to pure probability, most natural disasters affect rural areas and small towns. Casulaties are therefore usually low.
  That's about to change though - the water is now heading out towards the coast, directly through Brisbane. Unlike the other places affected, this is a large, multi-million-person city. Now the flooding there will be a gradual 'river flood' over the next few days (not a flash flood like in Toowoomba), so people do have adequate time to get themselves to safety. But the ~impact~ of it will be immense just due to the fact it is hitting one of Australia's rare densely populated areas. I hope we get away with minimal casualties, but the economic cost will be staggering: so many roads, cars, bridges, telephone poles, signs, bits of telecomms infrastructure and all the other trappings that go with a large city will be washed away. It will be enough to put at least a $15 billion dent in the economy. And that's before we consider the private cost to individuals: it is expected ~9000 homes will be submerged in Brisbane by Thursday. Many of these people won't have flood insurance.
5. Re:Please Donate by timholman · 2011-01-11 02:44 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  I think a donation to rebuilding flooded areas in Pakistan would achieve more.
  A donation to rebuild flooded areas in Pakistan will almost certainly wind up in the pockets of a corrupt government official or anti-Western mullah.
  Australia may be a wealthy country in the grand scheme of things, but that doesn't mean that individuals affected by the flooding can't use some additional help. And unlike Pakistan, your donation to Australian flood relief has an infinitely greater chance of actually making to the people affected by the disaster.
6. Re:Please Donate by FriendlyLurker · 2011-01-11 02:57 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Apart from being a rich state within a rich country: Do they deserve donation money - or is this a classic case of reap what you sow - privatizing profits and socializing losses? Australia and especially conservative Queenslanders are amongst the staunchest climate change denialists out there (from link: "There's been a big swing back towards climate change denialists..."). Further, Queensland is a massive coal exporter - and more than happy to fuel dirty-coal burning both in Australia or at export sites the world over, all to make a quick buck. The costs of this flood will be minuscule compared to the Queensland coal industries profits:
  
  In 2009, the [Queensland] state’s 52 coal mines produced a record 195 million tonnes of coal, generating $33.2 billion in export revenue. Queensland is a major player in the international coal market, exporting 168 Mt of coal in 2009 that accounted for 20% of the global trade. The industry generated $3.22 billion in coal royalties, accounting for 9% of the total income of the Queensland Government for the 2008-09 financial year.
  Australian media is divided up amongst a few powerful players (Murdoch included) that don't want any meaningful public debate of climate change. For example most Australians are completely unaware of Australia complacency in the farce that is the "Copenhagen accord" on climate change as exposed by Wikileaks
7. Re:Please Donate by Cimexus · 2011-01-11 03:30 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  No offence but that scenario would never happen in AU. Good efforts will be made to rebuild, just as they have been in every previous disaster (Australia is pretty accustomed to major floods, cyclones and fires). Australian cities are generally in a much better state of upkeep than in the US even before a disaster hits. (I'm not saying this in an inflammatory manner, but there is a LOT of urban decay in some places in the US, particularly the downtowns of rust belt/midwestern cities like Detroit.)
  As an aside I am appalled that New Orleans is still in the state it's in. I'm an Australian but married an American and spend a good portion of my time in the US now. I cannot understand why the US seems to be such a nation of contrasts: how can a country which is wealthy and mostly filled with good infrastructure seemingly ignore such disrepair and decay in a major city? I'm pretty sure if a similar event happened to Boston or LA or Manhattan that it would have been rebuilt years ago. It's almost like different places in the US act are treated according to completely different rules or something ...
8. Re:Please Donate by Kell+Bengal · 2011-01-11 03:31 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Thing is, Australia also has the highest urbanisation rate, with 90% of our population in cities. Floods rarely kill people in the country, but would be a colossal disaster in the city. Fortunately, almost all of our cities are on the coast and flood waters simply run off into the sea.
  
  Now, when the sea levels rise, that's another story altogether...
  
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9. Re:Please Donate by Gadget_Guy · 2011-01-11 04:43 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Do they deserve donation money - or is this a classic case of reap what you sow - privatizing profits and socializing losses? Australia and especially conservative Queenslanders are amongst the staunchest climate change denialists [uq.edu.au] out there (from link: "There's been a big swing back towards climate change denialists...").
  Wow. This reminds me of seeing the TV footage of people dancing in the streets when the twin towers came down. Do you really believe that the people affected by these floods deserved it? Is this God smiting the wicked people of the world?
  I certainly believe that man causes climate change, but I put my feelings on this matter aside and feel sympathy for the thousands of people who have had their lives turned upside down. It is called being human.
10. Re:Please Donate by AlecC · 2011-01-11 05:53 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Regrettably, I have seen factual reports from a fairly reliable source (The Economist) that exactly what GP said is happening, A lot of flood relief money is sticking to fingers or being routed to the preferted groups rather than the needy groups.
  It may or may not be racist, but Pakistan has a pretty corrupt administration. The President used to be known as "Mr 10%", and many accusations of corruption have been made against him. He asserts, possibly correctly, that the accusations were political; on the other hand, it may be that his non-prosecution is political. Whichever way it is, it is an atmosphere in which heavyweight accusations of corruption are not enough to block a political career.
  
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It's Fast by Mike+Mentalist · 2011-01-11 02:20 · Score: 5, Informative

This BBC video link shows how fast the flooding is - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12161502

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1. Re:It's Fast by Anonymous Coward · 2011-01-11 02:57 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  This BBC video link shows how fast the flooding is - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12161502
  
  The "original" is perhaps on the ABC website
  More disturbing is the amount of water that went through the town of Grantham
Sigh... by AlexiaDeath · 2011-01-11 02:31 · Score: 3, Insightful

Loss of life and damage is sad of course but... It's really depressing how short peoples memories are even in this day and age. Building on flood areas of rivers and marsh lands ever so happily. Of course its going to flood there. If not in this year then sometime in the next 50-100 years for sure. If people choose to live in such places they should be prepared to rebuild their houses now and then and have a plan of action in case of a flood.
1. Re:Sigh... by drinkypoo · 2011-01-11 02:39 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  What I don't understand is people who got wiped out in Katrina, got paid, and then used their money to move back in. If someone hands you a check, take it and run like a motherfucker!
  
  --
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2. Re:Sigh... by Cimexus · 2011-01-11 02:55 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  The people in Brisbane know full well that certain areas are flood prone, especially those that lived through the 1974 floods. Seems that the current flooding is probably a 1-in-100-year kinda event so they got a bit unlucky. But everyone in these areas in Brisbane knows and accepts the risk.
  As for the flash flooding in Toowoomba, well that's a different story. I find it hard to fault their choice of where to live. Far from being a flood plain, Toowoomba is on the top of a freaking plateau 700 metres above sea level, and nothing even remotely like this has happened in its recorded history. A freak event, and very sad.
3. Re:Sigh... by daid303 · 2011-01-11 03:26 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  As a dutch person I'm offended by this. It's perfectly possible to live in areas that flood easily or are even below sea level. You just need to prepare for it, and respect the water.
  Also, flood areas of rivers are very fertile, you want to build food on those lands, or keep cattle on it.
4. Re:Sigh... by thegarbz · 2011-01-11 11:56 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Try and understand the scale of what you're saying. People in Brisbane aren't building below sea level, they aren't building straw houses in hurricane territory. The freaky flooding that occurs no one could have predicted. Have a look at the warning. Now note that the low lying areas of Brisbane which were evacuated were done so as a precaution due to a flood level of a few meters. This impacts only a few minor riverside premises. The Wivenhoe dam was built to protect us and it has done a wonderful job.
  
  Now have a look at Ipswich. The flood gauge is expected to peak at 20meters. Let me repeat that for you. The river is expected to be TWENTY METRES higher than it's normal level. So tell me where do you think it is safe to build? How high / far away from a river?
  
  I know lets build in Toowoomba, a town that until yesterday was on level 5 water restrictions (120L per person per day, no watering of gardens, no washing of cars). A town that is built near the great dividng range, a mountainous area way above sea level, and is nowhere near a major river. Today it's totalled.
  
  This isn't a case of stupid town planning. It's a natural disaster, unprecedented even in our flood prone history.
Remember when you're reading this... by definate · 2011-01-11 02:32 · Score: 3, Informative

Remember when you're reading this that it's currently summer down here.
In the region (Brisband) the average temperature for this month is around 27 degrees celsius (80 degrees fahrenheit) and average rainfall is around 100 milliliters for the month (6.1 cubic inches).
In fact, the entire country has had an extremely wet summer, and an extremely dry winter for the last year or two.
If you want to feel the effects of climate instability, you just gotta come down here, where it's sunny and 36 degrees celsius (96 degrees fahrenheit) one day and raining and 22 degrees celsius (71 degrees fahrenheit) the next.
It's been fucking insane.

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1. Re:Remember when you're reading this... by Cimexus · 2011-01-11 02:49 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Small correction ... rainfall is measured as a 'depth', not a 'volume'. So *millimetres* is the unit you are looking for. Average rainfall of 100 mm equates to around 4 inches.
  To put the rainfall SE Queensland has had in perspective, virtually all weather stations in the Wivenhoe catchment have recorded between 400-700 mm of rain in the last ~three days~. Some spots even higher (Maleny in the Sunshine Coast hinterland has 740 mm / 29 inches of rain over the last three days - that is a metric f**kton of rainfall in any language)
2. Re:Remember when you're reading this... by Dexter+Herbivore · 2011-01-11 02:52 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  If you want to feel the effects of climate instability, you just gotta come down here, where it's sunny and 36 degrees celsius (96 degrees fahrenheit) one day and raining and 22 degrees celsius (71 degrees fahrenheit) the next.
  It's been fucking insane.
  Hell, that's Melbourne weather at ANY time during the summer.
3. Re:Remember when you're reading this... by 0100010001010011 · 2011-01-11 02:55 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  you just gotta come down here, where it's sunny and 36 degrees celsius (96 degrees fahrenheit) one day and raining and 22 degrees celsius (71 degrees fahrenheit) the next.
  It's been fucking insane.
  We call that "Indiana". I see your instability and raise you.
  70F and sunny and 6" of snow and 14F.
  Also, how do you measure rain? Stateside it's not in volume but in just inches. Now I believe that they use a capture device with a 1" sq top.
4. Re:Remember when you're reading this... by srealm · 2011-01-11 03:01 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  1 Metric Fuckton = 1 Imperial Fuckload.
5. Re:Remember when you're reading this... by Cimexus · 2011-01-11 03:18 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Yeah unfortunately, although I'm Australian and we definitely have extremes in this country, the US midwest has us beat in any "rapid weather change" contest, by a long long way. The extremes in Australia can be just as extreme in magnitude ... but they don't ~change~ as quickly as in North America.
  Australia is comparatively insulated from sharply contrasting airmasses meeting each other because we are an island, and there is nothing but ocean between us and the Antarctic. So polar airmasses making their way from the Antarctic up to Australia are considerably moderated and warmed by the ocean before they get to us. Contrast America which has solid land all the way up to the arctic, which doesn't provide much warming (especially when snowcovered in winter) and thus allows airmasses to remain colder for longer as they penetrate southwards. So you can see day by day temperature fluctuations in America that are significantly more severe than in Australia.
6. Re:Remember when you're reading this... by highways · 2011-01-11 11:21 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  A little more than two years ago, we were worried whether our dams would run out - you can see some pretty graphs here.
  Disturbingly, when the dam was finally full again after 8 years of drought in October, the state opposition leader John-Paul Langbroek called to increase the water storage level at the expense of flood mitigation. The main dam (Wivenhoe Dam) can hold 225% of it's nominal capacity for flood storage. It's currently at 190%.
  The dam is a earth embankment dam and is not design to spill. If so, it may erode the dam and potentially cause it's failure. Hence, there must be a controlled release, even while the flood conditions are occuring and it's a fine balancing act between holding back more rain and flooding downstream.
  In general, it is considered that the flood mitigation capacity (about that of Sydney Harbour) will knock about 2m off a flood peak. There would be many more people currently swimming without it, even before it's expected to peak in about 36 hours.
Re:What Is This, The Weather Channel??!! by DrMaurer · 2011-01-11 02:38 · Score: 3, Insightful

Srsly?
Besides the human interest story, there is a specific news item in the post about tech people making communications easier in the midst of disaster. Isn't that really interesting for your inner nerd?

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Dan
Difference From Katrina... by GreenSeven · 2011-01-11 02:45 · Score: 4, Interesting

I was stationed in Biloxi, MS during Katrina and the comm there was terrible. Of course the first thing to go were the phone switches, which made everyone else panic... Funny thing is we had internet the whole time. I think today with the advances in smartphones, the lack of a phone wouldn't have been a huge issue if we could have kept a wi-fi signal up. Good thinking from the Aussies...

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Re:Brisband = Brisbane by ilsaloving · 2011-01-11 02:56 · Score: 5, Funny

Actually, the worst (best) typo I've ever seen was someone giving a link to the Symbian website (www.symbian.com), but they forgot the m (www.sybian.com).
Flooding is the worst by MetricT · 2011-01-11 03:08 · Score: 4, Informative

Having endured a 1000 year flood in Tennessee last year, flooding of this level is destructive in ways unimaginable to those who haven't experienced it. In one day the Cumberland River turned into something resembling a white-water Mississippi River. Many had to be plucked from their homes via helicopter, and hundreds of homes and businesses were reduced to rubble. It crippled the local economy for months. In sheer destructiveness it exceeds an earthquake or hurricane, though mercifully limited in geographic extent. My deepest sympathies to anyone who has to go through something like that.
Completely wrong impression by dbIII · 2011-01-11 03:35 · Score: 4, Interesting

Australia and especially conservative Queenslanders are amongst the staunchest climate change denialists out there
Not if you compare to about anywhere in the USA outside of Al Gore's office. We get that reputation from a few loonies in an protectionist Agrarian Socialist party that was so low on members it has ended up attempting to merge with a city based conservative party with a heavy emphasis on uncontrolled free market capitalism. I don't think they'll be doing much more than infighting for a very long time.
Coal, sugar, beef, bananas and pineapples is about all we produce and coal is where the majority of the money is. The coal industry really pays most of the taxes. Thus the government while not denying climate change is stuck in the position where they are addicted to taxes on coal and don't want to do anything to lose that money. Most of the coal actually burnt in the state goes into the state government owned power stations so a tax on consumed carbon becomes the silly situation of a government putting a new tax on itself. It's a tiger by the tail. The only alternatives for government at the moment are flat out batshit insane climate deniers within the group I mentioned about that is too busy with it's own infighting over opposed ideologies to do anything constructive.

Anyway, the street is starting to fill up with water and high tide is still an hour away so it's time to move the car unless I want to risk it bumping against the floorboards.
1. Re:Completely wrong impression by totally+bogus+dude · 2011-01-11 17:18 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  This page lists major donors to the state Government's flood relief appeal. There are some resources amongst the list.
Re:Getacanoe by Kell+Bengal · 2011-01-11 03:37 · Score: 3, Funny

Darwin is much further north of where the flooding is, but transporting them to the Northern Territory sounds like an eminently serviceable idea!

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