The 1996 Queensland Floods
Normal view from the Global Office... paradise on the banks of the Brisbane river.
The water continues its climb up the slope, it has now started to cover
our deck 15 metres above the normal level of the river. The picture on the left was taken at 6am this morning.
The rain continues to fall heavily with scattered showers interspersed with light drizzle.
Last night, Viv sat with the dog giving a brave smile as the darkness outside cut off what was going on below.
The only reality being our castle well lit and warm. Funny thing human nature. We are afraid of the dark yet it's darkness provides
us with this sense of security when we are sheltered from it in the light.
At 7.30am I took a drive to College's Crossing where I got talking to some
of the locals - Wivenhoe Dam has not been opened yet. There is great and growing concern as to what will happen in our valley if this
event actually takes place.
Funny thing although we are cut off from the world we got our Sunday paper. I guess someone must have a boat.
The drive to the weir in the driving rain was quite a challenge the road's natural drainage could no longer cope and water flowed inches deep
where it shouldn't. The weir, that we saw yesterday was now well under water and signs gave the only clue that
this had once been the only secure causeway from Karana Downs to civilisation in times of flood in the past.
While I write Phil Collins sings "OOOHH! I wish it would rain down on me." Come to Karana Downs Phil your prayers will be answered.
The picture on the left shows the Brisbane City Council sign once well on high ground now being engulfed by the rising river.
The picture on the right was taken at about 7.40am this morning looking down the river from just above the weir.
The river continues its relentless rise as the time delayed overlays of the
bank below reveal. The red lines in the large picture reflect hourly rises in the water level below the global office up to 3pm today. We have heard that
Winvenhoe has not been opened yet even though the water level in the dam has risen 15% in the last 24 hours to 85% and the feeder dam,
Somerset now stands at nearly 90% full.Absolutely amazing, only a few months ago Wivenhoe stood at only 30% - and with a capacity larger than Sydney harbour that is an enormous amount of run-off.
OK so this is a pic of the Brisbane River taken at 4pm today. It will be our
last posting today... If you look carefully you will see a white crane standing just above the water line on the steps leading down to the grassy deck,
now half covered in water.We have just heard that the Brisbane River is expected to rise at least 8 (YES EIGHT) more metres in the next few days based on current rainfall.
If the rain continues for the next few days they will have to open Somerset and Wivenhoe Dams and we will be taking some underwater footage. Remember we are normally 30 metres above the Brisbane River, now it is less than 15 metres and the rain is still falling steadily despite all the weather bureaus predictions of the weather clearing.
One never considers that natural disasters could effect you and even with our concerns and doubts over the last few days this latest unsubstantiated report about another 8 metre rise in the level of our river has suddenly brought home the impact and devastation that flooding could have on the global office.
We can now hear the quiet roar of the river at its centre - the noise is indescribable, almost peaceful but obviously powerful and restrained. As the level rises the full fury of the water becomes more apparent. I no longer have to look down from where I sit in the global office, I look across and see the water flooding the bank on the other side of the river.
Return to the great flood of 1996