Australia needs your help

[opinionated ow]

Just a simple plea from Australia...please pray for relief from the floods. Currently it looks like Brisbane is going to go under, many of the northern towns in NSW are expected to go well under tonight and the rain is not scheduled to stop anytime soon.

Please keep us in your prayers, this is plain scary **** we're suffering from at the moment.

[Indy]

God bless you. My best to you and your family & friends.

[dando]

Thoughts & prayers, Ozzies. :(

-Kevin

[TravelGal]

It's on my mind constantly. Many prayers throughout each day are headed your way.

[SteveH]

amazing video
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=19f_1294721633

[Don Quixote]

wow.

[dando]

Ouch. :(

-Kevin

[TravelGal]

The peak is expected about now. Excerpts from the Sydney Morning Herald:

"The bureau [of Meteorology] said it now expected the level at the Brisbane city gauge to peak below 5 metres. The devastating 1974 floods saw the level at the same location hit 5.45 metres.

At 1.30am today, a level of 4.36 metres was recorded, after several hours of fluctuating readings. Between 3.30pm yesterday and 1am today, the river level fluctuated in the range of 4.2 to 4.3 metres."

City services have all but ground to a halt. Translink advised no buses would run through the CBD from 1pm on Wednesday until further notice, while ferries and CityCats were also halted. Trains were running on a reduced timetable.

On Wednesday morning, all hope of saving award-winning restaurant Drift Cafe on the river was lost, with authorities declaring it a disaster situation.

Earlier, Cr Newman said new flood modelling indicated 19,700 residential properties and 3500 commercial premises in 2100 streets were likely to be flooded in the city.

And the 6500 homes on the first flood warning list, issued on Tuesday, were likely to be severely affected.

All guests have been evacuated from the Stamford Plaza hotel, as floodwaters threaten the nearby City Botanic Gardens."

Et cetera

[Anteater]

I saw photos of the devastation in Toowoomba (Will Power's hometown IIRC); it was shocking. Thoughts and prayers for all affected.

[dando]

:eek: :(

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/fear-this-bridge-is-a-mass-grave/story-e6freuy9-1225986602691

-Kevin

[nrc]

Thoughts and prayers for all. :(

[opinionated ow]

The flooding in Brisbane is truly horrifying but also amazing. This is the third largest city in Australia and pretty much the whole CBD is under water as well as many suburbs where only the peaks of two storey houses are visible!

[TravelGal]

Please have a look at the "Help for Australia" thread. Thanks, Boss, for making it a sticky. For as little as a $10 donation, you have a chance to win a trip that would cost $8,000-$10,000. As a disclaimer, I don't actually use that tour company. I just admire them stepping up to the plate when something needs to be done.

[cameraman]

Between Australia and Brazil it makes me feel a bit better that my house is on high ground & has the added benefit of being high ground not predisposed to liquefaction, subsidence or miscellaneous landsliding.

[Gnam]

:( So much tragedy...


On Monday, rapidly rising water engulfed a car carrying [13-year-old] Jordan Rice, his mother and his brother in the hard-hit town of Toowoomba. The torrent knocked over the first person who attempted to reach the stranded family.

A second man managed to reach the car, but when he tried to pull Jordan out, the teenager insisted his 10-year-old brother Blake be saved first. Jordan couldn't swim.

Before the rescuer, Warren McErlean, could return to the car, a rope he was clinging to snapped. The car flipped over and Jordan and his mother Donna were carried away by the floodwater. They both died.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-20028375-503543.html

[TravelGal]

It just gets worse. From The Australian newspaper:

A quarter of Victoria, [in the south of Australia; its capital is Melbourne] including much of the state's north and west, has been inundated by floodwaters.

Some 1400 properties and 3500 people are caught up in the unfolding disaster.

The towns of Echuca, a historic river port on the Murray and Campaspe rivers, Horsham on the Wimmera, and Kerang on the Avoca were last night bracing for massive flooding as peaks were expected overnight or today.

The Wimmera, Avoca, Loddon and Campaspe rivers have reached record heights, flooding 43 towns, and cruelly,many of these areas were also flooded last September.

The past few days, however, have seen much higher floods, following January rainfalls that in some parts of the state have already exceeded monthly records since they were first kept 130 years ago.

[Kiwifan]

I've been checking out www.nearmap.com today looking at all of the "brown" around the Brisbane River. Last update for Brisbane was Jan 13th. Kinda scary seeing so many old haunts (restaurants) under water. :(

We were at Euchca last May and it was tinder dry with the mighty Murray no more than a trickle.

Take care Aussies, thinkin' of ya.

Rusty.

[cameraman]

Now they have bull sharks at the McDonalds:eek:

http://www.thechronicle.com.au/story/2011/01/14/ipswich-bull-sharks-spotted-flood-affected-streets/

[Gnam]

The hits keep coming: 175mph winds & 3ft of rain. :eek:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41363738/ns/weather/

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/4231/110201yasisatellitegrid.jpg

[TravelGal]

This looks like it is going to BAD. They are evacuating people from the hospitals in Cairns down to Brisbane, for heaven's sake. Most of the resorts on the Whitsunday Islands have already been evacuated "just in case."

From the Sydney Morning Herald, "“This impact is likely to be more life-threatening than any experienced during recent generations,” the latest warning said. Queensland Premier Anna Bligh says residents should prepare to live without many essential services as Cyclone Yasi bears down on Queensland.

Frightening stuff. I'm reading that most evacuation centers are full and it's too late to outrun it. Prayers are needed for the residents and the workers out in the storm trying to help them.

[SteveH]

http://i52.tinypic.com/2hrfthu.jpg

[Kiwifan]

I've spent a month or so in Cairns, it's a beautiful city and they do have cyclones on a regular basis but this is going to hit them hard. :(

We have been down to Innisfail a couple of times and when you see how high the flood levels are set you can only imagine what it must be like. They are a tough bunch up there but this one is going to hurt I feel.

Take care you Queenslanders!

[TravelGal]

According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, CYCLONE Yasi has been downgraded to a category 4 storm, but remains very dangerous.

At 3am [two hours ago as I write this post] it was about 140km south southwest of Cairns, weaken as it moved inland. It made landfall as a category 5 storm about midnight, at Mission Beach, south of Innisfail. It continues to be "fairly intense" with wind gusts up to 125km/h and flooding rains of up to 200mm.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/yasi-downgraded-but-still-dangerous/story-e6frfku0-1225999158572#ixzz1CpQxjKuw

"Very destructive winds with gusts up to 260km/h between Cairns and Ingham and the adjacent ranges will extend inland and weaken," BOM warned.

[Kiwifan]

It sounds like Cairns dodged a bullet last night but it's not sounding too good from Innisfail, Mission Beach or Tully. :( No communication coming out of Tully this morning which doesn't bode well.

The most destruction came from the south side of the cyclone which did via south as it hit the coast taking it further away from Cairns. It's now downgraded to a Cat 3 which is still destructive.

Still dark in QLD so not a lot of info coming out yet.

[TravelGal]

Bits and pieces:

Under leaden skies and sheets of torrential rain that obscured its ranges, north Queensland was last night counting both costs and blessings as Cyclone Yasi raged far into the west, losing potency as it went.

The massive category-five cyclone - cutting a 1000km-wide swathe - was the largest storm in the state's modern history.

The fury devastated the towns of Tully, Mission Beach, Cardwell, Silkwood and Innisfail, ground zero for the landfall of Yasi's 290km/h winds.

Damage to vital facilities has left Townsville and Magnetic Island without water. Pictures of the swimming pool at Dunk Island show it completely filled with sand.

Banana and cane crops have been devastated, adding to a damage bill that will soar beyond the billions lost to earlier flooding. The surrounding rainforest has been stripped. Locals said there was no canopy, and entire trees had been stripped bare of leaves. This could spell disaster for the region's endangered cassowaries, the brilliantly plumaged giant flightless bird that barely survived Cyclone Larry four years ago.

[TravelGal]

From Tourism Tropical North Queensland. Tourism dodged a major bullet but I'm betting the banana and cane crops are gone for this year, at the least.

"We are well and truly open for business. Cairns International Airport is fully operational. Accommodation in Cairns, Palm Cove, Port Douglas, Cairns Tablelands, Daintree and Cape Tribulation is open and most tourism product will be operating as normal from Saturday 5 February.

The resort area of Mission Beach on the Cassowary Coast will take time to recover. Check with individual tourism operators and accommodation houses in the Mission Beach area for specific details.

We want to make it clear that you can continue to book and send clients to the Cairns & Great Barrier Reef region within Tropical North Queensland.

Boats to the Great Barrier Reef from Cairns and Port Douglas resume operation Saturday 5 February.
All accommodation in Cairns and areas north of Cairns are operating as normal.
Most day tour operations and attractions are back to normal from Saturday 5 February.
Cairns, Port Douglas, Palm Cove and the Atherton Tablelands had vegetation damage but no major damage to buildings or infrastructure.
All local roads and transport links are operating as normal."

[opinionated ow]

Yes, we were lucky and really dodged a bullet. That's answered prayer right there...

[TravelGal]

In other news, in WA (Western Australia)

(PERTH, Australia) -- Fires raging along Australia's western coast were augmented by strong winds on Sunday, making the task of controlling them - let alone extinguishing them - nearly impossible for firefighters.

The fires burned in the suburbs SE of Perth. Nearly 2000 acres had been burned as of Sunday morning fueled by dry conditions and strong winds gusting as high as 50 miles per hour. 35 houses lost so far.

Multiple reports indicated that a main bridge that runs across the Brookton Highway had collapsed, which eliminated a vital route for emergency responders.

[Indy]

Jeebus, it seems like Australia is trying to shake off its fleas.

[Cam]

If it's not underwater, burn it! :irked: