SEQ & NE NSW: Rain event & Flood tragedy - Jan 2011

[Blackee]

I have heard today from QLD source that 25 people are missing from one house. All were talking shelter, only concrete slab is left.

Very sad Mick!

Similar to Black Saturday and event 9/11 and other disasters, we the general public are placed in cotton wool about death tolls, missing people etc.

But when you hear about multiple morgues being erected, it's safe to assume that the toll will be much, much higher.

Sorry to be so sombre, but it is reality and not a computer game or video , where you can get up and switch it off.

Our continued thoughts go out to those who have lost loved ones, ones that are missing, and ones that have lost everything!

[Lily]

Tweet currently going around:

Quote of day - Ipswich Mayor: “If I find anybody looting in our city they will be used as flood markers”

[Lily]

Ipswich Motorway Camera yesterday (from Facebook):

[Ausmammal]

Anna Bligh on TV has just confirmed 12 dead now

[Lily]

Yes, 2 further deceased located today, both men in the Lockyer Valley Parts of CBD and 35 suburbs affected by flood waters in Brisbane. St Lucia Fire and Rescue service are using boats to evacuate residents from homes, three further evacuation centres have now been opened. Wivenhoe currently at 190% and residents are being asked to conserve household water use in case of problems with treatment plants. Chinchilla is facing a flood level half a metre higher than they experience a week or so back, unbelievable that people are having to evacuate not once, but twice in a matter of weeks.

Source: ABC news

[Meso]

Anyone else find it annoying how the news seems to love making a point of saying the worst is yet to come. They love a tragedy don't they. Great for ratings.

[Blackee]

1600hrs update

* Official death toll stands at 12
* Unconfirmed reports of bodies floating around Grantham
* More than 50 Brisbane suburbs be affected by floodwater
* Brisbane River to reach 4.5m this evening
* Raw sewage pouring into Brisbane River after treatment plant fails
* Wivenhoe Dam releases reduce to 205,000ML/day
* Suncorp Stadium surface under water
* Early indications that it will take 2 years to rebuild QLD

[Meso]

Roger Federer
The floods here in Australia are devastating! I am on my way to practice now and am going to speak with Tennis Australia to see if we perhaps can organize something on Sunday to help raise some funds for the people of Queensland who have been affected…stay tuned as it would be great if the sport of tennis can help out right before the Australian Open begins.

from his Facebook page. Champion.

[daviescr]

Just had notification from our Logistics company at Tulla that all freight to Brisbane will be despatched as normal today. Once received at Brisbane distribution centre, items will be held until Monday at the earliest.

Any regional shipments are not shipping until further notice.

The reason I post this is to back up Wes's post earlier about the death toll. My company are the sole distributor of 'HiD' (Human Identity) kits that most forensic labs across the world use to identify human remains. In times of natural disasters, as we saw with Black Saturday, these kits are in extreme demand.

I can confirm that a 'very large number' of these kits are en-route to QLD.

[Lily]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/w ... 5985960700

[HarleyB]

Oh god, that is just heartbreaking...

[Jake Smethurst]

So much sad news.

Good on ya Roger!!!

[mick]

Anyone else find it annoying how the news seems to love making a point of saying the worst is yet to come. They love a tragedy don't they. Great for ratings.

I watched ABC24 and 9 all day yesterday, had two TV going, also watched 7 and 10. Compared to Black Saturday, there was a marked difference in the coverage provided by local QLD media compared to VIC media. No leading the witness into tragedy, very few stupid questions, no ambushing of distressed people etc. I wonder if it is just the difference between city and country, QLD and VIC, or perhaps some guidelines were laid down after Black Saturday.

I have been very impressed by Anna Bligh of whom I knew nothing really before yesterday. Controlled, decisive, compassionate, firm, future PM material IMHO. Reminded me a bit of Guiliano after 9/11.

Sadly my earlier report is yet to be contradicted, with 30 people missing from Grantham alone.

I can just remember the huge national effort that went into rebuilding Darwin after the TC, similar will be needed in QLD. National shortage of tradesmen is about to become dire again. Dont plan on building a house later this year anywhere other than QLD unless you want to do it yourself.

One can only hope no more lives are lost. Property is another story. It is easy to sit here and say its only bricks and mortar, but it is much more than that.

[Petros]

Every hour that Wivenhoe and Somerset hold the flood surge temporarily back just exposes the flood mitigition system being caught short for any possible wet event to follow.

I know nothing about hydrology (cant even spell it) - but to me, to reduce both somerset and wivenhoe back to the safe(!?) 100% level - which means letting out 1/2 of what they are presently holding, with the wet catchment seeping away for at least a week to come, would probably take 1-2 weeks given a limitition of keeping the river systems below moderate flood level. Logistical nightmare.

It looks like the SEQ water authority "drove" the dam gates perfectly for this event. But Geez Wivenhoe gave/and currently is, the emergency "fuse" a very solid test (by allowing the lake level to go to 174.8M when all experts have stated that the release gates are to be fully opened at 174M. I guess the inflow metering stations were all functioning well allowing the experts to make a risk assessment on revised operation guidelines. Correctly as it turns out.

[Lily]

I'm still struggling with how a dam can hold more than 100% lol! You're much more knowledgeable than me, Petros, even if you do have trouble spelling hydrology rofl.

[gerta]

Every hour that Wivenhoe and Somerset hold the flood surge temporarily back just exposes the flood mitigition system being caught short for any possible wet event to follow.

I know nothing about hydrology (cant even spell it) - but to me, to reduce both somerset and wivenhoe back to the safe(!?) 100% level - which means letting out 1/2 of what they are presently holding, with the wet catchment seeping away for at least a week to come, would probably take 1-2 weeks given a limitition of keeping the river systems below moderate flood level. Logistical nightmare.

It looks like the SEQ water authority "drove" the dam gates perfectly for this event. But Geez Wivenhoe gave/and currently is, the emergency "fuse" a very solid test (by allowing the lake level to go to 174.8M when all experts have stated that the release gates are to be fully opened at 174M. I guess the inflow metering stations were all functioning well allowing the experts to make a risk assessment on revised operation guidelines. Correctly as it turns out.

Tis some fascinating reading about the Wivenhoe dam. Apparently after the inflows of the tributaries into the Brisbane have peaked and it has peaked in Brisbane then they are going to increase the outflows, but still a massive amount of water to get rid of. (edit releasing it as they expect to at 310,000 ML per day - and they have to release roughly 1,200,000 ML + a bit more from Somerset Dam will take about 4 days. providing they don't get more rain.)

That emergency fuse is pretty interesting - its about double the size of the gates so if they had to use that god knows how much water they would release.

I think at its peak it was releasing 680,000 Megalites per day.

[apocalypse]

According to the latest flood warning, the Bremer is now expected to peak at 19.5m this evening. The Brisbane River is also expected to peak below previous forecasts at 5.2m, which is lower than the height recorded in 1974.

This is wonderful news for Ipswich, given hundreds of homes and properties have been spared of flooding. Concerning for Brisbane though as the level predicted is still similar to 1974.

[mick]

I'm still struggling with how a dam can hold more than 100% lol! You're much more knowledgeable than me, Petros, even if you do have trouble spelling hydrology rofl.

I asked that question today and since we hadnt built a Dam since the 70s, no one could answer it to my satisfaction. The expert in on Hols, but the question has been asked so might get an expert opinion this week.

The consensus of the quasi experts was that the dam was built to a capacity, to safely carry this capacity, the dam is built to hold much more. If you want to guarantee a bucked can hold 10 litres, you build a 15 litre one, same thing, scaled up. It has to be built to hold so much over spec that it could never really fail in theory. As the dam fills to capacity, the water backs up, fills the nooks and crannies up stream as well as rising over the gates. They also said that the way a dam is sized, like a "V" the top holds more than the bottom, fills slower. I will let you know the guts when I find it out.

[Blackee]

2000hrs update

* Current death toll is 12
* Number of missing is further downscaled to 51, fears for 9
* Ipswich flood level has peaked at 19.4m, below forecast.
* Brisbane flood level will peak at 5.2m, below forecast, but similar to 1974 flood levels.
* Approx. 106,000 customers without power

[Lily]

Would be good to find out, Mick, ta