BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz

Subject: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 10 Jun 07 - 08:37 AM

Hope you Muddies in Sydney and Newcastle are OK. It sounds like you had one heck of a nasty storm yesterday.
Check in here, and state if all present and correct.

Giok

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: freda underhill
Date: 10 Jun 07 - 08:51 AM

Thanks Giok - the wild storms have been unbelievable. In the Hunter Valley 4,000 people are being evacuated ahead of major flooding expected tonight - expected flood level of 11.4 metres near central Maitland. 75, 000 houses in the Hunter, central coast and Sydney's northern suburbs, remain without power.

Hey Rain!

Hey Rain, rain coming down on the cane,
On the roofs of the town.

Rain in my hair, rain in my face - muddy old Innisvale's a muddy wet place, hey rain, hey rain.

Bloke from the west nearly died of fright 'cause the river rose thirty-five feet last night, hey rain, hey rain.

Johnson River crocodile living in me fridge, and a bloody great tree on the Jubilee Bridge, hey rain, hey rain.

Rain in my beer, rain in my grub, and they've just fitted anchors to the Garradunga Pub, hey rain, hey rain.

Wet season skies have sprung a leak from Flying Fish point to the Millstream Creek, hey rain, hey rain.

Wet season sky so black and big, and an old flying fox in a Moreton Bay fig, hey rain, hey rain.

It's the worst wet season we've ever had; I'd swim down to Tully - but it's just as bloody bad, hey rain, hey rain.

- A North QLD song written by Bill Scott.


Sydney has been saturated - 3 days of bucketing rain and more to come.

freda

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 10 Jun 07 - 09:07 AM

Maitland last had such massive floods 32 years ago - think that was when a news cameraman died in an overturned boat - there was some previous discussion in the recent thread "Happy Australia Day" - several hundred thousand homes without power at height of storm - a coal ship was blown aground - 2 others looked like in trouble, but stayed afloat - there are about 50 ships waiting off Newcastle to load coal normally.

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 10 Jun 07 - 09:10 AM

I did hear one poor family were drowned when their car was washed away in a creek, and that the total deaths so far is 9 people. Must have been real bad.

Love the song Freda.

Giok

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 10 Jun 07 - 09:14 AM

pics of grounded coal ship & road subsiding in these links
1st lot of storm links posted to The Annex (scroll down)

2nd lot of storm info posted on The Annex

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: freda underhill
Date: 10 Jun 07 - 09:17 AM

My sister is a nurse who lives near barrington Tops and works at Maitland hospital. She was meant to work in Maitland on Friday night but had to turn back & go home because the road was flooding.

The last time i came close to rain like this was in the mid-80s. I'd been visiting someone at Long bay Jail, and it had been raining for two days. when I came out later in the afternoon, Anzac Parade was flooded. I had to wade across it, thigh deep, to get to the bus stop on the other side. Several people were waiting at the bus stop, in the torrential rain. When the bus came over the hill we cheered - but the water was so deep it appeared to be "surfing" the road. When i got on, the water was swishing in and out of the bus, and all the seats were saturated.

yup, it's a great song, Giok!

freda

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 10 Jun 07 - 09:19 AM

The road was built up about 30-50 feet or more (looked like 'deco' - decomposed granite fill) - the drain for the small creek under subsided - allegedly had been doing so for some time, causing a dip in the highway - it just collapsed under them while driving - they apparently got out of the car and got the 3 kids out of their car seats, but none of the 5 made it.

That was unusual, most deaths in heavy flooding rain are caused by inexperienced drivers driving into rapidly moving water that is more than 4 inches deep - they don't realise that will sweep them off the road! More occurrences recently due to 4WD SUVs.... they think they can drive thru anything - like the ads....

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 10 Jun 07 - 09:31 AM

the road pics are horrifying - the first pics show a huge gap between cement highway sections. On the left side the surface appears to be sheared off in a relatively straight line, the right at a diagonal. Later pics show a further huge bite taken out of the left side.

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: artbrooks
Date: 10 Jun 07 - 09:33 AM

Take care, watch out and keep clam, Ozzies.

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: MBSLynne
Date: 10 Jun 07 - 09:36 AM

Gosh, sounds awful! Keep safe guys.

Now I will have heaps of people here (in England) asking if my family is ok. A lot of people can't cope with the concept of people living in the same country 2000+ miles away!

Love Lynne

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: katlaughing
Date: 10 Jun 07 - 11:46 AM

I hope there are no more fatalities. You all keep safe and as dry as possible.:-)

kat

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: Bill D
Date: 10 Jun 07 - 12:08 PM

....and not too long ago it was fires......... wow.... you all are due for some calm, gentle times. May they arrive soon.

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: Helen
Date: 10 Jun 07 - 07:57 PM

Hi all,

In Newcastle we had very heavy rain and gale force winds on Friday, and significantly less of each on Saturday. Up river in the Hunter Valley they had the heavy rain but not strong winds on Friday & Saturday I think. But, then the rain moved down to the Sydney area, luckily, so I think that that is why Maitland escaped the major flooding that was predicted.

I remember in 1971 when I was still living in Maitland and the river reached close to the top of the river banks. It is a deep and very wide gully so it was a huge amount of water coming down, but the flood works including levy banks and spillways which were put in place after the 1955 flood held up well, and the river didn't spill over except in the very low lying flood plains.

It appears that the same thing happened this time. There was a prediction from the Emergency Services that there would be major flooding but because of the floodworks and using the spillways,and the fact that it didn't keep on raining up river, everything is fine. My father and my sister and her family had to evacuate last night but they are back home now.

I have to say that the Australian emergency services are absolutely magnificent. And the government response is always very good. (I'm glad I live here and not New Orleans. Sorry to say that, US-er's, but it's true!)

Hubby & I, and thousands of other sightseers went to see the ship which has run aground on Newcastle beach. It is an amazing sight to see a big red bulk carrier right angle parked on the beach. Hubby has been wearing out his SLR digital camera and has some really good photos of it.

Oddly enough it was only a couple of weeks ago when we drove to Stockton, a nearby waterside suburb of Newcastle, and saw the 1908 shipwreck of the French ship, the Adolphe, near the breakwall. I'm ashamed to say I had never known that that was there. All 130 crew were rescued by lifeboat, rowed out in high seas. This week we have watched the modern version of rescuing sailors in high seas: the Westpac Rescue Helicopter winching the sailors up off the ship in gale force winds and waves which had to be at least 10 metres high.

What an exciting Queen's Birthday holiday weekend! I was planning to drop in a folk weekend at Maitland, but I don't think that I'll be going there. What I'm wondering is, will the roads be open to Maitland so that I can go to work tomorrow. :-)

Helen

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: Helen
Date: 10 Jun 07 - 08:05 PM

I forgot to say, from 3am Saturday morning until 5pm that night we had no electricity. We were under the impression that it could be days until power was restored. Apparently we were the lucky ones, because some people are still without power.

Luckily I am a candle-addict so we had heaps of candles to light. We also have a gas stove rather than an electric one, so we were well prepared for cooking.

I'm amazed at how technology-addicted I am though. I couldn't use the internet to check the weather or the news, I couldn't watch tv, I couldn't play computer games even, but worst of all, because of the overcast weather and low light I couldn't comfortably read a book. All the things we take for granted.

Helen

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 10 Jun 07 - 09:26 PM

Interestingly, the chopper guy who was winched down had a problem.

22 guys rescued, and he was put down, let go the rope, then picked it up to be lifted each time.

As the chopper was in driving rain, the blades generate a large static charge. Each time he touched the deck or the rope, he got a kick. He looked very tired when interviewed.

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 10 Jun 07 - 09:40 PM

Central coast radio for live coverage & video of floods

According to bloke from Water Board/loal council the biggest dam in the Central Coast received 12,000 million litres in the last few days. Total capacity of that dam is 190,000 million litres, which is 10 years supply for the area.

Worse thing is the idiots who have nothing better to do than nose about in their 4WDs, move flood barriers in flooded streets!!!, and drive down the street creating wakes, which in one case ran over the sandbags & entered a dry house. Owner was not pleased. I haven't heard of any arrests of such folks (yet).

Electricity is down in many areas, including sewerage plants due to zillions of fallen trees, so some areas have Portaloos in parks, & residents are told not to put any water down their pipes. One local area holding tank broke & raw sewerage flowed into the river.

I just spoke to a friend who lives in the Central Coast (on a hillside!) who had a great time watching & listening to the big storms, and only had a few twigs in his yard, and only had to let water out of his pool twice.

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: JennyO
Date: 11 Jun 07 - 02:04 AM

We had plans to go to the same event Helen referred to - Sessionfest, run by the Newcastle and Hunter Valley Folk Club. Sessionfest was to be held at Walka Water Works at Oakhampton, off Oakhampton Road just north of Maitland. Oakhampton Road is now closed and under water.

Right up to Thursday night, we were still intending to go, although it had started raining. My car was packed, including an extra tarp, raincoats and gumboots, and we were picking up Sandra on Friday morning. Overnight a big wind came up and I wondered how we were even going to set up camp in those conditions. As I went to bed, I began to entertain the thought that maybe I was mad to be thinking of going.

John woke me up on Friday morning with dire news of severe weather warnings, continuous heavy rain and gale force winds, possible flooding and general destruction in the Hunter Region and Sydney. Sandra had cancelled, and when I looked up the folk club site about Sessionfest, I found it had been cancelled too. I spoke to Bilbo who was the contact person and he said they may yet try to have a session there on Sunday night. That would have turned out to be a vain hope. The Water Works seems to have been very aptly named for this weekend!

As we sat at home warm and comfortable it became increasingly obvious that no-one was going ANYWHERE! It turned out far worse than we could have conceived of. Never mind being under feet of water, we wouldn't have even made it there. A number of roads that were on our route are now under water and closed, including this one A section of Oakhampton Road has washed away.

Maitland itself has avoided the worst possible scenario with the Hunter River only peaking at 10.6 metres instead of the expected 11.4 metres, but it's not over yet - More evacuations expected in NSW and More evacuations along Hunter. There has been significant damage to a lot of property and 9 people have died as a result of this storm. So the cost has been high.

As far as I know, all of us Muddies are okay. The only time John and I ventured out was to look at the local scenery on Saturday afternoon. We have the Cooks River not far from here, but we are well up on a hill, so no danger of flooding. The Cooks River was looking as high as we have ever seen it, and the golf course nearby was very flooded with thousands of seagulls there, probably taking advantage of all the worms and other little critters coming up for air as the water table rose. The rest of the time we have been mostly warm and toasty indoors watching a weekend of Dr Who episodes on UK TV.

I had to put newpaper over a window in the lounge room because a hail-sized hole in the window from a previous storm was getting bigger, cracks were appearing around it, and the whole pane was in danger of getting blown in from the wind. The window faces south, where all the wind was coming from, and it was rather draughty till I covered it.

Our backyard is a mess. The tarps over the BBQ area are in shreds, some coloured lights are smashed, poles are broken or bent, ropes are down or broken, a lot of John's tools are wet and quietly rusting - but that's his problem. I had a lot of tender plants in my no-dig gardens, including some basil, which is normally finished by this time of year, and an amazing tomato plant which self seeded and has absolutely NO business looking so big and healthy AND bearing tomatoes in the middle of winter. This was probably because our May was unseasonally warm, but nights have been getting very cold lately, particularly clear nights, so to protect them from possible frost, I had covered the gardens with plastic, held up with garden stakes and weighted down with bricks on the edges. The plastic had mostly blown off and wrapped itself around the clothes line or was impaled on some of the garden stakes. Yesterday I went out and fixed that, so the plants are again covered. Some small branches have broken off them from the weight of water-laden plastic, but nothing major.

I partially unpacked my car this morning, but I have left some camping gear in the back part of it, because Bilbo was talking about possibly having a substitute camping /session weekend some time in the school holidays, which are only a couple of weeks away. the stuff can sit there quite happily for a while and not get in the way of anything.

The weather is now fine - even sunny some of the time, and one thing I definitely don't have to do today is water the garden!

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 11 Jun 07 - 08:59 AM

"Anzac Parade was flooded. I had to wade across it, thigh deep, to get to the bus stop on the other side"

Freda, that sounds very, very dangerous. If that water was moving (or started moving), you could have been swept away. There could have been a deep hole hidden by the water, into which you could have plunged. The water could be badly polluted, which could be bad for your skin.

Please don't walk into deep floodwater again, bus or no bus.

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: JennyO
Date: 11 Jun 07 - 11:02 AM

Never fear, leeneia, that wade of freda's across Anzac Parade happened in the mid 80s - about 20 years ago. I suspect that many of us aren't quite so daring now in our old age ;-)

That reminds me of a house I lived in for only a year in West Ryde when my kids were young teenagers. During that year, there were two flash floods that stopped just short of the floor - the underneath of the floor joists was wet after the second one! The house was about 4 feet off the ground, but it was in the lowest part of a street that apparently copped a runoff from a higher street whenever it rained heavily. Of course I wasn't aware of this until the first time it happened.

It was at night, and I heard an eerie groaning at the side of the house. It was my then car, a '74 Galant, being carried down the driveway, twisting and getting jammed between the side of the house and the fence. The water was knee high. By the time neighbours had come to help get it free a few minutes later, the water had receded. I started the car up, blew the water out of the exhaust, and backed it up the drive. I parked it further up the street. Had to take all the carpet out of course - it was sodden. I must say I was rather impressed that my car had started so easily. They don't make cars like that any more!

The second time, a few months later, it was afternoon, and it had been raining for a while. On a hunch, I decided to get my car out of the drive and park it two doors up the road again - just in case. No sign of a flood at that stage, just wet ground, a lot of rain, and a feeling I had. By the time I walked back, the water was thigh high. My 15 year old son came down the front steps for some reason and was picked up and floated down the driveway and hit his head on the garage door. It was very fast-moving water! When the waters receded, quickly, as before, I found plants from the front garden in the back of the garage and a lot of stuff I had stored in there was ruined, even though I had stacked it higher after the first flood. The garage was on the lowest point of the block. There were two distinct high water marks in the garage. The first one which we had marked was at about waist height. The second one was even higher.

We were quite happy to move out when the owner said he had decided to live in it himself. He said he was going to put a garage in a different position, but he never did. I think he put another lot of tenants in, and the garage is still in the same position. I sometimes wonder how many other people have been caught in this place.

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: gnu
Date: 11 Jun 07 - 03:08 PM

Glad to hear things are relatively okay.

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: Rowan
Date: 11 Jun 07 - 07:07 PM

And now the holiday weekend has passed, along with the storm and most of the flood peaks, we get into the recovery phase. There's 'only' 15,000 homes without power now and they should be functioning by the end of the week. Insurance companies will be arguing that all the damage to people's properties wasn't storm damage but flood damage, which they "don't cover" in the vast majority of cases. I suspect that part of the disaster will be familiar to our American friends.

But the different levels and types of official behaviour (US and Oz) during the reaction and then the response phases make for interesting contemplation on the two cultures. While the Oz attitude generally seems to confer more power to (and require more responsibility from) officialdom, most communities have a large reserve of people willing to be volunteers, not just when the action is 'on' but all during the rest of the year, doing training and acquiring the skillsets required to deploy and coordinate large numbers of highly skilled groups. And, though population densities in Oz might be much lower than in the US, the sheer geographic extent of a state like NSW means that they can be mobilised from all over the place and still come under the one organisational umbrella. In this event there were SES volunteers from Broken Hill, half a day's drive away and about as far away from Maitland as you can get and remain in NSW.

Such dispersal means that, even without 'cross border' cooperation of the types seen in the various fires (between the NSW RFS, Victorian CFA, the SA CFS etc) there is a capacity to bring skilled groups into a situation where, while geographically they're 'outsiders', in all other senses they're core operators.

Cheers, Rowan

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: Joybell
Date: 11 Jun 07 - 07:46 PM

Watching developments with alarm.
Sadly we are still without proper rain down here in Western Victoria. We've had a little but not much. Have to watch the news to see what it looks like.
Stay safe Northern friends.
Cheers, Joy

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 11 Jun 07 - 11:12 PM

Rowan, it wasn't just the Broken Hill State Emergency Service volunteers, crews from Victoria also helped out.

Sunny dry day today in Sydney, but more rain ("showers & scattered showers")is expected in Sydney & the Hunter in the next few days.

sandra

eek, Google has excelled itself! The ads below are for 'The Norstadamus Code. World War III: 2007 - 2012' & 'Surplus Military Tents.'

What do they know that we don't?

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 12 Jun 07 - 04:09 AM

Some SES Queenslanders were despatched to help also. I noticed on TV lots of guys in Army Camo too.

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: hilda fish
Date: 12 Jun 07 - 04:19 AM

Helen I'm glad you're alright. You guys seems to have born the brunt of it. I headed for Canberra about 4 pm Friday afternoon and a trip that normally takes about 3.5 hours took nearly 7 hours! It was a wild trip and very dangerous. I was driving back at about 1.30 am and the wind gusts blew the car across two lanes and i was aqua-planing as much as I was driving. I didn't need my wipers because the rain was falling paralell with the road - it was like being in a massively powerful car wash. Then my wind screen caved in. I tell you, it was dramatic! The NRMA eventually came and very efficiently (in the wind and the rain) fixed it. Normally they would ask you to stay out the car while they did this but they just got me to sit in the back seat. It was all scarey and amazing. Anyway I got home about 6 am and sort of felt glad to be alive. Why did I do it? Who ever believes meteorologists????!!!!@@@@! Anyway am so sorrowful for the families who lost loved ones and glad for all the rest of us who survived.

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: JennyO
Date: 12 Jun 07 - 06:52 AM

My god, hilda fish! Why were you going to Canberra in such weather? That sounds altogether too dangerous! I'm glad you're alive, too. Funnily enough, the Weather Bureau is usually pretty much on the mark these days. It didn't use to be, but I've noticed they are nearly always right - even when I wish they weren't! Their technology has obviously improved in the last few years.

I'm very glad we stayed home. I hate to think what it would have been like for us if we'd persisted in going to Maitland - well, I don't think we would have made it there at all, actually. Most likely we would have had to turn round at the first roadblock and come home.

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: JennieG
Date: 12 Jun 07 - 07:08 AM

Himself and I had made plans to meet with friends in Parramatta on Sunday, travel by Rivercat to Circular Quay for a wander around and lunch, then back by Rivercat.

Plan B was to wander around Parramatta for a while and find somewhere local to have lunch.

As the Rivercat was cancelled Plan B was a good option! There was a ginormous dead tree washed up on the ferry wharf, high and dry on Sunday as the river level was dropping. Must have been quite a sight as it drifted along the river and bumped along the fence until it was stopped by the seats in the waiting area. The low pedestrian bridges were closed by debris but that didn't stop some hardy (foolhardy?) souls using them.

That's it until the next flood.

Cheers
JennieG

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: JennyO
Date: 12 Jun 07 - 07:13 AM

I noticed today the Cooks River has dropped heaps. Lots of muddy banks. Of course, it's hard to compare with the last time we saw it because it's tidal, and I don't know what stage the tide was at. Saturday was still the highest I've ever seen it though - even at high tide.

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: gnu
Date: 12 Jun 07 - 02:17 PM

Good Lord Hilda!!! Scary stuff!

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: Helen
Date: 12 Jun 07 - 06:26 PM

I'm glad you're all right, hilda. That's a lot scarier than we had to put up with at our place. I think I would have turned back.

The gale force winds were scary but luckily most of our trees are ok. Except for one silky oak which has yellow grevillea-like flowers and the wattle birds use them for food, and possibly a really big eucalyptus nicholii which the magpies, wattle birds, tawny frogmouths and koels use. (Koels are very large cuckoo-birds from Papua New Guinea which knock locals out of the nests and with an annoying woop-woop call). We can't really tell if that tree is leaning more than it used to so we're getting the tree people in to look at it as well.

I was supposed to go to Maitland to work yesterday but I phoned them and found out that the 10 minute drive from East Maitland to Maitland was taking at least two and a half hours, and other roads are cut off so I said I'd take some time off. I wasn't looking forward to driving back home at midnight if the roads were messed up or cut off. I'm off again today, but maybe I'll go back to work tomorrow. It's the first paid annual leave I've had for about 10 years, apart from a couple of days off between the second last and the last job back in October 2005. (Casual work, with peanuts for pay and no proper conditions! Who'd do it by choice? Not me! Thank god I've got a proper job now.)

On the whole, this flood could have been a lot worse. If it had kept raining up river it could have been as bad as the 1955 flood, which was before all of the flood mitigation works.

One good piece of news is that the Newcastle City Council is going to use the emergency fund we all donated to after the 1989 Newcastle earthquake, and which for some reason they have been sitting on for 18 years. They decided to only use a bit of it after 1989 but could never really justify why. I'm waiting with baited breath to see how (if)they use the money now.

And Rowan, interesting comments! For a year or so I was thrust into teaching some geography/social science subjects at TAFE and really enjoyed it. One of the subjects was called Exploring Natural Disasters. My main theme was the difference between countries in the way they deal with disasters and also with town planning and building development approvals. I didn't think of the importance of the SES being one coordinated organisation relying on volunteers. More food for thought.

Helen

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 12 Jun 07 - 07:15 PM

It seems the US often uses the National Guard the way Oz uses the SES, but the SES are trained in the particular responses to particular disasters - dunno if the National Guard is just used as a bunch of grunts, or also receives specialised training.

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: Rowan
Date: 12 Jun 07 - 07:35 PM

G'day Helen,
I first started thinking about Oz volunteer organisations when I was in South Carolina some years ago. I had been in Search and Rescue and the CFA when I'd lived in Victoria and in WIRES and the RFS (as it became after '97) when I lived in NSW. These are state-based organisations which cooperate across boundaries, while the SES is really a national organisation with very strong state-based roots. In recent years, the notion of national accreditation of skills has allowed all these organisations to coordinate how they craft their skill sets so that volunteers can be seriously effective in very large events.

I was struck by the differences when I lived in SC. I may be misguided in my observations but it seemed to me that volunteerism didn't have the same strength in the US and where serious skill sets were required, the possessors of the skills were usually paid. In the Southwest, for example, students and others are paid to be firefighters during their fire season. They go through similar training and have similar competencies at various levels of accreditation as do volunteers in the RFS but they are paid to use them.

To me, Hurricane Katrina demonstrated a consequence of the small geographic extent of many states in the US. At least three states were devastated, overwhelming their state-based organisations and requiring a coordinated response from a national organisation. One problem for national organisations is their lack of local knowledge. Leaving aside specific criticisms, I think it would be very difficult for any national organisation (apart from the military) to effectively and expeditiously deal with such disasters. The military have training in defence and all the supporting skills but it is still very difficult for them to effectively (rather than just "administratively") control the rescue and response part of any action, as they don't have the specific skills. Cyclone Tracey (Tracy? It's a while ago) showed how they could coordinated the recovery phase very well but almost every natural disaster in Oz since then has required the specific skill sets of volunteers who concentrate on acquiring and practising them.

And the physical size of each state ensures that most of them have the required local knowledge at least at basic level. Enough rave from me for today.

Cheers, Rowan

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: freda underhill
Date: 16 Jun 07 - 09:19 AM

hi rowan

I came back to sydney yeatserday and its still raining. the main street down the road has been blocked off due to rain damage. still coming down......

freda

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: Charley Noble
Date: 16 Jun 07 - 11:26 AM

Thanks for all the updates. We had no coverage of this happening in the States.

We were thinking of offering shelter to the flooded wine cellars of the Hunter Valley, but I'm sure there are local hosts available on high ground.

I'm saddened to hear that the backyard BBQ facilities at the Warner/JennyO compound have been severly compromised. Should we be planning to bring take-out when we arrive in October/November?

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: Bill D
Date: 16 Jun 07 - 12:09 PM

News from OZ can be monitored thru some of the online newspapers listed here

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: JennyO
Date: 16 Jun 07 - 12:25 PM

Never fear Charlie. Like the Mary Ellen Carter, our BBQ area will rise again! No need to bring take-out ;-) The BBQ itself is okay, and the tables and chairs, apart from a broken table leg, are just wet and muddy.

The present tarps, a lot of the ropes, and some poles are rubbish, but we are currently paying off a large hexagonal gazebo to put over the BBQ section, and hopefully we'll put a better tarp over the cars. Once there's a break in the weather, we can start fixing up the mess.

John uses the BBQ area for his current projects when we aren't entertaining and there is still a collection of underwater tools out there, but he must like them with a decorative coating of rust, as he doesn't seem to be doing anything in a hurry to rescue them. It's incomprehensible to me but .... his tools, his problem.

I'd be happy to help out the flooded wine cellars too, but there don't seem to be any flood sales :-( Still, I am living in hope that some of those Hunter Valley wines will find their way here by the time of your arrival!

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 17 Jun 07 - 12:45 AM

G'day Charley, Jenny & freda,

The tragic loss of life north of Sydney was sad - but more to do with bureaucratic mismanagement... certainly in respect of the 10 metre wide x 30 metre deep road collapse on the old Pacific Highway... We have been desperately low in water storage levels, but I remember when we were worrying about low dam levels, back in 1998 and, at about this time of year, the dam levels went from a little over 55% up to overflowing... if just three days!

Warragamba Dam Storage Jan 1998 - May 2007

Jenny may remember that the flooding south-easterly storms that filled the dam (and flooded on over the spillways) also swept in over the coastline of the Illawarra Region, south of Sydney (and home to all our good friends in the Illawarra Folk Club and the Wongawilli Band and Dancers)...and sent entire houses sliding down the sides of Mts Keira & Ousley!

Regards,

Bob (back into short sleeves today ... the weather is picking up!)

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: Hrothgar
Date: 17 Jun 07 - 02:45 AM

At least Maitland Town Hal is all right for the Ball in August as far as I know.

They can send the rain part of all this 500 miles north if they like.

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 17 Jun 07 - 02:53 AM

G'dat Hrothgar,

The Maitland Town Hall avoided flooding (the river peaked at 10.7m ... not the predicted (~)11.5m.

I don't think the Town Fathers had the sense to build the Town Hall on a decent hill (all the high points were probably already grabbed by the churches!) ... but the levee proved high enough to save them from inundation, this time round.

Presumably they would have been flooded in 1955... but the famous 'sprung floor' is made of good Aussie hardwood - and survived (even dried out, by now!).

Regards,

Bob

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 17 Jun 07 - 02:54 AM

Errr... Yeah...

... and G'day as well!

Regard(les)s,

Bob

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: Rowan
Date: 17 Jun 07 - 06:24 PM

The cold must be affecting your typing, Bob. Time to cover those shirtsleeves with a warm photographer's jacket!

Cheers, Rowan

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: JennyO
Date: 17 Jun 07 - 10:59 PM

I'll believe THAT when I see it ;-)

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 18 Jun 07 - 12:02 AM

G'day Rowan,

Well, I don't know about the Melbourne climate, back when you lived there (wasn't that back in the Ice Ages?) ... or the pleasant coolth of Armidale. (A friend dropping off her major project to UNE encountered both snow and hail on the way back to Sydney over our recent rainy weekend).

However, the local (Sydney) version of a "photographer's jacket" is short sleeved ... as is the angler's jacket that I used to wear ... before I started to find it too hot - and simplified my working kit.

Regards,

Bob

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: Janie
Date: 18 Jun 07 - 12:18 AM

Just seeing this. Glad you all are safe, especially you, Hilda Fish!

Joybell, I hope you finally get some nice, gentle, soaking rain.

Janie

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 18 Jun 07 - 03:50 AM

Bob was wearing a thin jacket AND a long sleeved shirt on Saturday night!

Unfortunately I don't have a pic, but I do have a pic of (almost) the last time I saw him in a jacket - the 2000 National - there was frost in Canberra that Easter!

sandra

as soon as I saw Bob on Saturday I knew he was still suffering the final effects of that nasty lurgy that keeps hanging on. Me, I was appropriately dressed for the weather - thermals, long sleeved black tee-shirt, long velvet skirt, woolly jumper, fleecy waistcoat, raincoat, shawl, long woollen coat, beret, gloves ...

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: Rowan
Date: 18 Jun 07 - 06:54 PM

Greetings Bob,
Over the weekend your friend encountered snow (I bet it was at Uralla) I was coaching the daughters' netball teams. Tablelands netballers are tough, I can tell you; if the court is playable, they're out there in short sleeves, short skirts and short socks. Even soccer players are better covered. It was one of those lazy winds that can't be bothered going around;it just went straight through you. Honestly, I haven't felt as cold since I came back from Mawson. I 'know' your jacket keeps you warm even though it has no sleeves, but I think even you would have wanted sleeves up here last weekend.

Cheers, Rowan

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: Charley Noble
Date: 18 Jun 07 - 09:47 PM

JennyO and Bob-

Thanks for the update. I would hate to think that we'd have to bring in freeze-dried food in our carry-ons.

We had a wicked nor'easter back in May here which knocked half the state off the eletrical grid for days. My mother in her old farmhouse on the coast, who fortunately has a back-up propane generator, wasn't re-hooked up for a week!

Cheerily,
Charley noble

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 18 Jun 07 - 10:07 PM

G'day JennyO,

Don't start stringing up any new tarp yet... we're getting store warnings for cyclonic winds topping 100 kmh - "extra-tropical cyclone"... "category two cyclone"... coming ashore below Wollongong tonight - and moving north... through Sydney and on to Newcastle!

batten down ... and don't plan any barbecues!

Regards,

Bob

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: GUEST,Art Thieme
Date: 18 Jun 07 - 11:11 PM

Bob, Greg & Joy, all o' you folks,

All the best. Be safe!

Art

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: JennyO
Date: 18 Jun 07 - 11:44 PM

Thanks Art. At the moment, it's just damp, cold and miserable - we seem to be having the calm before the storm right now - those storms and high winds aren't due till late tonight or early tomorrow, according to the Weather Bureau - New South Wales Weather and Warnings. Hopefully by the time the nasty stuff really picks up, I should be warm and cosy at home.

I've been following the weather warnings too, Bob. Those were my thoughts exactly. No new tarps yet, and the gazebo is still safely packed away in the shop. As for BBQs? Not for some time yet!

This year's weather is shaping up to be quite different from last year's - although maybe it will improve in the next few weeks. I seem to remember having a BBQ or two around July, for my grandson's birthday and for my brother's visit from Paris. Although it was not exactly warm, it was okay to sit outside - especially with a little fire in the brazier, and I don't remember storms around that time.

There's plenty in the news too - East Coast braces for another battering and Coastal NSW braces for severe weather.

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 19 Jun 07 - 02:30 AM

TOP PRIORITY FOR IMMEDIATE BROADCAST
SEVERE WEATHER WARNING
for damaging winds.
For people in the eastern Darling Downs and Granite Belt, and the
Southeast Coast district south of Brisbane.   
Issued at 10:40 am on Tuesday 19 June 2007

Synoptic Situation: A trough associated with a large, deepening low
pressure system off the central New South Wales coast will move
through southeast Queensland early Wednesday morning.
Expect W/SW winds with gusts to 90 km/h to develop overnight and
Wednesday morning. These conditions should ease during Wednesday
afternoon.

The State Emergency Service advises that people in the affected area
should:
secure loose outdoor items
beware of fallen trees and powerlines   

The next warning is due to be issued by 5:00 pm

This warning is also available through TV and Radio broadcasts; the
Bureau's website at http://www.bom.gov.au or call 1300 659 219. The Bureau and State Emergency Service would appreciate this warning being broadcast regularly.

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: JennyO
Date: 19 Jun 07 - 09:22 AM

There's been quite a bit of rain in the last few hours, but the wind hasn't really picked up yet. However, it looks like things are going to get lively in the next hour or two. Here is our latest Severe Weather Warning.


Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology
NSW

Top Priority for Immediate Broadcast
NSW SEVERE WEATHER WARNING
Widespread Damaging Winds, Damaging Surf
For people in
Mid North Coast, Hunter, Metropolitan, Illawarra, South Coast, and Alpine areas above 1200 metres within the Southern Tablelands, South West Slopes and ACT

Issued at 9:35 pm on Tuesday 19 June 2007

Synoptic Situation: 9:00 pm EST Tuesday
A deep low pressure system well east of Ulladulla is expected to intensify further and move north and then northeast overnight with gale force southerly winds extending northwards along the New South Wales coast. South to southeast winds have reached Montague Island with speeds of 70km/hr. The change is currently estimated to reach Sydney between midnight and 1 am and Newcastle about 4am.

Wind along the coastal fringe of the South Coast, the Illawarra, Metropolitan, Hunter, Mid North Coast are expected to average over 65km/h, with peak wind gusts to exceed 90km/h. The Alpine areas of the Southern Tablelands, South West Slopes and ACT may also average over 65 km/h, with peak wind gusts exceeding 90 km/h.

Damaging surf conditions, with waves exceeding 5 metres in the surf zone, are likely to produce significant beach erosion south of Crowdy Head during Wednesday and waves will still be dangerous on Thursday..

Blizzard conditions are expected in Alpine areas of the Southern Tablelands, South West Slopes and the Australian Capital Territory above 1200 metres.
Emergency services advise you to keep clear of fallen power lines, stay indoors away from windows and keep children indoors.

Emergency services advise do not enter flood water. Stay well clear of creeks, storm drains and causeways.

Emergency services advise you check your property regularly for erosion or inundation by sea water, and if necessary, raise goods and electrical items.

Surf Life Saving Australia recommends that you stay out of the water and stay well away from surf-exposed areas.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service recommends that people consider postponing back country travel until conditions improve.

For emergency help in floods and storms, ring the SES [NSW and ACT] on telephone number 132 500.

The next warning is due to be issued by 3.30 am Wednesday.

This warning is also available through TV and Radio broadcasts; the Bureau's website at www.bom.gov.au or call 1300 659 218. The Bureau and State Emergency Service would appreciate this warning being broadcast regularly.

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: Rowan
Date: 19 Jun 07 - 06:15 PM

Well, there was snow on the road into town this morning but otherwise the Tablelands around my neck of the woods has been calm by comparison to the weather around Sydney' environs. The quantity would make northern hemisphere people scoff and descibe is as a light dew that got scraped out of the fridge, but there you go; I gather it was more useful in the ski areas.

To be helpful to our northern hemisphere friends' understanding of the most recent posts above, I'll take the liberty of making a couple of comparisons. Low pressure systems in the southern hemisphere have the winds circulating clockwise (a notion that escaped some northern hemisphere TV programmers not long ago) and those around our high pressure systems circulate anticlockwise.

Our Met Bureau's definition of "blizzard" can be variable, too, depending on where it is applied. At Mawson it was "60 knot winds with visibility less than 6 metres" but even the katabatic (30-odd knots from the SSE, that started at 10pm and stopped at 10 am) would be headline news on mainland Oz, so the blizzards in our current forecasts are unlikely to be more than 30 knots with a fair bit of snow/fog/cloud to reduce visibility to less than 100 metres. Tough enough, in the circumstances.

Cheers, Rowan

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 19 Jun 07 - 06:30 PM

G'day Fooles, JennyO & Rowan,

Well, my typing's variable enough at the best of times - without trying it while my fingers are crossed - but it looks like the dire warnings weren't necessary. Nothing blew over in the night and it's just a cool, overcast morning ... and I'm not asking the Bureau of Met. to deliver as advertised!

Regards,

Bob

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 19 Jun 07 - 09:18 PM

The latest news is that things didn't get as bad up in SEQ here as expected. Both Brissie and Twmba did have some gusty condition, but not as bad as anticipated. Looks like the system squeezed by, and went out to sea - so even NSW didn't get hit as hard as possibly expected either.

Thanks for all the good vibes, anyway.

Robin

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: Rowan
Date: 20 Jun 07 - 06:50 PM

However, the combination of the Low off NSW and the High in the Bight has pushed a lot of cold air up to Darwin, giving unusually low temperstures and the crocs can't digest their dinner.

Cheers, Rowan

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 20 Jun 07 - 07:33 PM

Yes Rown, I've heard about the complaints up there - 23 deg C and bloody freezing!

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 20 Jun 07 - 09:28 PM

cool sunny day (at the moment, but I'll still leave my brolly in my bag when I venture out soonish.)

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Storm hits Eastern Oz
From: JennyO
Date: 20 Jun 07 - 11:35 PM

Got my brolly too. Don't trust this weather. It wouldn't surprise me at all if another one of those lows built up. Still strong winds coming up the coast today.

On Tuesday night when my windscreen wipers decided to pack up, I had a hair-raising experience trying to drive in the pouring rain with water running diagonally across the windscreen, making almost zero visibility - especially bad on the well-lit roads with lanes. The streaks of water broke up the lights and obscured almost everything. It was hard to spot where anything was - lane lines, median strip - even the edge of the road. I don't care to repeat that experience in a hurry.

Of course, now they are fixed, it definitely won't rain now :-P