BS: Australian floods Everyone OK?

Subject: BS: Australian floods Everyone OK?
From: Joybell
Date: 03 Mar 12 - 05:51 PM

The East coast of Australia -- right into inland New South Wales and Victoria -- is flooding. Many towns are isolated -- including some big ones.
Strangely we are in a tiny parched dry spot in Western Victoria contemplating the possibility of buying water.
Oh! this country "...of droughts and flooding rains".
Jenny are you OK? Other Mudcatters?
Joy

Subject: RE: BS: Australian floods Everyone OK?
From: gnu
Date: 03 Mar 12 - 08:56 PM

Oh my!

Subject: RE: BS: Australian floods Everyone OK?
From: JennieG
Date: 03 Mar 12 - 09:06 PM

We're fine, Joy - thanks! Northern NSW had its turn last month for flooding, it's the central and south's turn this time.

Mind you, if our house on the hill ever goes under....the rest of Australia (and a good part of the rest of the world) is in deep trouble......

Cheers
JennieG

Subject: RE: BS: Australian floods Everyone OK?
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 04 Mar 12 - 03:39 AM

One of my friends works on Campbelltown Council's road team & they have been preparing bridges that they know will go under or be used by extra folks who can't use their usual bridge. Campbelltown is about 2 hours SW of Sydney CBD. He is not near the flooding areas, & I don't know anyone who is.

Evacuations continue as towns go under see bottom of page for Photo Gallery - Mill at Gundagai which survived the 1852 floods when water rose to top floor

Subject: RE: BS: Australian floods Everyone OK?
From: Joybell
Date: 04 Mar 12 - 04:18 PM

Thanks, Sandra you're so good at that.
On a hill Jennie? (Sorry about the "y" You can call me "Joyce" three times over.)
So if I climb to the top of our local volcano and wave towards the North you could wave back across the water.
Cheers, Joy

Subject: RE: BS: Australian floods Everyone OK?
From: Janie
Date: 04 Mar 12 - 06:06 PM

Is Australia having more floods in the past several years, or am I just more aware of them because I am fortunate enough to be part of this community that includes some of you great folks from Oz?

Subject: RE: BS: Australian floods Everyone OK?
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Mar 12 - 07:56 PM

Corowa is o.k but towns all round us are flooding

Subject: RE: BS: Australian floods Everyone OK?
From: JennieG
Date: 04 Mar 12 - 09:08 PM

Could be, Joy.....could be......although I think there will be higher hills between us!

Cheers
JennieG

Subject: RE: BS: Australian floods Everyone OK?
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 05 Mar 12 - 12:29 AM

Janie - one of Australia's greatest poems My Country by Dorothea Mackellar talks about "drought & flooding rains". Floods are regular/normal in many areas of Australia & with the extra population affect more people today.

In 1852 the young township of Gunagai was wiped out in a flood that reached to the top floor of the mill (see clicky I created yesterday for a pic of the mill which still has damage in it's upper stories from tree trunks in the wild floodwaters.) So the survivors moved the town uphill & the floorplain was only ever used for grazing, see Yarri of Wiradjuri, A Song & Verse Cycle by John Warner about the 1852 floods for more details.

Today we can't move towns or cities, & instant communications means news travels fast (& far)

Australia, Flood Timeline 21st century Should Australia save its rivers or its farmers?

Australia's floods The drought ends, the shouting starts

Annual Australian Climate Statement 2011 - third-wettest year on record

Bureau of Meteorology weather overview 2010 -third-wettest year on record.

ps. both 2010 & 2011 reports say 3rd wettest year!

Annual Australian Climate Statement 2009

Subject: RE: BS: Australian floods Everyone OK?
From: gnu
Date: 05 Mar 12 - 03:55 PM

Interesting. Thanks.

Subject: RE: BS: Australian floods Everyone OK?
From: Janie
Date: 06 Mar 12 - 05:21 AM

Thanks so much for links and information Sandra. Makes me realize how ignorant of Australia I am.

Subject: RE: BS: Australian floods Everyone OK?
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 06 Mar 12 - 06:20 AM

Australian info is probably barely mentioned is your school system & not often on the news (apart from natural disasters)

re Gundagai - The floodplain is 1.1 miles wide & on Monday the water was covering the whole area, tho the water was not deep, it probably could be waded thru if anyone was stupid enough to try! There's been a lot of flood mitigation work since the 1852 floods.

Unfortunately the paper which printed the pic didn't put it on their website & I can't find it anywhere else online. So here's a pic taken from the same place of the dry floodplain.

Bridges over Gundagai floodplain

Subject: RE: BS: Australian floods Everyone OK?
From: andrew e
Date: 06 Mar 12 - 07:57 AM

Heaps of rain in the Noosa area.
Had to cancel two choirs. One in Cooroy and one in Gympie.
We've been singing "Have You Ever Seen The Rain!"

Subject: RE: BS: Australian floods Everyone OK?
From: freda underhill
Date: 06 Mar 12 - 08:00 AM

It has rained pretty relentlessly for most of this "summer". I put the word in commas, because in Sydney we've had only one day above 30 degrees and an average of 21 degrees - that's more like autumn weather here. And now autumn has officially started, and its so rainy everywhere - we missed the blinding heat, sunburn and wide blue skies.

all's well here in Sydney, and my garden has tripled in size with all the rain, but just a way further north in Richmond there have been problems.

Subject: RE: BS: Australian floods Everyone OK?
From: SINSULL
Date: 06 Mar 12 - 08:13 AM

Fire and floods. You have had your share. Stay dry and safe.
SINS


I can't help it:
Joybell - are you having a Sarah Palin moment? (I can see Russia from my house)

Subject: RE: BS: Australian floods Everyone OK?
From: Joybell
Date: 06 Mar 12 - 04:28 PM

Sins - Well -- it's a worn-down country here. True-love showed me how our tallest mountains would fit into the foot-hills of the Rockies. If the world was flat, and my eyes were younger, I might be able to see clear across to America from Our Great Dividing Range. On tip-toes I might see Russia if Indonesia didn't block my view.
Cheers, Joy

Subject: RE: BS: Australian floods Everyone OK?
From: Janie
Date: 06 Mar 12 - 10:34 PM

Link doesn't work Freda. Try again?

Best wishes for all in harm's way to be safe.

Lovely poem that Sandra linked to, and I am eager to go back and listen to the sound clips of Warner's tales of Yarri.

Oh, to love the nature of where we live!

Subject: RE: BS: Australian floods Everyone OK?
From: GUEST,999
Date: 06 Mar 12 - 10:45 PM

http://newsfeedresearcher.com/data/articles_w10/state-rain-south.html#hdng0

Subject: RE: BS: Australian floods Everyone OK?
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 07 Mar 12 - 02:10 AM

good article, Bruce, thanks for posting it

Flood threat spreads but Wagga levee holds

Spider webs surround house
The wet weather has led to a superabundance of spiders!!

Subject: RE: BS: Australian floods Everyone OK?
From: freda underhill
Date: 07 Mar 12 - 07:02 AM

Sorry about that link, it's a small country town paper and has disappeared. Thanks, brucie for the working links to info. The water is still pounding relentlessly here but so far inner Sydney is just muddy.

That picture of the spider webs around the house is spooky, Sandra (oops, rains increases and starts pounding on the ceiling as I write).

Here is an image from Wagga Wagga today, including another spooky spider pic below.

What is it with spiders? they like to come inside when it rains. I have the doors and windows closed tight, but they're cunning things.
eek - just found this image taken today in
Mc Evoy St, Alexandria which is the next suburb to where I live.. gulp.. And Forbes (home of some dedicated folkies) is cut off, apparently.

Subject: RE: BS: Australian floods Everyone OK?
From: freda underhill
Date: 07 Mar 12 - 07:23 AM

spiders spin for their lives as floodwaters rise

Subject: RE: BS: Australian floods Everyone OK?
From: Bugsy
Date: 07 Mar 12 - 07:01 PM

It's been horrendous in the West, we've had 2mm since November!

Send some over here.

CHeers

Bugsy

Subject: RE: BS: Australian floods Everyone OK?
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 07 Mar 12 - 09:16 PM

OH, NO!! did your garden survive?

Subject: RE: BS: Australian floods Everyone OK?
From: freda underhill
Date: 08 Mar 12 - 06:24 AM

that's tough bugsy.

Subject: RE: BS: Australian floods Everyone OK?
From: Bugsy
Date: 08 Mar 12 - 06:44 PM

"did your garden survive?" I don't know. I'll have to ask the wife.

CHeers

Bugsy

Subject: RE: BS: Australian floods Everyone OK?
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 09 Mar 12 - 03:25 AM

It's cruise ship visiting season here -

see Mark Knight cartoon - 07/03/12 (that's 7th March or March 7th)

Wyangala Dam releases water

Floodwaters cut town of Forbes

Subject: RE: BS: Australian floods Everyone OK?
From: Notferjo
Date: 09 Mar 12 - 07:18 AM

Yep, it is dry in the south west. In in the country looking forward to 39, 39, 39 and 41 degrees in the next few days. Could do with sharing some moisture to cool down.

NFJ

Subject: RE: BS: Australian floods Everyone OK?
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 09 Mar 12 - 09:10 AM

please take as much as you want.

see ya in very few weeks! (only 25 sleeps to the National!)

sandra