Water Levels Rising In Brisbane CBD

[JohnK]

It better not be. I fly out at 10am tomorrow!

I am worried about airport closed on Friday.

I had to stay home to do some sand bagging today ... I work in the CBD and the entire company got sent home today and told not to come back to work this week.

You must work for a good company. Need to take annual leave at our company if not wanting to come to work this week.

 

[medhead]

Considering it is the ocean, not the river that will affect the airport (notice the reference to the king tide), it's going to take an awful lot of rain to flood the airport ...

The king tide is the thing, that will prevent the water flowing out to sea. The flood prediction maps also show water on the airport facilities, which would make loading an aircraft difficult even if ti could take off. There was also an earlier mention of fuel contamination issues.

 

[tuapekastar]

I was about to mention Brisbane Airport. It only has an Elevation 13ft so I would suggest it will be in trouble.

There was mention this morning of RAAF Amberley being evacuated.

If BNE is flooded it may be time for Qantas to bring these back into service.

As an aside, reading that article, QF operated them Perth-Colombo non-stop, flight duration 28 to 32 hours. :shock:

In all seriousness it is a terrible tragedy for many who have lost their lives and loved ones, as well as property and infrastructure, and may indeed get worse. At least places like Ipswich and Brisbane have some warning unlike, apparently, Toowoomba, which is at least a small mercy. Best wishes and keep safe all.

 

[Mal]

You must work for a good company. Need to take annual leave at our company if not wanting to come to work this week.

I think awilcockson *may* work for a company based in Eagle Street (only a guess, no idea if true or not) - they would be told not to come back this week - particularly if they work in Waterfront Place or some of the other big towers on the river.

My org has offered "special" leave if required. I don't need it and (at this stage) intend to work through it all. My building is very unlikely to flood. Will probably pack some toiletries and clothes each day before heading to work - just in case things do go bad.

 

[MissBurrill]

I heard a body count on ABC radio earlier today which is more than I can count with my fingers and toes. Another Brisbane friend heard a similar number. I won't post the number yet (no news would love it).

And no, I'm not getting confused with the number of missing. And no, it was one of their dj's, not some yobbo talk back caller. And Mr Mod, I hope this post is ok.

 

[Mal]

I heard a body count on ABC radio earlier today which is more than I can count with my fingers and toes. Another Brisbane friend heard a similar number. I won't post the number yet (no news would love it).

ABC 24 had a much lower number before and a Bligh media conference didn't seem to increase that number. So not sure what the story is. All of the news channels are plastered with news over the floods - so I'm sure it will be mentioned again.

 

[markis10]

Police cannot rescue the living let alone start processing the bodies, its going to be 20+ with the figures more realistic three or four days after it starts to go away. Grantham is going to be not dissimilar in terms of the effect of the deluge to the toll some of the towns had in Victoria that got wiped out in Black Saturday I am afraid.

Its just too dangerous today to get much done upstream.

 

[Nigelinoz]

Watching the 7:30 report on the ABC and the director of the weather bureau said that Toowoomba received 150mm of rain in 30 minutes.
That is incredible.
This really is a tragedy the likes of which we haven't seen before and I hope and pray that it is the only one.
I feel so sorry for those people who have lost houses and worse-loved ones.
I've donated $500.00 to the appeal and would give more if I could.
My thoughts are with those affected by this terrible,terrible tragedy.
To all AFF members in Queensland-please take care.
Regards
N'oz

 

[awilcockson]

I think awilcockson *may* work for a company based in Eagle Street (only a guess, no idea if true or not) -

Nope. Petrie Terrace. The thinking from management is that they'd rather have people working from home than risking their lives on the roads. Incredibly intelligent decision.

edit: the brisbane airport website is taking a hammering ...

 

[MissBurrill]

Police cannot rescue the living let alone start processing the bodies, its going to be 20+ with the figures more realistic three or four days after it starts to go away. Grantham is going to be not dissimilar in terms of the effect of the deluge to the toll some of the towns had in Victoria that got wiped out in Black Saturday I am afraid.

Its just too dangerous today to get much done upstream.

There's a piece of legislation called DACC (Defence Aid to the Civil Community) and as far as I am aware only minimal activations have been made. If it's anything like the Victorian Bushfire aftermath phone calls will be made and we will have regular and reserve personnel assisting.

 

[straitman]

I think she said if the rain kept falling as it is, so if the weather managed to clear up a little Brisbane could be spared, but it’s definitely time to pack up and wait this out well away from low-lying areas.

The modelling used is based only on current water flow on the ground, its a best case scenario and not a worst case scenario being talked about, hydrologists cannot estimate with any accuracy the effect of the rain simply because they have no idea how much is getting into the catchment area until it hits the sensors.

At no stage did the premier indicate that Brisbane would be spared if it stopped raining, that would be a most unwise thing to say.

In the early morning news conference the premier talked about lower anticipated flood level than 1984. ie 18M in Ipswich and about 4M for Brisbane.

The afternoon news conference was dramatically different with 22M and 5.5M being mentioned but with no real ideas if the rain kept falling.

 

[rtyuiop]

You must work for a good company. Need to take annual leave at our company if not wanting to come to work this week.

That's harsh! Are they offering to helicopter you from home to office?

So long as I have power and Internet access I'll be working from home, but there's no chance I'll be trying to get to the office!

Danny

 

[Mal]

The thinking from management is that they'd rather have people working from home than risking their lives on the roads. Incredibly intelligent decision.

Indeed. More employers should be the same. Unfortunately they're not.

 

[dk4]

For Mal, or anyone else in Brisbane or South Brisbane - the 1in50 year flood event model for those locations (from the Brisbane City Council) copied below -

Shows areas in Light Blue likely to be flooded, and areas in Yellow, where overland water flow paths are likely - good knowledge for "just in case" .

All the best to everyone in the area.

 

[markis10]

There's a piece of legislation called DACC (Defence Aid to the Civil Community) and as far as I am aware only minimal activations have been made. If it's anything like the Victorian Bushfire aftermath phone calls will be made and we will have regular and reserve personnel assisting.

Its not a shortage of people, its just to dangerous to go in at present with the weather IMC for most of the day, we are lucky we have Oakey and to a lessor extent Amberley close by with resources when things clear up from an Aviation context, in the meantime the professional folks at EMQ and their choppers have been flat chat finding holes in the weather since 5AM this morning and have just shut down for the day.

 

[MissBurrill]

Its not a shortage of people, its just to dangerous to go in at present with the weather IMC for most of the day, we are lucky we have Oakey and to a lessor extent Amberley close by with resources when things clear up from an Aviation context, in the meantime the professional folks at EMQ and their choppers have been flat chat finding holes in the weather since 5AM this morning and have just shut down for the day.

Agreed.

Need more characters before this will post.

 

[Mal]

For Mal, or anyone else in Brisbane or South Brisbane - the 1in50 year flood event model for those locations (from the Brisbane City Council) copied below -

Thanks. Have seen that before (and where I currently am is very close to river overflow + surface flooding). But the real issue is that nobody actually has previously modelled the new expected river peak as it's over the 1974 peak. This is frantically happening now, and perhaps by tomorrow better models may be available.

PS - I have contingency plans in mind if things go bad, and my possessions are generally safe, so there shouldn't be any issues with where I am etc (Even if I have to activate contingency plans!)

 

[Oneworldplus2]

What a tragedy up in BNE at the moment. I really feel sorry for people up their, and my prays go out to them!

I have also been looking at how the coming flood will effect BNE. I searched 'topigraphic maps' and 'elevation levels', but the best one that came up on Google is, if you will believe it, Google Sea Levels Map.

View attachment 1595

http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Special:SeaLevel

 

[JohnK]

Woolworths has closed down due to floods and Coles has run out of fresh fruit and vegetables, meat and most canned food.

Nope. Petrie Terrace. The thinking from management is that they'd rather have people working from home than risking their lives on the roads. Incredibly intelligent decision.

So you are still expected to work from home.

Unfortunately our company only lets a select few people work from home so if I could not get into work then I would have to take unpaid leave.

PS - I have contingency plans in mind if things go bad, and my possessions are generally safe, so there shouldn't be any issues with where I am etc (Even if I have to activate contingency plans!)

We are all in big trouble if things go bad where I am located.

 

[Mal]

Parts of the CBD in Brisbane will have no power as of 7am tomorrow morning (according to news reports). Transformers very close to the river may be switched off by Energex.

So if you are planning to head to work - ensure your work actually has power!