Queensland Floods - the Wider Implications for All Australians

There has been no let-up in South-East Queensland with rain still falling steadily on a daily basis. Queensland's capital, Brisbane, has been hit with flash flooding with roads being cut and some cars partially submerged in inner-city suburbs.

Holidaymakers will not have had a great time over the festive break. Camping is a popular holiday option and many people would have had to pack up and go home.

To view photos of the inner-city floods - CLICK HERE.

The main highway through to Toowoomba, centre of the Darling Downs, has been closed due to landslides. One on-ramp to the Gateway Motorway, the main north-south highway, has been closed due to minor flooding in the area.

Thanks for your concern - we are safe and unaffected by the crisis

I appreciate the concern of my fans and followers on AC from Yahoo. Scenes of Queensland's floods are being televised around the world. Such devastating sights must be horrifying to those who have never experienced such catastrophic circumstances.

I live about a half-hour's drive from the Brisbane central business district in the Pine Rivers Shire. This is an area with a countrified atmosphere. There are no floods anywhere near where I live and the worst we can expect is some local road closures due to minor flash flooding or water release from the Pine Rivers Dam.

My yard is a bog and my prize weeds grow higher every day with the humidity brought on by the tropical rain storms we are experiencing. The few hours of let-up each day does not give a person much opportunity to get on top of yard maintenance.

My brother Ross lives on 1 acre of land out at Samford Valley, a charming semi-rural community about a half hour's drive from where I live. Two days ago his prized Mazda 6 got bogged as he tried to transit the property up to his bungalow. He spent 2 hours extricating the vehicle from the slush and was finally able to drive it up to the top of the land. Being somewhat of a fanatic about his car, he immediately cleaned it thoroughly and was horrified to find a scratch on one of his wheels.

The following day, he got in his second car to go down to the local shops for provisions. Alas that vehicle became bogged near the fruit trees. He is today waiting for the RACQ (motor club) to send a 4-wheel drive truck to winch this car out of the bog. Otherwise, I would have to play chauffeur for weeks as there doesn't seem to be much hope of the rain completely going away for some time to come. I'm waiting to hear how he goes. So much for having spectacular views across the countryside to the mountains. We are so lucky not to live in an affected area.

North Queensland and Western Queensland still in flood crisis

There is not much change in the catastrophic circumstances of people in the major flood areas. It will be weeks before some of them can even try to get back into their homes.

It is also apparent that waters in rivers in the Western Queensland area have moved downstream into the neighboring state of New South Wales. There are towns there that will feel the impact of the floods, albeit to a slightly lesser extent than in Queensland.

To read my previous article about the Queensland floods - CLICK HERE.

A disastrous end to summer school holidays

The festive season is when a lot of Queenslanders schedule their holidays to coincide with the 6-7 week school break. The Gold Coast has been hard hit with traffic jams as holiday-makers try to access the major theme parks in the area.

To view pictures of the Gold Coast road chaos - CLICK HERE.

Task Force in place for post-flood recovery

Major-General Mick Slater has been appointed by the Queensland government to head up the Flood Recovery Task Force. When he spoke on news programs this week, the Major-General was adamant that a patch-up will not be tolerated. He vowed that the infrastructure repairs and renewals will have to be such that they take account of this type of disaster could happen again.

Rockhampton airport which will be closed for some weeks to come, might need to have the runways completely re-surfaced. Rail infrastructure from Queensland's coal fields could require total replacement. Coal already mined cannot be transported to ports and stockpiles at the ports cannot be shipped overseas because it is too wet and heavy to load onto the freighters.

The implications of the catastrophic Queensland floods are too massive to even contemplate. It is therefore necessary to have a strong leader like Major-General Slater in charge.

Wide-ranging financial implications for Australia

There is absolutely no doubt that this flood catastrophe will have national financial implications for all Australians. It will be many years before our country recovers from this devastation.

Read about anticipated national issues - CLICK HERE.

Australians are a resilient bunch and local communities affected by the floods are already banding together to help each other. Disasters of this magnitude bring out the best and the worst in people. Fortunately, most Australians are decent human beings who are always ready to give their mate a hand.

For those wanting to follow the news items about these floods on a day-to-day basis, check out the Brisbane Courier Mail.

Sources:

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/cars-submerged-as-heavy-rains-turns-brisbane-city-and-fortitude-valley-streets-into-streams/story-e6freon6-1225982647414

http://www.couriermail.com.au/travel/news/holidays-jam-packed-with-traffic/story-e6freqwo-1225983213858

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/deepening-flood-crisis-spills-over-to-hit-national-bottom-line/story-e6freon6-1225983266203

http://www.couriermail.com.au/

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