Daisy, I'm glad to hear from you. I sent an email to Colleen, who is high and dry on the other side of your very large country, but she mentioned that you were in the flood area.

Annie

I'm so glad you posted and you are all right, I've been worried, and I'm sure I'm not alone. Thanks for the link, and keep us updated. You are all in our thoughts.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Big Picture - flooding in Australia

Glad to hear that you are safe for the time being and hope you stay that way. I pray the rains stop soon.

I too have been thinking of our CF members downunder. The reports for the last few weeks are incomprehensible! When I see the magnitude of the devastation on TV, I keep playing over in my mind how the people will recover. There are so many implications to something like this, things I can't even imagine.

Be safe!

My heart bleeds for all of you. Unless you have lived through it, and unfortunately I have, you just cannot comprehend it. it looks bad now with all the water but when that's gone and cleanup starts, OH MY.

I am glad you are ok. I made a donation this morning to the PM's relief fund in honor of everyone who helped my family. I know how grateful we were for every little thing. I wish I could be there to help.

HUGS, PRAYERS AND POSITIVE THOUGHTS TO ALL THE AUSSIES!

Thank you for the warm thoughts.

Below some URLs of the latest flooding - much further south than the pix shown by Momj47. However, those poor people up north can expect more water before too long.

NINE people are now dead, but the number of people missing has been reduced to 66 (from 72.

Brisbane River is expected to peak tomorrow at about 22-3 metres - at least 1.5m above record levels.

Matters are worsening by the minute - and STILL the rains come!

On the weather map below, I'm roughly half-way between Brisbane and Nerang. WET, but not flooded.

http://www.weatherzone.com.au/radar.jsp?lt=radar&lc=066&ane=1&anf=1&and=1&ana=7&anb=333&anc=3&lya=1&lyk=1&lye=1

Sorry, I only know how to post one link at a time.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/photos/2011/01/11/3110183.htm
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1463787/Amateur-footage-captures-flood-drama
(Note how fast the water is flowing - and how quickly it rises!)

http://www.google.com.au/search?q=toowoomba+flood&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=kVY&sa=G&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&channel=s&prmd=ivnsu&source=univ&tbs=nws:1&tbo=u&ei=aPgrTa-OK4zWvQOsuuCxCQ&oi=news_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CDIQqAIwAA

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/weather/wall-of-water-heads-for-wivenhoe-dam-20110111-19lnh.html

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/01/11/3110488.htm

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/environment/weather/inland-tsunami-devastates-queensland-towns-20110110-19kti.html

By contrast, poor Western Australia (Colleen's area) is being devastated by drought and bush fires. We don't do things by halves over here, you know!!

Here is a link that might be useful: SE Queensland floods

I had no idea this was going on in Australia. Sometimes I get so buried in the local news that I don't listen to the world news. Just happy you are okay Daisy.

Beverly

That's terrible, Daisy. I've heard a little about it out of the side of my ear, so to speak, but didn't realize it was so bad. I'm hoping you stay safe.

Sally

I thought about you also when I saw this on the morning news this morning. That story followed the story about the deadly blizzard in NE U.S., and before that, there was the deadly story from Arizona. I'm glad to hear that you are okay and hope you are managing all right. It was very sad to hear about so many deaths.

Lars

L2C46, Now that you mention it, how is your sister doing with her recovery efforts?

Beverly, I need a better balance too--I switched to several local news stations the other day and didn't recognize any of the newscasters! I watch waaay too much news.

Good to hear you are safe. Thank-you for the donation link. I see 32 million already but that will hardly touch the repair bill. I'm reminded of the Hurricane Katrina floods here in the US... much of the world sent donations to help them.

: )
lyra

Daisy, so glad to hear you're OK. On our local New England noon news I saw pictures from Australia with helicopters rescuing people from rooftops. It looked just like after Katrina here in the US. Terrible. The newcaster reported that the flood waters were expected to reach Brisbane by Thursday & that there are about 6,000 homes in the water's path. Is that accurate? Golly, I hope not. I took a look at TWC's radar & saw that the rain is still coming down around Queensland.

We had a 500 year flood in my town March 2010 & we thought it was awful. I'm feeling embarrassed. It was soooo minor compared to what Australia is experiencing now.

My thanks also for the link.

Take care & stay safe. Glad you checked in.

/tricia

Daisy, thank you so much for the update, and the links (including the one to the Queensland Flood Appeal). Glad to hear you are ok.
It really doesn't change my thoughts and prayers for all the folks impacted, but I lived in Melbourne Area in the early 70's so Australia has a big place in my heart and history.

Stay Safe

We have a flood as well, Daisy! Carnarvon and Gascoigne Junction have been pretty well under water since just before Christmas :-(

Daisy, thanks for posting. I've been watching the floods on TV and thinking about you and Colleen, as well as the countless folks I don't know there. So much misery, and it's going to get worse before it gets better. Hang on, and stay safe!

Sue

Terrible....just terrible.

Keeping you all in my thoughts. Stay high and dry!~

Thanks for the links, too!

Linda

The US news has been covering the floods in Australia and it is horrifying to watch. Trucks floating down roads like a cork in a stream, bobbing along, people on roofs and clinging to trees. When Mother Nature gets going, it is frightening.

I'm glad you are okay, daisy and Colleen, and I hope you stay that way.

Thanks for asking Mustangs. The house has been rebuilt and they are back in it. Looks GREAT but my sister is having Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. :( She can't watch TV anymore in case they show flooding anywhere in the world - Pakistan and now Australia. We are so grateful they came through this relatively OK and my heart just breaks for the Aussies and Pakistani's.

We haven't seen flooding like this in the US in a long time and hopefully never will. As bad as Katrina was, as personally emotionally and financially devastating as Nashville was, the scale of the Australian floods, the people, crops and farms affected just boggles the mind.

I have a couple of friends in Brisbane who so far are safe but one is very, very close and may yet lose her house tomorrow when the river tops out. Right now the water is about 2 yards from her house. They are sandbagging like crazy but have been warned it may not help.

Continued prayers that all our CF friends stay safe and that their property remains unaffected. Gd bless you all and keep you safe.

Yes, I agree that the sheer size of the floods (an area the size of Germany and France combined) make Katrina look minuscule in comparison. So as devastating as Katrina was and the impact it had on so many lives--multiply that many times over.

A donation is on the way.

L2c46, I'm glad to hear that she is in her home; that's a start. I can only imagine the impact stories of floods would have on her!

Thank you for all the kind thoughts. It is a terrible time for us here, though I'm one of the lucky ones. My DIL's family has been busy sandbagging their homes, and I've offered a roof over their heads if things get too dicey for them. The daughter of one of my friends is stranded (but dry) in Toowoomba - with 4 kids, one of whom has Asperger's Syndrome. She's running out of supplies, but otherwise OK.

The number of homes expected to be affected in Brisbane is around 20,000, and many of those are already under water. Many supermarkets and other businesses are also under water, and supermarkets outside the flooded areas are fast running out of supplies because trucks can't get through flooded roads.

In my immediate area, several roads have been cut by flood-water, and some low-lying areas are flooded, but we are better off than so many others. My biggest problem right now is that everything in my house is being covered by white mildew!! Luckily I have a good supply of white vinegar.

The damage bill is expected to be in the billions of $$$. Whole towns have been virtually wiped out, not to mention damage to roads, bridges and other infrastructure.

And the worst is not expected in Brisbane until tomorrow! At least 30 suburbs are expected to go under.

At least one-third of the state of Queensland has been declared a disaster area. From Wikipedia:

Area
- Total 1,852,642 km2 715,309 sq mi
- Land 1,730,648 km2 668,207 sq mi
- Water 121,994 km2 (6.58%) 47,102 sq mi

You do the maths!!

On a slightly brighter note - as I type, it's not actually raining! But it's going to, soon.

Thank you for all your responses. It means a lot to know that you care. We'll get by 'with a little help from our friends'.

On the map at the link below, my area is amongst the bright red.

Here is a link that might be useful: latest update online

Wow, that just really boggles the mind. My thoughts and prayers will be with your family and friends during this awful time. Thanks for keeping us posted. This makes the news seem much, much more human.

Take care

Janet

Up-to-the-minute update (11.30am):

10 people confirmed dead
90 people missing

These numbers expected to rise.

40 Brisbane suburbs affected

About 40,000 properties (homes, businesses) affected.

And the peak is not expected in Brisbane until tomorrow.

Also, much of northern NSW is also under water, and expecting the situation to worsen over the next couple of days.

It is raining again here, but only lightly - more expected.

Now it's 14 dead, 43 missing (9 grave fears held for) and I think it's something like 80% of Queensland which has been declared a disaster zone. This is expected to be a worse flood than the 1974 one (it seems to be on a roughly 40 year cycle), the worst in 100 years and possibly the worst ever. As well as cars, I saw footage of a shipping container floating downstream. The damage has to be seen to be comprehended.
Now Victoria is getting in on the act with flooding in Natimuk.

The floods peaked at 4 this morning, thankfully a little lower than the record 1974 floods. But more than 80 Brisbane suburbs are affected. About 300,000 properties are without power (it was deliberately cut off last evening - electricity and water don't go well together).

Although the levels are lower than in 1974, the effect is far more serious because of the increase in population density - SE Qld is the fastest-growing area in Australia, and the infrastructure has been struggling to keep up even before this hit.

We have seen images of not only shipping containers being tossed around like corks - it's huge pontoons, and huge trucks, even large (full!) water tanks! Not to mention an entire restaurant! They even demolished a bridge so that it didn't (as they put it) become a torpedo if the waters got to it first.

I cannot bear to watch the news today, except brief snatches. It's too horrendous for words. At least you don't get the stench of it on TV! Apparently it's pretty awful, and people are being told to boil all water. We are also being asked to limit phone calls, avoid driving if at all possible, and watch out for water forcing sewage up our drains and toilets! Oh great.

I woke to a rare glimpse of sunshine this morning, but has has rained since then. Sigh.

Check out the floating restaurant and the 'little tug boat that could' in amongst the rest of the pix at the link below.

I think I should mention that several towns in Queensland have experienced THREE major floods since Christmas!!

And while large parts of NSW are going under, Victoria is getting in on the act. At this rate, the eastern side of Australia is going to sink completely, and Western Australia (and Colleen) are going to be as high as the Himalayas! Sorry, but at times like this, even a sick joke helps, if it makes you smile.

Thank you to all those who care, and to those who have contributed to the Flood Appeal.

Here is a link that might be useful: latest footage

Daisy, I saw a quote from Premier Bligh about how you "can't imagine the horror and then it get's worse". Unfortunately she is right.

My experience was small scale compared to what yours will be. That experience changed me forever, my outlook on life, what is and isn't important and to value the friends we have and the community we live in.

The things I saw during cleanup can never be adequately described. Seeing them on TV does not do them justice and I doubt I can ever put into words, the images that are burned in my brain. The water looks bad but the cleanup puts the devastation right there in your face.

I told my DH yesterday that I wish I could come and help. It's going to be a long and horrible process and the worst of it all is that the rest of the world will forget what you are going through just when you need them to care the most. Some other news story will demand coverage, then another and another and ...

On the flip side you will witness and experience human compassion beyond anything you have seen before. The things that stayed with me the most, and still bring me to tears, are the memories of the 4 year old who brought my sister all his savings in a little ziplock bag, the kids pushing strollers through the neighbourhoods filled with sandwiches they made using their pocket money and giving them to anyone who was hungry, and all the people who came to help just because they couldn't sit and watch it all on TV.

Please, please let us know what we can do to help from so far away, although other than making donations I don't know what we can do.

I will continue to keep you all in my prayers.

Disasters always bring out the best and the worst in people. Supermarkets and other larger stores have employed security guards to prevent looting, which is probably inevitable although we haven't heard of any.

On the other side of the coin however, is the story of how a neighbour rescued somebody's pet galah (bird) - the only thing to have been salavaged from the wreck of their home. Or the story of the business owner who sacked all his workers because he couldn't afford to pay them, and they all, to a man, refused to accept - and have promised to stay on and work for free for a month to help out.

Then there's the woman who has accommodated a young man unable to get across the river to his wife and family. She also has a family of 4 Vietnamese people who arrived in Australia less than a month ago, do not speak English and didn't know what to do or where to go when the water entered their home.

There are many such stories, very heartening indeed.

I have mentioned to a few people that I've posted this thread, and they have all been united in their gratitude for all the kind thoughts and the donations that have been made. They have asked me specifically to say Thank You on their behalf. Even a kind thought gives an enormous amount of comfort.

I guess from so far away, the best kind of help that can be given is to give money as a donation. The cost of rebuilding entire towns and cities is estimated to be in the multiples of billions $$$, and every little helps.

It isn't just the cost of repairs to damage - but with such widespread floods, there is already a shortage of essentials like bread, milk, fruit and vegetables, and prices for those have skyrocketed. Before the Brisbane floods hit, I did my fortnightly shopping last Friday, and decided against paying $8 for a single lettuce. Prices like that are downright scary, and while supplies can't be relied upon from interstate, also affected by floods, we can only expect things to be very expensive for the foreseeable future.

But - we are a resilient people, and no matter how long it takes, we'll get through it. We're an unquenchable bunch.

Still, your kind words are spreading far and are deeply appreciated by us all.

I so admired the guy being interviewed after he grabbed a woman whose car had floated downstream and was stopped by a bridge pylon- he saw her car heading for the bridge and rushed out onto it to see if he could help. Her car landed up against the bridge pretty well right where he was waiting and he managed to grab her and pull her to safety. He had no words for himself, merely reiterated that the woman had done well to steer her car to where it hit the bridge (though how you could do that I think is pretty well impossible).

What a tragedy, our thoughts and prayers are with all of you.

My daughter returned this Spring from a year in Australia, much of it spent exploring the Queensland Coast. She can't bear to look at the pictures, she loves Australia so much.

Take care