Saturday, January 22, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
camping in our own house
We returned home on Friday. It took us an extra hour of travel because we were unsure which roads were still closed due to the flooding.
The house is fine. Some of our neighbors were not so lucky. We walked around our neighborhood and could see the high water level on the road by a distinct line of dirt and silt that had been deposited on the portions which were flooded.
Walking around we see entire contents of houses piled on the side of the road, waiting for them to be picked up with construction equipment and taken away by dump trucks.
We still have no power and both of our mobile phones have run out of battery. In the evening, we light the house with candles and go to bed early. The entire contents of our freezer and fridge are lost and we would love to empty them, but our garbage has not been picked up in the past week and there is nowhere to throw it.
The grocery stores have a very small selection of produce available. We cook food on our gas barbecue in the back yard or buy take-out from local businesses that were not affected by the flood. I am happy that the drinking water is still safe and I can heat water on the barbecue to make coffee in the morning.
Things are getting better. The streets are clean. There are scores of volunteers helping out those affected. It is amazing to see the city pull together and put things right.
We are happy and healthy. No need to worry about us. We are just spending the time at home in the quiet and enjoying having a normal life (without power).
My Aunt Jo Ann asked for photos of Gabe, which I have not posted on the blog yet. The best photos I have were taken by my sister-in-law Carol. I stole them from her Facebook page and I hope she doesn't mind me re-using them here. Well done Carol.
Here is one that Mary took of me. She said I look too serious in the photo, but I like it.
The house is fine. Some of our neighbors were not so lucky. We walked around our neighborhood and could see the high water level on the road by a distinct line of dirt and silt that had been deposited on the portions which were flooded.
Walking around we see entire contents of houses piled on the side of the road, waiting for them to be picked up with construction equipment and taken away by dump trucks.
We still have no power and both of our mobile phones have run out of battery. In the evening, we light the house with candles and go to bed early. The entire contents of our freezer and fridge are lost and we would love to empty them, but our garbage has not been picked up in the past week and there is nowhere to throw it.
The grocery stores have a very small selection of produce available. We cook food on our gas barbecue in the back yard or buy take-out from local businesses that were not affected by the flood. I am happy that the drinking water is still safe and I can heat water on the barbecue to make coffee in the morning.
Things are getting better. The streets are clean. There are scores of volunteers helping out those affected. It is amazing to see the city pull together and put things right.
We are happy and healthy. No need to worry about us. We are just spending the time at home in the quiet and enjoying having a normal life (without power).
My Aunt Jo Ann asked for photos of Gabe, which I have not posted on the blog yet. The best photos I have were taken by my sister-in-law Carol. I stole them from her Facebook page and I hope she doesn't mind me re-using them here. Well done Carol.
Here is one that Mary took of me. She said I look too serious in the photo, but I like it.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
point of reference
I was asked by a friend to give her an idea of how high our house is compared to the river. It is a good question. I myself often wonder if people who choose to live by a river are asking for trouble during times of flooding.
This is a photo taken by someone (before the flooding) standing on the south bank of the river looking north at the Centenary Bridge. This is a familiar sight for the kids and I because we walk under the bridge on our way to the skateboard park.
This is a picture taken by someone standing on that bridge at about the same point, but looking south. The photo was taken Wednesday afternoon. The entire Western Freeway is under water. Take note of the blue building in the far upper left portion of the screen.
This is a photo of that same building (the blue one in the upper right hand corner) looking east from Sinnamon Road in Jindalee (also before the flooding). I take this road every day to get on the highway when I go to work. When I came home from work on Tuesday, this road was already under water.
The internet is not that forthcoming with accurate topographic information, unless you pay for it. The only point of reference I have for our house is from Google Earth. It tells me that Pillow Talk (the clever name of the store in the blue building) is at an elevation of 14 or 15 metres above sea level. It also tells me that our house is about 16 metres above sea level.
As of yesterday afternoon, our house was dry.
This is the part that drives me crazy. They predict that the water will rise another 1.5 metres above the current level today. Does that mean my house will be under water? Maybe not. It is difficult to assess without a proper map. Either way it will be very close.
I can tell you with certainty that when we walked along Mount Ommaney Drive last week and looked down 40 feet to the normal river level, we never dreamed it would come to our front door.
This is a photo taken by someone (before the flooding) standing on the south bank of the river looking north at the Centenary Bridge. This is a familiar sight for the kids and I because we walk under the bridge on our way to the skateboard park.
This is a picture taken by someone standing on that bridge at about the same point, but looking south. The photo was taken Wednesday afternoon. The entire Western Freeway is under water. Take note of the blue building in the far upper left portion of the screen.
This is a photo of that same building (the blue one in the upper right hand corner) looking east from Sinnamon Road in Jindalee (also before the flooding). I take this road every day to get on the highway when I go to work. When I came home from work on Tuesday, this road was already under water.The internet is not that forthcoming with accurate topographic information, unless you pay for it. The only point of reference I have for our house is from Google Earth. It tells me that Pillow Talk (the clever name of the store in the blue building) is at an elevation of 14 or 15 metres above sea level. It also tells me that our house is about 16 metres above sea level.
As of yesterday afternoon, our house was dry.
This is the part that drives me crazy. They predict that the water will rise another 1.5 metres above the current level today. Does that mean my house will be under water? Maybe not. It is difficult to assess without a proper map. Either way it will be very close.
I can tell you with certainty that when we walked along Mount Ommaney Drive last week and looked down 40 feet to the normal river level, we never dreamed it would come to our front door.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
The water is rising
Mary: "I always thought our first evacuation would be for a bush fire."
This is a flood map of our suburb. The light-blue shading indicates where the flood water will flow over land and which streets are likely to be under water during a flood event.
I believe the map is based on a 50 year flood event but I can't be bothered to verify that. It doesn't matter because the flood event we are currently living through is predicted to exceed the recorded maps which were based on the 1974 flood.
As you can see, our house is not in a light-blue shaded area. That is a good thing. However, it will take only a few metres of flood level to exceed this and put our house knee deep in water. I am confident (or living in denial) that it will not happen and we will go home to a nice dry house which has not been picked over by looters.
The more important thing the map shows is that it is difficult to get out of our suburb if the waters rise to this level.
Last night, I told Mary that if the water rose over Burrendah Road we would get out of the house. That happened last night after 8:00 and at 8:30 the police went around knocking on doors telling people to prepare to evacuate.
We are fortunate to have many options available to us, and we chose the most fun. We are staying with our friends Tim and Bindi, who graciously are hosting us for the few days it takes for this to pass.
In the mean time, my paternity leave has been extended for a few days and I get to stay home and wear comfortable clothing.
On a lighter note, Cole and Cora and I spent some time hiking and swimming at the ocean during the holiday. Cole attempted to body surf and is learning to handle big waves. Cora was reluctant to get on the boogie board we got her for Christmas, but after I threw her on a wave she was hooked. By the end of the day she was catching her own rides and ignoring my pleas to stay near the surf life savers.
This is a flood map of our suburb. The light-blue shading indicates where the flood water will flow over land and which streets are likely to be under water during a flood event.
I believe the map is based on a 50 year flood event but I can't be bothered to verify that. It doesn't matter because the flood event we are currently living through is predicted to exceed the recorded maps which were based on the 1974 flood.
As you can see, our house is not in a light-blue shaded area. That is a good thing. However, it will take only a few metres of flood level to exceed this and put our house knee deep in water. I am confident (or living in denial) that it will not happen and we will go home to a nice dry house which has not been picked over by looters.
The more important thing the map shows is that it is difficult to get out of our suburb if the waters rise to this level.
Last night, I told Mary that if the water rose over Burrendah Road we would get out of the house. That happened last night after 8:00 and at 8:30 the police went around knocking on doors telling people to prepare to evacuate.
We are fortunate to have many options available to us, and we chose the most fun. We are staying with our friends Tim and Bindi, who graciously are hosting us for the few days it takes for this to pass.
In the mean time, my paternity leave has been extended for a few days and I get to stay home and wear comfortable clothing.
On a lighter note, Cole and Cora and I spent some time hiking and swimming at the ocean during the holiday. Cole attempted to body surf and is learning to handle big waves. Cora was reluctant to get on the boogie board we got her for Christmas, but after I threw her on a wave she was hooked. By the end of the day she was catching her own rides and ignoring my pleas to stay near the surf life savers.
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