This last week has been so surreal, but we survived the flood of 2011. The mix of emotions I've felt over the last few days has been unbelievable, and a little hard to explain. And our house was completely fine, I simply can't imagine what those who have lost everything must be feeling.
But here is my account of the last few days. It might seem a bit self-absorbed to write about this, but we were still affected by it. And for every person that was directly affected, there are hundreds affected indirectly. Plus it's good to record this for posterity. So we can tell the kids about the great flood of 2011 (as it is being called).
We first became aware that something bad was happening when the news reports of the Lockyer valley started coming. The images were just horrific, but we still didn't think it would become a big issue in Brisbane. Tuesday morning it became apparent that it would. By lunchtime they were talking about the flood waters exceeding the levels reached in 1974 when large sections of Brisbane were destroyed. James found it very hard to concentrate that day, we were already starting to think of friends who we knew would be affected and they had evacuated the CBD. That night James went to help some friends move things. He had difficulties getting there (they live on the other side of town) as low lying roads were already cut.
Wednesday morning was a wait and see time. Charlotte and I went and had a playdate with another friend who lives locally. We watched some of the footage on tv in disbelief. To see the images of boats and pontoons floating down the river was unbelievable. And for me, seeing structures like Coronation Drive (a major road) and Oxleys on the River (an iconic floating restaurant) literally disappear under water took my breath away. James had done a quick grocery shop and most stock was already gone. However it was only when another friend turned up on the doorstep distraught did things become scary. They had been holidaying out of town and came back that morning but couldn't access their house due to flood water. The look on her face was heart wrenching. She thought that their house was gone. Thankfully they found an alternative route and managed to get home and were all dry. Meanwhile we went to do a quick shop for them and was told that our local shops was being evacuated as they expected to get flooded. That's when I started to get a little bit scared. We can see the shops from our house, it's less than a 500m walk there. How close would it come to us??
We went home and immediately lost power (this was very fortunate timing as we have an electric garage door so if we had been a bit later we couldn't have got inside!). There was no afternoon nap that day so we went for a long walk around the neighbourhood. The water was already nearly up to Charlotte's daycare. We stood on the road with a number of people in collective shock as houses were inundated. We watched a school of fish swim up the road and a shipping container float across it. Our suburb was effectively cut off as anywhere you turned there was water. We had a chat to a bloke whose house had already been fully submerged. He just seemed to be in shock and didn't know what to do.
We had a sleepless night that night. Not least because we had no fans or airconditioning and that doesn't really work for a 7 month pregnant lady! But I just couldn't stop worrying. The birds went nuts at 4am (around the time of the expected peak) and I just thought that meant the water was everywhere. James went to have a look at 5am with the good news that the peak was less and the waters were already receding. It was only then that I finally fell asleep!
Thursday revealed the scale of the devastation. With the waters receding we were able to do a bit of a drive around (along with most of the suburb I think) and it was just shocking. It is so hard to comprehend how much brown water was everywhere. We stood on the overpass to the Centenary highway and you could see water in both directions. This is a major section of road, but the only people on it were the SES and the police who we watched motor up it in their rubber duckies!
Power came back on later that day just in time to save most of our food. We had to chuck some things. And painfully, we chucked quite a bit of IVF medication that had been left over and I guess I was keeping for a rainy day. Apart from the cost (probably about $100 or more) it was a big step psychologically.
Friday was a quiet day at home just keeping up with what was happening. I felt a real sense of helplessness but I knew that I simply couldn't help anyone even if I wanted to. James did help some friends who had a serious mould problem. They didn't get any water in but the sheer amount of damp in the ground and air had seeped into their home and caused some big problems.
It has been the last 2 days that the sheer scale of devastation has been revealed and is just so hard to comprehend. James drove just a few streets away and helped a number of houses rip out floors, kitchens, everything. He said the smell was overpowering. He did the same today in an area that doesn't seem to have had much volunteers. In that area, the water was over the rooftops. The people in these homes have lost everything. You just can't comprehend it.
So now we are feeling the need to try and get back to normal. I am finding it hard to watch the news. The last few days I have been glued to the tele as I felt the need to see what was happening. Most of our friends have been fortunate and only two were inundated (both insured) although one friend's business lost almost everything. There has been so much in our area that is affected. Charlotte's daycare and our shops were spared, but her swimming pool and my gym were completely covered (over the roof). I'm not sure if or when they will reopen. And then there is footage of other parts of Brisbane where we used to live that was completely inundated, and that broke my heart.
This coming week will be a little busy as I try to reschedule several appointments (including my OB and the dietitian) that I had to cancel as I literally couldn't get there. And sadly James is having a week away for business from next week which I am NOT looking forward to.
But there have been some good things come from this disaster. I feel like our friends have banded together and strengthened those relationships. It has also been great to share in the community spirit that has been shown. Not just with the volunteers, but all the emotional support, kindness and compassion that people have shown. To hear people say "are you alright, do you need anything" and genuinely mean it is so uplifting. I only hope that this attitude continues.
I'm sure the recovery will be long and it is just staggering what has to be done. It does seem overwhelming. But I do love living in Brisbane and I'm sure it will recover as will the rest of the state. At least I can tell our kids that we were there for the great flood of 2011.
Here is some footage that James shot today while he was volunteering:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM8HdpSVuqg
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