QLD Floods: Brisbane Under Seige

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The Worst Is Yet to Come: FIRE-EARTH

Australian cities under siege as flood crisis worsens

Up to 50,000 properties in Brisbane are to be affected by floods as Brisbane River rises to expected peak of 4.5m Wednesday and 5.5m Thursday

Up to 2,000 people have already been evacuated from Brisbane homes and the figure is rising, local reports say.

Floodwaters are expected to submerge at least 50 Brisbane suburbs as the Brisbane River rises to 4.5m this afternoon before surging to a forecast peak of 5.5m by Thursday.

FIRE-EARTH believes the peak could potentially top 7m.

Brisbane residents are told to brace themselves for the worst flooding in 150 years.

New flood modeling shows that 19,700 homes and 3,500 businesses in 2,100 streets could be inundated in Brisbane.

Up to 50,000 buildings could be affected by flooding by Thursday.

Intense rain in Queensland

Image made from the Multi-Satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) based on data from the TRMM shows heavy rainfall in SE corner of Queensland, west and NW of Brisbane area on January 10. Brisbane is the state capital of Queensland and Australia’s third largest city. Source: NASA-EO. Click image to enlarge.

Dead Or Missing

The number of people killed by QLD’s Toowoomba area flash floods in the past 48 hours has climbed to 10, with more than 90 people still unaccounted for, the Queensland premier Ms Bligh said.

“It’s very sad overnight, we’ve seen even further notifications of missing people,” she told reporters.

“The police now are searching for more than 90 people. These are people who their families can no longer contact or find them.”

The total of reported flood-related deaths in Queensland since December 2010 currently stands at 20.

FLOOD UPDATES:

For Brisbane flood updates see comments section at the bottom of this page.

Brisbane Flood Map

Larger Flood Maps (PDF)

• Whole of Brisbane (1.8Mb)
• Brisbane South (5.7Mb)
• Brisbane East (5.5Mb)
• Brisbane West (3.7Mb)

More Rain on the Way?

Source: Image from Japan Meteorological Agency satellite MTSAT-1R via Bureau of Meteorology. Posted on 12 January 2011 03:29UTC

• Latest Satellite Image.
• IR Color Animation

Maryborough to Gold Coast River Condition

Maryborough to Gold Coast 24-hr Rainfall

Queensland Flood Map [12 Jan 2011]

NSW Flood Map [12 Jan 2011]

Source: BOM

Latest Weather Observations for the Brisbane Area

• Source: BOM

Queensland Warnings Summary

• Current warnings

Australia’s Latest Weather Warnings

• NSW/ACT | VIC | QLD | WA | SA | TAS | NT

‎

Related Links:

• 8 dead 72 missing as ‘inland tsunami’ hits Qld
• Queensland Flood Update – 10 January
• Brisbane on high alert for flooding
• Back-to-Back Australian Disasters[Links page]

Other Links

• Earth’s Human Induced Antiphase Nears Completion
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8 dead 72 missing as ‘inland tsunami’ hits Qld

UPDATE: 10 Killed, 78 Missing

An ‘inland tsunami’ kills at least 8 and leaves 72 missing in Grantham, near Toowoomba, Queensland

The deadly flash flood which triggered a 9m high wall of water surging through Grantham, a town west of the city of Toowoomba in Queensland, has been likened to an instant ‘inland tsunami’ by the local Police chief, Bob Atkinson.

Mayor Peter Taylor who who thought his city was safe, Toowoomba is 700 meters above sea level,  said:

“Torrential rain over a very short period of time came down two major creeks through the middle of the city which are normal quiet drainage ways and people had no warning at all.”

[Clearly, common sense does not operate under wet conditions in Australia. Moderator]

“It was just unprecedented. Some people are saying an inland tsunami, and I think that probably sums it up really.”

Floodwaters Surge Toward Brisbane

Meanwhile, residents in low-lying areas of Brisbane, Australia’s third largest city, have been urged by the authorities to evacuate their homes, as the biggest floods in at least 3 decades approaches.

The immediate areas threatened by the flood include about 9,000 homes and businesses.

Queensland 24-hr Rainfall Map 11 Jan 11

Source of images: BOM

Queensland Flood Map 11 Jan 11

Australia 24-hr Rainfall Map 11 Jan 11

‘Darkest hour’

“This has been a night of extraordinary events,” Queensland State Premier Anna Bligh told a news conference.

She called called the flash floods in Toowoomba Queensland’s “darkest hour” since the flood crisis began in December.

“The event that started in Toowoomba can only be described as a complete freak of nature, an extraordinary deluge that almost came out of nowhere,” she said .

“What we have here in Queensland tonight is a very grim and desperate situation.”

The Dead and Missing

As the floodwaters claim their 1oth victim (total of 20 dead since December) Ms Bligh says the number of missing people has been revised up to 78.

“Clearly as we get more information from families who are looking for their loved ones these numbers are going to fluctuate, but we now have 78 people unaccounted for,” she said.

“We have 10 deaths and we have at least 18 people for who we have very grave concerns for their safety.”

Finally what FIRE-EARTH has long been warning about:

Queensland: A Mega Disaster Zone

Ms Bligh said a disaster zone may be declared over a “significant region” of Queensland.

“We are just looking for an appropriate northern line and everything south of that would be declared [a Mega Disaster Zone,]” she said.

Latest Weather Observations for the Brisbane Area

• Source: BOM

Queensland Warnings Summary

• Current warnings

Australia’s Latest Weather Warnings

• NSW/ACT | VIC | QLD | WA | SA | TAS | NT

Related Links:

• Queensland Flood Update – 10 January
• Brisbane on high alert for flooding
• Aus Disasters [Links page]

Rockhampton Flooding – Satellite Images

Flooding in Rockhampton, Queensland

Image captured by ASTER on NASA’s Terra satellite – 7 January 2011

Click image to enlarge. Download larger image (3 MB, JPEG)

The image uses a combination of visible light and infrared to enhance the contrast between floodwaters and earth. “Reflective surfaces on buildings make the city shine white against a background of plant-covered land (which shows up as red). Sediment-loaded water is brown, while clearer water is black.” Source: NASA-EO.

Meanwhile, the Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) in Queensland issued the following flood warning earlier today.

FLOOD WARNING FOR THE FITZROY RIVER BASIN
Issued at 4:00 PM on Saturday the 8th of January 2011 [IDQ20765]
by the Bureau of Meteorology, Brisbane.

Moderate to major flooding continues along the Dawson, Comet, Mackenzie and Fitzroy Rivers.

The Fitzroy River at Rockhampton has remained steady at about 9.15 metres during Saturday following a peak of 9.2 metres on Wednesday. Levels will fall veryslowly from Sunday. Rockhampton river levels are expected to remain above 8.5metres (major) until late next week.

CONNORS/ISAAC RIVER SYSTEM:
Moderate flooding continues to ease on the Isaac River at Yatton.

COMET RIVER:
Major flooding continues to ease along the Comet River into the weekend.

MACKENZIE RIVER:
Minor to major flood levels continue to fall along the Mackenzie River, where the main flood peak is now downstream of Tartrus. Levels will fall graduallybetween the Comet confluence and Tartrus.

DAWSON RIVER:
Minor flooding is easing slowly in the upper Dawson River at Taroom. Renewed rises are occurring downstream in the Glebe area with only minor flood levels expected. Downstream at Theodore, Moura and Baralaba, levels will continue to fall fast this weekend before small renewed rises and minor flooding during nextweek.

FITZROY RIVER:
Major flooding continues in the Fitzroy River at Riverslea. At 2:30pm Saturday the river level at Riverslea was at 26.22 metres and falling. Levels areexpected to continue falling very slowly through the weekend.

At Yaamba, flood levels continue to remain steady at 16.45 metres, following amajor peak of 16.55 metres recorded during Tuesday.

The Fitzroy River at Rockhampton remains steady. At 3:30pm Saturday, the river level at Rockhampton was 9.10 metres. River levels are expected to fall veryslowly from Sunday. Rockhampton river levels are expected to remain above 8.5metres (major) until next Friday.

Predicted River Heights/Flows:

DAWSON RIVER at:

Baralaba: Flood levels will fall but remain above major floodlevel (9 metres) until Monday or Tuesday.

FITZROY RIVER at:

Yaamba: Remain above major flood level for several days.

Rockhampton: Fall extremely slowly during the weekend.Remain above 8.5 metres (major) until late next week.

Next Issue:

The next warning will be issued at about 7am Sunday.(River heights are constantly updated on the Bureau website.)

For other entries including additional satellite images, click HERE.

BOM Links: CURRENT WARNINGS

NSW/ACT | VIC | QLD | WA | SA | TAS

Related Links:

• Queensland Floods Spread to NSW Posted on January 7, 2011
• Queensland Flooding – Satellite Images Posted on January 6, 2011
• Australia: More Severe Weather Looms
• Mosquitoes Plague Flooded Rockhampton
• Queensland Flood Update – 3 Jan 2011

• Nature’s DoS Attack on Australia
• Queensland Flooding: Disaster of “Biblical Proportions”
• Australia Flood Update
• Thousands of Australians Evacuate Flood-hit Queensland