Our Devastated City

For graphic videos and pictures of Brisbane during the flood, click this link.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/

It's distressing to see our beautiful city so devastated.  No power, domestic water supply threatened, limited transport and food shortages are just some of the things already being experienced.  We have been asked to conserve water as one of the supply stations has been damaged.  There is raw sewerage floating through the streets and the threat of E. coli is very real.

The State Emergency Service, Police, Red Cross and thousands of volunteers are doing a fantastic job.  Roughly 30,000 homes have been affected, thousands are in evacuation shelters and of course, their pets are missing or dead.  It's just too much to comprehend.

The whole State will be affected by this...the Port of Brisbane is closed and supplies are going to have to be airdropped or if possible, delivered by road.  The supermarket shelves are almost empty.  Because of the tsunami like wave of water in the Lockyer Valley, our fresh vegetable industry is no more.  The farmers can't get their stock to the abattoirs, so no meat. Wheat exports will be badly affected.  We have to boil our water and then there is the very real danger of mosquito borne diseases such as Ross River fever and malaria.  

I'm so proud of my family.  My daughter and her husband were out all day yesterday with their truck and trailer helping people move their belongings and will be out again today and for as long as it takes.  My granddaughter and her friends have registered as volunteers to work all weekend from Friday evening on, after working a full week at work.

There are some dreadful stories coming out of people trying to save others and losing their own lives.  But there are uplifting stories of people risking their lives, with no thought of their own safety, to help strangers.

The one blessing at the moment is that the sun is shining, which makes it harder to get one's head around the devastation.  However, one of the worst things is the stench and then the clean up.  It's going to take months, possibly years, before Brisbane is returned to its former self.  But Queenslanders are a tough breed and in interviews, the most common attitude is "just to start all over again, there's nothing else to do".


It's the CBD and 32 river suburbs which are the most badly affected.  Brisbane is Australia's third largest city and a major port for imports to the country.  Unfortunately, those container ships will have to be diverted elsewhere.  Three quarters of the State of Queensland has been declared a disaster area...our Premier, Anna Bligh, although I have never been a supporter of hers, has done a fantastic job of keeping everyone updated.  

I must give credit to the Queensland Police Service who, through Facebook, have kept those of us with power or fully charged batteries informed with constant updates.  There are stupid morons who disseminate false information and the Police are onto those immediately, putting people at ease that the dam walls are not going to collapse and so on. 

Then, of course, there are the low lifes who have been looting.  What sort of mongrels are they to steal from people already devastated by this disaster?  They have been caught, which is wonderful to hear, and all I can say is, what goes around comes around and in those cases, will be well deserved. 


We would be grateful for your prayers for our beautiful city and the poor souls who have lost everything.  Thank you.