As predicted, the Brisbane River continued to rise Wednesday night and into the wee hours of Thursday morning. By the time it peaked around 3 am, three-quarters of Brisbane was underwater, with more than 26,000 homes and 5,000 businesses flooded. Luckily, my friend and I managed to remain dry. Her house in East Brisbane sits high on a hill, so it maintained a safe distance from the flood waters that engulfed houses only a couple of streets away. We were incredibly lucky. So many others were not. Officials are now calling this the largest, most destructive natural disaster in Queensland history. The images on on the news are heartbreaking. So many people have lost absolutely everything. As I toured the city yesterday, I was astounded by extent of the damage. The Central Business District was a ghost town. The Eagle Street Pier, a usually bustling restaurant district, was completely submerged. The football stadium has become a giant swimming pool. My old neighborhood is in ruins; our local shopping center flooded even before the river peaked. My apartment building's underground parking lot is filled with dirty flood water. Parts of the River Walk, where I went on my daily runs, are totally flooded out; other parts broke off all together and were swept away towards the ocean. I couldn't even get back to New Farm Park, as the flood waters were still too high. And other neighborhoods were hit even harder. In Rosalie, I saw people kayaking down what used to be a street so they could check on their house. It was the same story in other neighborhoods, too. I've never seen anything like it. What a way to spend my last days here in Australia!!!
As predicted, the Brisbane River continued to rise Wednesday night and into the wee hours of Thursday morning. By the time it peaked around 3 am, three-quarters of Brisbane was underwater, with more than 26,000 homes and 5,000 businesses flooded. Luckily, my friend and I managed to remain dry. Her house in East Brisbane sits high on a hill, so it maintained a safe distance from the flood waters that engulfed houses only a couple of streets away. We were incredibly lucky. So many others were not. Officials are now calling this the largest, most destructive natural disaster in Queensland history. The images on on the news are heartbreaking. So many people have lost absolutely everything. As I toured the city yesterday, I was astounded by extent of the damage. The Central Business District was a ghost town. The Eagle Street Pier, a usually bustling restaurant district, was completely submerged. The football stadium has become a giant swimming pool. My old neighborhood is in ruins; our local shopping center flooded even before the river peaked. My apartment building's underground parking lot is filled with dirty flood water. Parts of the River Walk, where I went on my daily runs, are totally flooded out; other parts broke off all together and were swept away towards the ocean. I couldn't even get back to New Farm Park, as the flood waters were still too high. And other neighborhoods were hit even harder. In Rosalie, I saw people kayaking down what used to be a street so they could check on their house. It was the same story in other neighborhoods, too. I've never seen anything like it. What a way to spend my last days here in Australia!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment