Words cannot justly describe what has and is happening over the last 48+ hours. My family has been fortunate, with a minor flood damage bill of a thousand or so dollars ( being a builder we can repair the damage at minimal cost,) and only having the frustration of not being able to find any paper work that is now laying in every other room of the house.
And I say fortunate when you look at the damage caused by the floods and wind,to the roads, bridges, homes, schools, parks and businesses. The erosion of many of our beaches. The lose of a life of a Gold Coast real estate agent who was showered with glass, badly lacerated and went into cardiac arrest when his office window exploded after being hit by debris from another building. The high rise buildings on the Gold Coast acted as wind tunnels and as the 100 +km/h gale force winds blew it turned everday items into deadly flying missiles. It ripped off roofs, blew furniture of balconies, ripped the top off a camper van hurling it down 4 lanes of traffic. It was carnage every where. Now Northern NSW is facing the fury of these complex lows.
There is the phsyclological and emotional stress of those who have lost nearly everything. Some have just rebuilt their lives and businesses from previous floods and storm damage from approx. six months ago, they have just once again lost everything, some do not know if they can go through the rebuilding process again.
The wave buoys in Brisbane and the Tweed have registered max heights of 11M. Byron and Ballina were reported at 13.4M by the Air sea rescue on the news bulletins last night and today.
As we approach the weekend SEQ and NSW is still on severe weather alert as the low is expected to move north. The report from BOM is
TOP PRIORITY FOR IMMEDIATE BROADCAST
SEVERE WEATHER WARNING
for Damaging Winds, and Abnormally High Tides and Dangerous Surf
For people in coastal parts of the Southeast Coast forecast district and Fraser
Island.
Issued at 11:00 am on Friday 22 May 2009
Synoptic Situation:
A strong upper low is located over the Wide Bay and Burnett district and is
expected to move off the coast late today. A deep low pressure trough lies near
the northern NSW coast, and is expected to move north on Saturday. A strong
pressure gradient is in place between this system and a large high over the
southern Tasman Sea.
Dangerous surf conditions and beach erosion will continue along the Southeast
Coast, mainly along the Gold Coast today, extending north to Fraser Island
during Saturday. Tides will be higher than normal, and are expected to exceed
the highest tide level of the year on the evening high tides today and Saturday,
with some inundation of low lying areas possible.
Damaging winds with gusts to 100 km/h may develop about the exposed coast and
islands south of Double Island Point during Saturday.
The State Emergency Service advises that people in the affected area should:
· if near the coastline, stay well away from the water's edge
· secure loose outdoor items
Contact the SES on 132 500 for emergency assistance if required.
I truly hope everyone is OK and stay alert as this dangerous weather remains with us. It is now just starting to rain on the Northside of Brisbane once again after a nearly two days of reprieve.
Stay safe
Colin
