I'm wondering if any of our members live in Queensland, Australia, and how you are managing. I saw the news reports of the heavy flooding (think Katrina plus 100). One report said that the flooded area was approximately the size of France and Germany put together. Is that true? Is there any thing we can do to help you?

Theresa

I am on the West Coast of Australia and every night when the news comes on tv i am reduced to tears.
It is absolutely horrendous what is happening in Queensland.
22 towns and cities have had to be evacuated
Where do 200,000 people go?

As of tonight (tuesday 4th Jan) the flooed area is now larger than France and Germany combined - Its totally heartbreaking to see part of our country in such despair knowing there is nothing anyone can do to stop it.

Sadly as i type more rains are heading for the lower Queensland area which means more devistation.
60% OF QUEENSLAND IS NOW TOTALLY UNDER WATER

I know Jen80 is in far north Queensland and altho not affected by the floods she is being beseiged by heavy rains herself.

We hear tonight that the some areas will take up to a Month for the waters to subdue - so hard to comprehend isn't it.

Sadly we have made the world news...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2010/dec/31/australia-queensland-flooding


http://www.google.com.au/images?hl=en&source=imghp&biw=1021&bih=618&q=QUEENSLAND+FLOODS&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

We the Australians from other States are donating money to help those find some light at the end of their tunnel.

The Army is evacuating people and every state is sending Tonnes of food to be air dropped ...again by the Army.

The world stopped and looked on in horror at what Katrina did and now we stop and look on in horror at what is happening to our own land.

Not only 200,000 peoples lives ruined - but as this is the region and season from which 80% of our fresh produce comes from- there will be huge fresh food shortages all over Australia.

What can anyone do .................. pray the rains stop and hope no more lives are lost.

Thankyou so much Playingwithsugar for your concern and kind thoughts for my fellow countrymen and women - it is indeed a horrendous and heartbreaking time for so many....


Bluehue.

Please let me know if there is a legitimate charity that I can donate to online.

The world came to our aid when the World Trade Center was attacked. The world came to our aid when Katrina hit.

It's only right that we return the favor.

Theresa

It was reported Yesterday that your President on behalf of all Americans has offered assistance to the Queensland Flood Relief Appeall.

This web link shows how donations can be made.
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1458117/Queensland-floods:-How-to-help



Thank you again Theresa... what a kind soul you are.

Bluehue.

Hi I am from Far north Queensland up on the Atheerton Tablelands(near Cairns) My husband and I have ust returned home we were travelling by motorhome down to Nambour Queensland to wait for the birth of another grandchild got as far as Townsville when the flooding started been waiting there for the passed week but now the flooding is covering more of Queensland and due to my husbands health (he has cancer) we decided it was best to come home and fly down instead. My son and his family are not in a flood area.

I'm in Dalby - 5 floods peaks since Christmas - today's should be the highest so far. Our house is fine, but the town is a mess, and we have family stuck with us who live in Toowoomba, which experienced flash flooding yesterday. 8 confirmed dead, 72 missing. Pedestrians in the city center were swept away. Their house is fine as well, but they can't get home. They visited us Sunday night for dinner with just their clothes, and are still here (Tuesday lunch).

A town not far from them has had houses washed away, people rescued from their roofs by helicopter. Crazy situation. Toowoomba is on top of a mountain range, so all the water has now flowed down the hill and is on its way towards the capital city, Brisbane, which is braced for floods this afternoon and tonight.

The capital city's main water reservoir is at 154% capacity, and they have to release water into the river that flows through the Brisbane, which might cause flooding in that area, but it has to be done before the wall just overflows. The dam was built to save the city from floods.

Every day since Christmas, there's been more homes, towns and people flooded. It's all just carzy. Everyone here is just in shock, people are stuck all over the place, unable to get home, the phones are running hot, keeping everyone updated with news.

The premier's flood relief appeal link has already been posted, I think.

Thanks to all who have responded.

I sent what I could. It wasn't much, but at this point, I'm sure even $5 would help.

Who else over on this side wants to kick in?

Theresa

I\\'m in Brisbane. I use to live in Rockhampton which was the first to flood over the New Year. Many of our friends are still trapped outside of Rocky, unable to get back to their homes. Rocky is an 8 hour drive from Brissy. One of our friends ended up leaving their car here, flying halfway home (the airport in Rocky is flooded) and then caught a boat home. Most of the houses are unaffected unless they are right along the river, but the city has been cutoff from both directions.

One of my best friend\\'s was in Toowoomba during the flood. Toowoomba is on top of a high mountain range, inland so you would never expect it to flood. Last year their Dam was down to 10% and they were under severe water restrictions. His wife is a reporter and I just saw her do a live cross. I have never seen her frazzled but she was quite emotional to see the destruction in her hometown. The devastation was pretty confined to a small area of the town. However what happened in Grantham still upsets me. There are a lot of missing people. There was no warning and houses were knocked off their foundations. I have young children and I can\\'t imagine that hitting us, especially if we had been in different rooms.

I am in Brisbane and nowhere near the flooding areas. I do know a few people in those areas and some have been forced to evacuate, others have done so voluntarily and others are watching and waiting. In terms of the population, it\\'s not affecting that many of us with the water but it\\'s affecting so many people\\'s livelihood since it is the central business district that is flooding and roads are cut off all over the place. It\\'s going to take so long to recover economically from this. The power outages are also causing a lot of grief - especially for all the people who went and did massive shops yesterday. For the rest of us, the biggest concern is the lack of fresh food in the supermarket. There\\'s barely any produce, no milk, no bread and for some reason, people seem to be hoarding baked beans! And we\\'re not even in an area even remotely likely to flood! I actually had to buy Strawberry Milk so we could have some milk in the house!!!!

The floods are covering a massive, massive area but QLD is thankfully made up of a lot of farms etc. We have lots of open land. Ironically, about 12 months ago we were suffering the worst droughts and were all on water restrictions with the government trying to work out how to stop the Dams going try and now they are well over capacity! The worst thing about this is that most people don\\'t have flood insurance and haven\\'t realised their policy doesn\\'t cover it until now. The majority of policies cover storm damage but don\\'t cover rising waters and few people know this.

So as Queenslanders, we are very appreciative of all the goodwill and support from around the country and world. There is going to be so much work to do - the roads are being decimated by the waters & infrastructure is being water damaged.

And I found this link for people who would like to donate: http://www.qld.gov.au/floods/donate.html

I haven't been able to watch too much of the coverage either - I have to switch channels when the survivor stories come on because I keep breaking down into tears. I have to say though, my opinion of Anna Bligh has gotten much better. She is handling herself well through all those press conferences and the updates from the Police Service have been wonderful. They are clearing up rumours as fast as they become aware of them. I feel for Anna Bligh - she must be so emotionally drained and so stressed. It broke my heart a little when she started crying in the press conference and I cried a little too.

I have no idea how long it is going to take our State to get back on its feet economically. I wonder if all the schools will be able to resume on time too? I received an email from the Director General last week (I'm a teacher) and many schools are either flooded around the State or being used to house displace people.

I'm a Brissy gal but I now live in the States. My family lives in very close vicinities to the Bremer River and Brisbane River. Thankfully their houses have not gone under....but the flood levels were getting close though...so scary. For the past 3 days I have been glued to the computer, keeping up to date with the latest news on Ninemsn and Queensland Police and calling my family to make sure they are still ok. The news reports were heartbreaking to watch but I was at least able to know exactly what was going on.

My family owns another house in Brisbane that is not occupied at the moment but had some of our furniture and belongings in it. They think it went under but the flood waters are still too high for them to get to the house to see the damage. Some of my friends have also had to evacuate their houses. It's going to be an awful mess to clean up. It's truly heart wrenching and devastating seeing the destruction this has caused to so many peoples lives. 3/4 of Queensland is in a state of emergency. I feel helpless being so far away and not being able to do anything to assist my family, friends and the people of my home city clean up the aftermath. I am thankful that my friends and family are all safe.

I think Anna Bligh is doing a good job too. I can't help thinking that I'm sure she could get more done if she didn't have to give press conferences every two hours.

Astounding now that it could be months before everyone will be able to return to their homes, given that all homes inundated have to be checked by electrical people before the power will be switched back on. Where on earth will all those people stay for months? We just had family stuck with us for three days due to roads being cut, and I nearly went nuts. I don't think I could have done it for months. That's even assuming people have family or friends to house them, which many don't. Crazy times.

Was just going to start a post and put the link up for the Premiers flood appeal! Wonderful to see I have been beaten to it.

Im in NSW, but what we are seeing is horrific. Every dollar will help, so would urge people to give whatever they can, as someone said earlier, even $5 will help, or if you cant even give that.. give $1.. imagine if everyone gave just $1???

Ill try and post the link here but there is a company on facebook "Appliances Online Australia" who has pledged to give $1 for every "like" they have to date, and every "like" they get until Jan. 21. For those who are facebook.. id urge you to click "like"! http://www.facebook.com/AppliancesOnline.com.au
remember every dollar will count. Thouights are with all those who have been effected and especially those who have lost loved ones or who have them missing. The story of the 4year old boy who was swept away during a rescue absolutely breaks my heart.