Brisbane Floods

If you're in NZ or Australia you will know about this:



My brother in law, sister in law, and my 1 year old neice (my first niece or nephew!) have just moved to Ipswich. Ipswich is one of the worst places hit by the flood. So far 12 people have died in the flood. It's been described like an inland tsunami. It's caused by the recent torrential rains (La Nina weather pattern), a king tide, and the dams upstream having to release water because otherwise they will burst. This has meant that the rivers Brisbane and Bremer have broken their banks, along with countless smaller tributaries and streams.

Fortunately, our family has contacted us and let us know that they are safe, with their house being on slightly higher ground. But now the new problems are emerging, such as the price of basic food items skyrocketing. Thousands of homes and businesses are not only underwater or damaged, but without power - they've cut the power on purpose to stop people getting electrocuted. Now there are concerns about Dengue Fever and snakes in the water!

Here are two videos showing Ipswich after the Bremer River reached it's peak of over 19m; our family are less than 3 blocks from the water now.