Floods.. picture this !

[VladTepes]

Estimated Brisbane peak 2011: 5.5 metres
Actual 1974 peak: 5.45 metres

In 1893 there were TWO major flood events, with peaks around 8 metres. Yes 8 metres !
Back in those days it must have seemed.. biblical !


To give you an idea of what an 8m flood can do....

Botanical Gardens, Brisbane.

http://inlinethumb56.webshots.com/47799/2824173370100403462S600x600Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb08.webshots.com/35335/2034839370100403462S600x600Q85.jpg

and an illustration from the newspaper.

http://inlinethumb55.webshots.com/11958/2242193430100403462S600x600Q85.jpg

This ship, Paluma was one of two gunships of the Queensland Navy.
She was unceremoniously dumped into the gardens as the flood receded and attempts to refloat her were unsuccesful.

Then the second flood peak came and deposited her neatly back into the river !

[UncleHo]

G'day Vlad :)

My grandmother lost 2 of her brothers in 1893, 1 in the first flood when the old Victoria bridge collasped with people on it,and the second brother when a ferry (replacing the bridge )was swept away and sunk.:( the loss of two young men from a family of 11 was great, only to be compounded by further losses during WW1 1914-1918, so from a family of 11only 5or 6 survived until WW2

We lost nobody or property in 1974


cheers

[bob10]

Vlad, they keep reporting that floodwaters, combined with king tides, will take the levels higher than 1974. However, according to B.O.M./Marine tide tables, the flood tides are next week.Their tables are : high tides --

Wed. 12th ..... 0224 -- 1.77 Next week - Wed 19th 0911 -- 2.55
1416 -- 1.81 2120 -- 1.88

Thurs. 13th. 0329 -- 1.78 Thurs. 20 0954 -- 2.62
1513 -- 1.69 2208 -- 1.96

Fri.14th 0443 -- 1.85 FRI. 21 1037 -- 2.65
1625 -- 1.61 2255 -- 2,02

Already it has been reported the Ipswich peak is 2 metres below the estimated peak. Lets hope and pray this means there will be less flooding than estimated. I know those of us at Deagon, and the lower levels of Sandgate and Brighton, have our fingers crossed. Our thoughts are with those who have been affected, especially those who have lost loved ones. We still cant contact an old Navy mate of mine, who lives with his family in Grantham. Trying to remain positive, Bob

[VladTepes]

Well teh advice is that the flood will peak tomorrow rather than today .. ovbviously the water coingdown the rivers is the biggest factor.. not sure on teh tide usse. Confusing, for sure.

I don't think anyone expected we'd get floods of this magnitude in the absence of a cyclone causing the rain depression !

[bob10]

message received, Mike, much appreciated, for now it's just wait and see. Just come from Sandgate council office, they really have no idea of how much water to expect, which is understandable, admit they made a mistake telling everyone it was a king tide, which is not. The size and scale of this disaster has them slightly rattled, which is understandable, I guess. Not knowing what to expect is a worry, but it's stiff upper lip time [ or maybe a bundy or two] Thanks mate, Bob.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

G'day Vlad :)

My grandmother lost 2 of her brothers in 1893, ,... ...the loss of two young men from a family of 11 was great, only to be compounded by further losses during WW1 1914-1918, so from a family of 11only 5or 6 survived until WW2

We lost nobody or property in 1974It must have been very trying times for your family Uncle Ho, particularly with the lack of social security safety nets back then. :(

Lets hope there aren't too many families with tragedies like that this time around. Though it seems there are at least 10 already. :( :( :(

[bob10]

So far so good, I think we will be ok.,for anyone interested , there is a phone no. for volunteers to assist after the flood, not only in Brisbane but over the state. I have a history of getting numbers wrong, but I think IT IS -- 1300 994 100 IF Iam wrong, 612 abc radio can give you the correct no. I might see some of you out there. Bob

[scarry]

absence of a cyclone causing the rain depression !

Let's just hope one isn't around the corner!
We have got a good few months of the cyclone season to go yet:(

[hook]

Let's just hope one isn't around the corner!
We have got a good few months of the cyclone season to go yet:(

TC VANIA
over New Caledonia
Latest Colour Mean Sea Level Pressure Chart (http://www.bom.gov.au/australia/charts/synoptic_col.shtml)

[VladTepes]

TROPICAL CYCLONE VANIA CENTRE 975HPA CATEGORY 2 WAS LOCATED NEAR 20.2 SOUTH
167.9 EAST AT 130600 UTC.
POSITION POOR.
REPEAT POSITION 20.2S 167.9E AT 130600 UTC.
CYCLONE MOVING SOUTHWEST AT 05 KNOTS. CYCLONE INTENSIFYING.
EXPECT SUSTAINED WINDS OF 60 KNOTS CLOSE TO THE CENTRE INCREASING TO 65 KNOTS BY

131200 UTC.
EXPECT WINDS OVER 47 KNOTS WITHIN 50 NAUTICAL MILES OF CENTRE
AND OVER 33 KNOTS WITHIN 210 NAUTICAL MILES OF CENTRE IN THE
SECTORS
FROM NORTH THROUGH EAST TO SOUTHWEST AND WITHIN 120 MILES
ELSEWHERE.

FORECAST POSITION NEAR 20.9S 167.4E AT 131800 UTC
AND NEAR 21.6S 167.1E AT 140600 UTC.

ALL VESSELS WITHIN 300 NAUTICAL MILES OF CENTRE ARE REQUESTED TO SEND REPORTS
EVERY THREE HOURS TO RSMC NADI. VOS REPORTING SHIPS USE NORMAL CHANNELS. OTHER
VESSELS FAX PLUS 679 6720190 OR EMAIL NADITCC AT MET DOT GOV DOT FJ

whatever that all means

THIS WARNING CANCELS AND REPLACES WARNING 024.

[OLR-067]

Let's just hope 2011 isn't like 1893

21 January, 1893. homes and trees blown down.

1 February, 1893. Tropical cyclone hits Yeppoon causing extreme damage. Severe floods in Ipswich/brisbane with Indooroopilly railway bridge and Victoria bridge washed away. More than 12 deaths.

11 February, 1893. Small cyclone crosses near Bustard Heads,further flooding in Brisbane.

17 February, 1893. Cyclone hits Bundaberg. Floods from Rockhampton to Grafton, NSW. Mary River bridge in Maryborough washed away with 120 houses. Cyclone induced tornado hits Sandgate.


Paul

[OLR-067]

From weatherzone forum....

CYCLONES TO HAVE IMPACTED ON SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA FROM 1864 to March 2008

1) 17 - 19 March, 1864. The first recorded in Queensland. Gales in Brisbane (http://www.weatherzone.com.au/qld/brisbane/brisbane). Damage to stores, houses, signs trees and gardens blown away. Stone jetty at Cleveland washed away. Wind and rain damage at Toowoomba and Gladstone.
2) 26 - 28 April, 1867. Southeast Queensland flooded. Wharves covered in Brisbane (http://www.weatherzone.com.au/qld/brisbane/brisbane). Brisbane (http://www.weatherzone.com.au/qld/brisbane/brisbane), Logan and Ipswich suffer structural and tree damage. Bridge at Ipswich destroyed.
3) 11 March, 1890. Tropical cyclone hits Brisbane (http://www.weatherzone.com.au/qld/brisbane/brisbane). River floods - 360mm in 24 hours.
4) 2 January, 1892. Brisbane (http://www.weatherzone.com.au/qld/brisbane/brisbane) suffers damage.
5) 2 April 1892. Brisbane (http://www.weatherzone.com.au/qld/brisbane/brisbane) damaged.
6) 21 January, 1893. Brisbane (http://www.weatherzone.com.au/qld/brisbane/brisbane) homes and trees blown down.
7) 1 February, 1893. Tropical cyclone hits Yeppoon causing extreme damage. Severe floods in Ipswich and Brisbane (http://www.weatherzone.com.au/qld/brisbane/brisbane) with Indooroopilly railway bridge and Victoria bridge washed away. More than 12 deaths.
8) 11 February, 1893. Small cyclone crosses near Bustard Heads causing further flooding in Brisbane (http://www.weatherzone.com.au/qld/brisbane/brisbane).
9) 17 February, 1893. Cyclone hits Bundaberg. Floods from Rockhampton to Grafton, NSW. Mary River bridge in Maryborough washed away with 120 houses. Cyclone induced tornado hits Sandgate.
10) 19 February, 1894. Tropical cyclones crosses east of Brisbane (http://www.weatherzone.com.au/qld/brisbane/brisbane).
11) 5 April, 1921. Bundaberg, Maryborough and Hervey Bay suffer structural damage.
12) 2 April, 1927. Severe cyclone east of Gold Coast. Highest recorded tides cause disruption to shipping.
13) 14 February, 1928. Brisbane (http://www.weatherzone.com.au/qld/brisbane/brisbane) hit causing serious flooding with 5 people drowned.
14) 1 - 8 February, 1931. Travels from Cooktown down to Hervey Bay causing statewide flooding.
15) 1 February, 1934. This particular cyclone travelled from the Gulf to northern NSW causing widespread damage and flooding. There was a 1.16 metre storm surge recorded as the largest on record on the Moreton Bay tide gauge.
16) 22 March, 1936. Seawards of Fraser Island.
17) 16 March, 1937. Tracked from Western Australia to south-east Queensland. Severe flooding at Bundaberg and Childers.

18) 4 April, 1946. East of Fraser Island causing flooding.
19) 23 January, 1947. Cyclone crossed near Caloundra with heavy gales and high seas. Flooding. 2 dead.
20) 10 February, 1947. Tropical cyclone crossed at Broadsound causing damage to infrastructure and some lives were lost.
22) 28 January, 1948. Cyclone passes east of Brisbane (http://www.weatherzone.com.au/qld/brisbane/brisbane) with wind gusts up to 96 knots at Lord Howe Island.
23) 24 March, 1948. Structural damage and erosion as cyclone passes over Fraser Island.
24) 16-19 January, 1950. Tracked from the Gulf to Sydney (http://www.weatherzone.com.au/nsw/sydney/sydney). 7 lives lost in NSW. 2 metre waves in Moreton Bay with houses evacuated at Sandgate.
25) 27-28 February, 1950. Crossed over Gladstone to Hervey Bay. Floods down to Brisbane (http://www.weatherzone.com.au/qld/brisbane/brisbane).
26) 16 November, 1950. Tropical low crosses near Brisbane (http://www.weatherzone.com.au/qld/brisbane/brisbane) causing structural damage and one death.
27) 25-30 January, 1951. Cyclone moves around Fraser Island. Extensive damage to boats and buildings with one life lost at Caloundra.
28) 19 March, 1951. Maryborough hit. Heavy rains south-east Queensland.
29) 20 February, 1954. Cyclone crosses at Coolangatta. Widespread structural damage from Sunshine Coast to Gold Coast. Boats left in treetops at Beachmere. Waves at Kirra put 2 metres of water on the highway picking up cars. 900 mm rainfall recorded in 24 hours. 26 people dead.
30) 19 February, 1957. Travelled east coast from the far north to cross at Port Macquarie in NSW. 109 knot wind gust recorded at Willis Island.
31) 21 January, 1959. CYCLONE BEATRICE. Moved south to cross near Lismore, NSW causing widespread flooding.
32) 1 January, 1963. CYCLONE ANNIE. Crossed at the Sunshine Coast with houses and crops damaged.
34) 24 April, 1963. Cyclone stayed offshore but caused huge waves and erosion on south coast.
35) 13-14 January, 1964. CYCLONE AUDREY. Tracked from Gulf to Coffs Harbour causing extensive wind damage in the western areas such as St George (74 houses damaged) and Goondiwindi where over 50 buildings suffered. Glen Innes and Grafton, NSW also had wind damage.
36) 28-30 January, 1967. CYCLONE DINAH. Severe damage at Heron Island then causing more destruction from Rockhampton to Grafton, NSW. Water knee deep in Hastings Street, Noosa from storm surge.
37) 22 February, 1967. CYCLONE BARBARA. Wind damage from Coolangatta. Crossed at Lismore, NSW.
38) 18 March, 1967. CYCLONE ELAINE. Moved past the south coast causing flooding at Logan and Brisbane (http://www.weatherzone.com.au/qld/brisbane/brisbane) with considerable beach erosion in other areas.
39) 2-4 April, 1967. CYCLONE GLENDA. Off shore of Brisbane (http://www.weatherzone.com.au/qld/brisbane/brisbane). 16 metre waves near Gold Coast. 6 dead.
40) 17 February, 1971. CYCLONE DORA. Crossed the coast north of Brisbane (http://www.weatherzone.com.au/qld/brisbane/brisbane) at Redcliffe. Widespread structural damage with some flooding.
119) 11 February, 1972. CYCLONE DAISY. Hit Fraser Island. Over 200 homes damaged at Pialba and other areas. Severe flooding to the Gold Coast where a peak swell height was recorded at 8.3 metres.
41) 24 January, 1974. CYCLONE WANDA. Over the coast near Maryborough, it then caused significant flooding in Brisbane (http://www.weatherzone.com.au/qld/brisbane/brisbane) where 6007 homes were flooded. 13 people drowned and others died from heart attacks. The cost was $200 million (at 1974 value).
42) 6 February, 1974. CYCLONE PAM. Intense cyclone passed 500km to the east of Brisbane (http://www.weatherzone.com.au/qld/brisbane/brisbane). Severe flooding and evacuation at Palm Beach.
43) 13 March, 1974. CYCLONE ZOE. Crossed the coast at Coolangatta then went back to sea. Floods in Brisbane (http://www.weatherzone.com.au/qld/brisbane/brisbane) with evacuations at Murwillumbah and Lismore, NSW.
44) 22 February, 1976. CYCLONE BETH. Over 200 homes damaged when it passed the Maryborough / Bundaberg area. Significant wave peaks recorded at 10 meters.
45) 4 March, 1976. CYCLONE COLIN. Generated huge waves along south Queensland beaches after moving south from Fraser Island to southern NSW where waves were recorded off Sydney (http://www.weatherzone.com.au/nsw/sydney/sydney) Heads at 12 metres in height. Several launches were sunk or destroyed when 2 metre waves entered Botany Bay.
46) 5-6 March, 1976. CYCLONE DAWN. Crossed at Fraser Island causing some damage and coastal flooding.
47) 24 February, 1980. CYCLONE SIMON. Passed near Fraser Island with wind gusts over 100 knots. Structural damage at Hervey Bay. Wave peaks recorded at 8.9 metres.
48) 15 February, 1981. CYCLONE CLIFF. Crossed over Fraser Island to Bundaberg. Flooding to Gold Coast
49) 7-9 April, 1984. CYCLONE LANCE. Gold Coast suffered wind and rain damage to homes and high rise buildings. Peak wave heights at Brisbane (http://www.weatherzone.com.au/qld/brisbane/brisbane) station recorded at 8.8 metres.
50) 3 February, 1990. CYCLONE NANCY. Crossed near Byron Bay in NSW. 73 knot winds recorded near Brisbane (http://www.weatherzone.com.au/qld/brisbane/brisbane). Flash flooding in Queensland and NSW caused 4 deaths and costs reached $36 million.
51) 13 January, 1992. CYCLONE BETSY. Passed seaward of Fraser Island. Caused beach erosion.
52) 17 March, 1993. CYCLONE ROGER. Passed close to Fraser Island before moving back to sea and south towards NSW. Sunshine Coast sustained damage while winds and seas closed the Port of Brisbane (http://www.weatherzone.com.au/qld/brisbane/brisbane). Brisbane (http://www.weatherzone.com.au/qld/brisbane/brisbane) station recorded waves at 13.2 meters.
53) 20 January, 1994. CYCLONE REWA. Stayed 100km off the coast but caused flash flooding around Brisbane (http://www.weatherzone.com.au/qld/brisbane/brisbane) which resulted in 4 deaths.
54) 8 March, 1995. CYCLONE VIOLET. Passed close to Lord Howe Island before weakening near Byron Bay, NSW.
55) 9 January, 1996. CYCLONE BARRY. Moved down from the Gulf past Sarina to Hervey Bay causing structural and vegetation damage.
56) 26 March, 1998. CYCLONE YALI. Passed seawards off Brisbane (http://www.weatherzone.com.au/qld/brisbane/brisbane) heading south. Wind gusts of 54 knots and peak wave height recorded at 11.5 metres. Beach erosion from Sunshine Coast to Northern NSW.
57) BENI 2 - 5 February 2003. Beni caused floods from Rockhampton to the Gold Coast causing $10M worth of damage to public infrastructure. Waves were recorded to 8.5metres.
58) Hybrid Cyclone 5 March 2004. Waves to 14.2metres recorded off Stradbroke Island. Severe flooding from Sunshine Coast through Brisbane (http://www.weatherzone.com.au/qld/brisbane/brisbane) to Gold Coast.

[Disco44]

Let's just hope 2011 isn't like 1893

21 January, 1893. homes and trees blown down.

1 February, 1893. Tropical cyclone hits Yeppoon causing extreme damage. Severe floods in Ipswich/brisbane with Indooroopilly railway bridge and Victoria bridge washed away. More than 12 deaths.

11 February, 1893. Small cyclone crosses near Bustard Heads,further flooding in Brisbane.

17 February, 1893. Cyclone hits Bundaberg. Floods from Rockhampton to Grafton, NSW. Mary River bridge in Maryborough washed away with 120 houses. Cyclone induced tornado hits Sandgate.


Paul
In 1893 80 inches of rain fell in 4 days in the south east.Just imagine what would happen if that amount fell now.There were no dams on the rivers then so it just came straight down.

[Bushie]

In 1893 80 inches of rain fell in 4 days in the south east.Just imagine what would happen if that amount fell now.There were no dams on the rivers then so it just came straight down.

And referring back to the other thread I wonder what the return period of a flood of that magnitude is ?

Seriously is it a 1 in 200/500/1000. If it is, say the 1 in 500 is there a 1 in 1000 waiting in the wings ?

Given that at best there is only just over 200 years of records and some areas MUCH less, we probably don't really know what this country is capable of dishing up.


Martyn



Martyn