Historic flooding inundates parts of Queensland, Australia Significant flooding was prevalent throughout Queensland, Australia during the first few months of the year in what government officials were quoted as suggesting are the worst floods in the state’s history. Floodwaters covered an area larger than France and Germany combined (or equal to the size of Texas in the U.S.). More than 200,000 people were directly affected by the flood event across 70 separate cities and towns and at least 35 people died.
The event was initially spawned due to heavy rainfall from Tropical Cyclone Tasha combining with an already oversaturated region of Queensland that had endured the wettest six-month period in state history. According to the BOM, 2010 was the wettest year across all of Australia since 2000 and the third-wettest year since records began being kept in 1900. Additional heavy rains are expected across several sections of the country through March as the current La Niña pattern persists. Source: Alertnet
Here is a breakdown and recap of the most affected areas in Queensland:
Fitzroy River Basin (including the Dawson and Nogoa Rivers) The most notable floods came in the greater Theodore area, where Black Hawk helicopters were sent to help evacuate 1,000 residents stranded in their homes. In the nearby Emerald, over-ground flooding impacted 80 percent of the town after the Nogoa River overflowed its banks and surpassed a record peak previously set in 2008. By this past weekend, the main focus shifted to Rockhampton – where the Fitzroy River courses through the center of the city. Excessive river flooding affected the city's air, road, and rail links to the rest of the country and the main airport was closed for an extended period of time. Reports indicate that hundreds of properties were inundated. At the Port of Gladstone, coal stockpiles were left saturated after deliveries were unable to be made due to closed railways. City officials reported that the Fitzroy River crested at a level not seen since 1991.
Burnett River Basin The towns of Gayndah and Mundubbera were the most affected from the Burnett River overflowing its banks. The recording station in Mundubbera saw its highest river crest since 1942 which led to 20 homes being inundated. As time wore on, water continued to shift down the Burnett River and led to the worst flooding in 40 years in the city of Bundaberg with 170 homes and 90 businesses affected.
Source: Alertnet
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Condamine River & Balonne River Basin (part of the Murray-Darling Basin) Several cities along the Condamine River (including Chinchilla, Jericho, Dalby, Warrick and Condamine) reported floods after the river overflowed at multiple locations. Widespread damage was reported in each city, with Dalby reporting the most significant affects after floodwaters entered the city’s water purification system and inundated more than 100 homes. The Condamine River reached 14.25 meters (46.8 feet) which was its highest level ever recorded. Along the Balonne River, most of the floods passed southward into sections of New South Wales. Some of the affected towns included Surat, St. George, Angledool, Goodooga and Weilmoringle. It should be noted that a natural disaster was declared in Ballina Shire after the floods caused widespread infrastructure damage.
Toowoomba and Lockyer Valley Perhaps no areas were affected more by the flood event than the Lockyer Valley, including the city of Toowoomba in the Darling Downs. A powerful storm system, which brought more than more than 160 millimeters (6.3 inches) of rain, fell in just a 30-minute span, which led to multiple deaths after flash floods occurred. With Toowoomba sitting on the watershed of the Great Dividing Range well above sea level, and the region sustaining three weeks of regular precipitation, the strong storms fell in an area that was oversaturated – which resulted in the torrential rains rapidly running down gullies and streets. The town’s central business district, which is located in an area where two smaller creeks meet to form Gowrie Creek, sustained a devastating wall of water after the creek was unable to handle the raging torrent. The water then headed west towards the Lockyer Valley, which was also experiencing extreme rainfall that fell on eastern facing slopes. Source: Alertnet
The surge passed through the Lockyer Valley town of Withcott, where the force of the water pushed cars into shops and forced the evacuation of hundreds of people. Grantham was also devastated by the surge of water, which prompted Queensland’s Premier to declare the situation an ‘inland tsunami.’ Official reports suggested that the flood waters had reached a height of 7 or 8 meters (23 or 26 feet) by the time it struck Grantham. The nearby town of Gatton saw voluntary evacuations as the Lockyer Creek rose to a record height of 18.92 meters (62.1 feet), exceeding the previous record set in the historic 1893 Queensland floods.
Brisbane River Rising water along the Brisbane River eventually entered the city of Brisbane – prompting evacuations throughout the city’s central business district and surrounding suburbs – after the river burst its banks. The downtown flooding also caused several skyscrapers to empty as a precaution. According to the Brisbane City Council, more than 11,900 homes and 2,500 businesses had been completely inundated, with another 14,700 houses and 2,500 businesses at least partially covered in water as the Brisbane River crested at 4.46 meters (14.63 feet). This was a level that had not been reached in decades. The crest was earlier feared to come close to the 5.45-meter (17.88-foot) level reached during the historic 1974 flood event.
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As many as 30,000 additional properties were threatened with additional property affects and the city mayor ordered all residents in flood zones to evacuate. At one point, the city’s largest power company (Energex) cut electricity to 170,000 properties in riverside regions (including the central business district) as a precautionary measure. Local officials reported that the floods nearly overwhelmed the large Wivenhoe Dam (which was built following the 1974 event as a defense for the city), which would have forced the city to start controlled releases that caused additional low-level flooding in the metropolitan area. At least 32 separate Brisbane suburbs were at one point considered being in high risk of flood inundation.
Elsewhere, the Brenner River at Ipswich crested at a height of 19.4 meters (64 feet). This led to extensive flood damage in the central business district, where more than 3,000 homes and other properties were inundated.
Additional flood damage in Queensland included more than 300 national and state roads being closed (including the Burnett, Dawson, Gore, Carnarvon, Bruce, Capricorn, Cunningham, New England, and Warrego highways), main passenger railway lines connecting points in central Queensland were suspended and significant reported damage to wide swaths of cotton, sorghum, sunflower, sugar, and wheat crops. Scientists were even concerned that floodwaters carrying debris and sediment into the sea could damage the Great Barrier Reef.
According to Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology, the drenching rains over the last four weeks were directly linked to the on-going La Niña phase that was in place across the eastern Pacific Ocean.
In terms of overall monetary affects, the Australian government reports that economic damages were extensive. With up to 75 percent of Queensland’s coal mine industry losing approximately AUD100 million (USD99 million) in lost revenue per day and the large swaths of agricultural crops and cattle being submerged, losses in this sector alone were in the billions of dollars (AUD). Queensland’s Premier reported that the addition to the thousands of homes, businesses and other structures being affected, significant infrastructure damage, the overall clean-up costs and affects to the tourism industry pushed the total economic losses from the event were listed in excess of AUD6.8 billion (USD7.1 billion).
However, while the economic losses were high, the vast majority of the agricultural and infrastructure losses were uninsured. Flood insurance is not uniformly offered in domestic policies in Australia. The Insurance Council of Australia declared the event a catastrophe and reported having received 57,730 claims with payouts in excess of AUD2.45 billion (USD2.56 billion).
Source: Alertnet
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