1/11

Eight people confirmed dead from a tsunami type wall of water which crashed through Towoomba's CBD without warning yesterday afternoon. Seventy two people are missing from Grantham and Murphy's Creek. The floodwaters are heading east. Brisbane and Ipswich are in danger. Gatton has had evacuations. Esk, Kilcoy, Toogoolawah, Warwick, the list goes on. Laidley and Forest Hill residents urged to evacuate.

We had our own scary moment this morning. David rang at 6am to say a wall of water was headed our way. The creek was already up and over the paddock. It rose further, coming nearly to the gatepost on the driveway. We evacuated the dogs to Joan's house. Our cars were already there. The back paddock is completely under water. The landslips and mudslides scar every ridge and mountain. It is very worrying especially as we still have today, with heavy rain forecast, to get through. We had 108mm overnight. It's raining hard as I write this. The weather radar is always up and running on the computer and we have the tv on to watch for developments. It is a disaster at least as bad as the 1974 floods and perhaps worse. Time will tell. Heavy rain is sliding southwest fortunately just south of us. If this is the edge, and the light rainfall at the edge, I'd hate to be in the thick of it.

Watching the news and seeing entire Grantham houses floating downstream. Grantham would be completely underwater. Murphy's Creek and Grantham are rural communities. It may be days before the extent of the damage and loss of life is known. What's hard to take is the loss of life, both human and animal. At least humans are usually informed (although that was not the case in Toowoomba, Grantham or Murphy's Creek) and can make decisions to try and save themselves. Animals don't have that option. Entire paddocks are metres under water which means all the cattle, horses, pigs, chickens, dogs and cats are drowned. Wallabies, echidnas, bandicoots, snakes, lizards, birds, spiders, all gone. The only things coping well are ducks. We have five in the dam paddock, two adults and 3 babies.

Have evacuated the dogs (including little white fluffy we're babysitting for Anthony) to Joan's house as well as the vehicles. Was a bit dire this morning. David rang at 6 saying there was a wall of water headed our way - which was a bit scary as the creek was already up and over the paddock. It came up nearly to the gatepost on the driveway (creek paddock). The back paddock is completely underwater and boy, is it surging. There's so much power in it. Compared to the poor people in Grantham and Withcott we're laughing. The dams in the dam paddock are one huge lake. It looks like a do-nut with a small ridge of 'dry' land encircling it. The water is above my eyeline as I sit at this computer. If it breaks not sure which way it will go. There are many large land/mudslides on all the surrounding mtns. Even the ridge behind our house is mostly exposed red mud with just a few trees clinging on. The ground just can't absorb any more water.

11.01.12. Excerpt from letter to Tam.

I finally broke down and had the cry I needed to have. There is so much heartbreaking footage on tv; cows swimming, obviously exhausted with just their noses sticking out, a snake curled around a fence post and a chicken swimming against flood waters. That was the image that did it. 10 people dead now, 86 missing. Karla's sister lives in Grantham, she and her boys are missing. 300 people including Richard's cousin (whose husband is dying in hospital from cancer) airlifted out. She had to leave her 5 cats behind. Flood waters are expected to exceed the 1974 disaster, the benchmark for flooding disasters in which 14 people died. The more I see, the more I realise that it will be a very long time before things return to normal. You know when you drive up Gatton Clifton road before you turn right to head into Gatton? That green Queenslander which used to be an antique shop, was underwater. Right there. At the end of 'our' street, as it were. That house is on Lockyer Creek which went berserk. Entire houses were lifted from their foundations in Grantham. People heard their neighbours screaming as they were swept away. I just can't believe it. The weather has been so bad that emergency services have had a terrible time trying to get in to the places that need help the most, most especially Grantham. They expect to find many dead from the people that were swept away. And then there are the 'small' stories. Peter who lives at the end of Spinach Creek had contact with his neighbour 'down below' (Peter lives on top of the mountain). The neighbour of this neighbour went to town and couldn't get back. The floodwaters are such that she can't get over and feed the chickens or the cockatiel. But there is some EXCELLENT news. The evacuation centers were only accepting people but not their pets. Now they say, bring your pets as long as they are secure. Common sense prevails! Can you imagine being ordered to evacuate your house because it's going to go under but you must leave your 'children' behind? Madness.