Ive just been in the city picking up my wife and hearterly agree with Lauries
comments - without being too critical of the media coverage (which has been
positive in many respects) you would believe listening to the media that the
Brisbane CBD is ravaged by flood - whist there is flooding in the lower end of
the CBD , the vast majority of the CBD is unscathed, including all the main
shopping area. Not suggesting there is no impact in the CBD but it will be felt
far more in other areas.
cheers
David Taylor
On 13/01/2011, at 12:38 PM, Laurie Knight wrote:
> The sky was clear at dawn, there was virtually no rain on the radar, and the
> news indicated that the Brisbane River had peaked at 4.5 metres - so I hopped
> onto my bike and cycled into town with the camera. The streets were quieter
> than usual as motorists had limited options and the public transport was
> closed down.
>
> I pulled the camera at when I reached the top of the cliffs at Kangaroo Pt.
> There were a lot of people there keeping the TV crews company. I noticed a
> prominent southern commercial TV personality in a striking pink shirt set up
> beside the cliff top coffee shop [no doubt to ensure he had access to a hot
> expresso during the ad breaks].
>
> The river current was very stong. At times it sounded like a waterfall. The
> Coast Guard / River Police boats were labouring to go upstream, while many
> large items were bourne downstream. Later as I was crossing the Victoria
> Bridge a derelict yacht was caught in the current and floating out to Moreton
> Bay. There was a clang as it went under the bridge and it emerged without
> its mast.
>
> I made my way around under the Story Bridge at Kangaroo Point - there
> appeared to be relatively little property damage there. The ferry terminals
> were under water and Jazz Club was flooded. There was also a car with its
> roof top poking out of the water - someone must have been unable [or
> neglected] to move it in time. I noticed that others with more foresight had
> parked their motor scooters on their 5th story balconies.
>
> I trundled over the Story Bridge and into the CBD. While the waterside
> walkways were well under, the CBD was virtually unscathed including
> properties around Eagle St Wharf. I guess it would have been a different
> story if Wivenhoe hadn't done its job. There was a bit of flooding around
> the aptly named Creek St and at the bottom end of the CBD near the Botanic
> Gardens.
>
> It was pleasant cycling through town as there were virtually no cars on the
> streets. I crossed over the Victoria Bridge [the bus way was flooded below
> the Cultural Centre] and made my was past the Art Gallery to the William
> Jolly Bridge onto Coronation Drive [both pedestrian precincts]. Coro Drive
> was cut after the Wesley Hospital [very quiet - I guess the place had been
> evacuated] and I chugged over the hill and across the rail line at
> Auchenflower. I noticed four passenger trains parked on the tracks and then
> passed a turkey nonchalantly strolling along the footpath. Milton Road was
> quiet - because it was also cut.
>
> I returned back over the William Jolly Bridge and found a way through West
> End [many streets were cut]. A pair of fig birds flying past at knee height
> seemed strangely out of place.
>
> Southbank was closed, so I made my way over Highgate Hill and across the
> Eleanor Schonell Bridge to the University of Qld. I received a text message
> from Andrew Stafford as I was crossing the bridge - he lived nearby and had
> been fortunate that the flooding had stopped at the level below his top floor
> unit [another beneficiary of Wivenhoe].
>
> The chain of duck ponds had become a vast lake and the circuit road was under
> water. It was time to click my ruby shoes [well black Dunlop Volleys if you
> want to be pedantic] together and head home with about 300 images on the
> memory card.
>
> Summary: the real impact of the 2011 Brisbane Valley floods is in the rural,
> residential and industrial areas. It is not in the inner city where the TV
> broadcasters are based.
>
> Regards, Laurie.
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David Taylor
Brisbane
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