Everyone in Bundaberg turned into a flood photographer today. There were traffic jams all through town. Everyone was carrying their digital camera or phone. At first it was a bit of fun. We squelched through the park down to the edge of the bank. We went to the river and marvelled at the current and height along with everybody else with nothing to do (which it seems is most of the population of Bundaberg). Then we drove over to East Bundaberg which is low lying and when we get a lot of rain, always floods and always has. This information is valid because my mother lived some of her young life in a house at East Bundaberg and remembers the 1954 floods. It was there, wandering about with my new camera, that I started to feel like an intruder, a voyeur, a gawker. People have had to leave their houses and will have lost everything. This is the sad tale of all natural disasters, but as they stood out on the footpath watching the trail of amateur photographers traipse by their homes, I was struck by their dreadful situation, and all those all over the state and elsewhere who are going to spend weeks and perhaps months, trying to get back to normal. Nevertheless, here are just a few pictures.
Have been trying to keep track of Bundaberg floods down here. We were all crowded around a tiny computer last night looking at photos and i joined the FB group and have been looking since. I have no words…just utter disbelief! It’s very hard just looking at photos to imagine the extent of the damage, but out of all the photos i’ve seen the one you took above with the lounge suite drifting away is really heartbreaking. How’s ytour little creek?
the lounge wasn’t even floating…it was just sitting there in the water…even worse…my creek is absolutely fine…only collects stormwater…not connected to the river..thank goodness…really low….the expanse of water from Kennedy bridge across kendall’s flats to the east bundaberg water tower is just astonishing! it’s like an inland sea 🙁
I know what you mean. I lived in Chinchilla during the 1984 floods and this is much worse. I used to go to work down the side creeks in a boat along with the food supplies and mail, an hour long trip down the gullies and eventually across the Condamine just down from the dam spillway! We would walk around town and take pictures and look and feel helpless at being unable to help. And then there was the aftermath, the smell of sodden vegetation and Chinchilla’s nemesis, the sandfly. I’ve also lived in Dalby and visited Bundaberg heaps of times. It’s hard to explain to people in Melbourne the sheer volume of water that makes up a Queensland flood and the speed it can happen, and the amount of rain that can fall in a short period of time. Hope you are safe and okay on your side of Bundaberg. I have friends there and I’m hoping they are okay too.
Photos are amazing !! I’ve driven over the Kennedy Bridge so many times, it really puts it in perspective for me. Astonishing scenes,
There’s nothing quite like tropical summer rain is there? All is well here in Avoca/Millbank…East and south Bundaberg and the centre of town towards those parts of town are getting the worst of it. Also the caravan parks on either side of the river banks are lakes…river has broken its banks…very sad to see…
yes usually you can’t even see any water under Kennedy Bridge…
Hi Wendy, I know what you mean. I went to Splitters Creek to have a sticky beak like everyone else in our neck of the woods, then I turned around and noticed a few houses that have been flooded and an upset woman whose house was next in line. The floods became more than just an inconvenience or a tale to tell in a few years time. Kate
so so true Kate!…hope your clean up is going okay.
I have been watching the floods on TV. A friend is her on holidays and her house in Emerald is totally flooded. It’s all too awful, droughts and flooding rains is fine, but this is a bridge too far. I hope that you are still above water. It is a weird feeling, looking in on others’ troubles.
Oh that must be awful to be away from your home and not know exactly what is happening. Rockhampton is in for a particularly bad time now by the looks of things.