Queensland Floods 2011

Many tens of thousands of Queensland residents have been forced to evacuate their homes as the 2011 Queensland floods continue to rise. People across the world are now experiencing shocking images of car and people being tossed around in the engorged water flows that have inundated many Queensland towns and communities.

As at 2pm on the 11th January 2011 there where officially 8 dead and 72 missing but both the Queensland Premier, Anna Bligh and the Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard have warned the Australian community to brace for an escalation in that number.

In a press conference Prime Minister Gillard refused to be drawn on the potential total cost of the Queensland Floods but various independent reports are suggesting a figure as high as 5 Billion Australian Dollars. This number reflects not only the property damage but also the loss to regional businesses. The losses may well extend for many months all facets of the Queensland economy battle to regain lost income. Tourism operators are already reporting a drop off in ‘book ahead’ enquiries of over 50% and Ms Gillard has highlighted the potential losses from both the mining sector and food production industries.

The Prime Minister also indicated that she to had been shocked by the images that this flood has resulted in. Families stranded on roofs, waiting for rescuers, people trapped in their cars in muddy bogs and others battling the strong waters and currents to get to higher ground. Australian Defence Forces are now working actively with the Queensland Emergency Services with a number of Black Hawk helicopters also operating in the region.

The State Capital of Brisbane is also bracing itself for the pending flood waters which are forecast to reach the city within the next twenty four-hours.

In a recent telethon in excess of $11 million dollars was raised but it seems that this fund raiser was premature with the true force and devastation of the floods only getting worse in the days following.

The impact of the floods will not be unfelt by other Australian communities with some fruit and vegetable prices tipped to increased by as much as 300% as the Queensland crops are wiped out. Tomatoes, lettuce, zucchinis and potatoes have all shot up in price in the last week and in the longer term even bread will increase in price as the States 1.5 million-tonne grain crop has been destroyed. It will be a slow recovery for farmers as they will be unable to plant new crops for some months as their fields are sodden.

Australia is known as country of extremes and this is highlighted in the current 2011 Queensland floods on the east coast and the bushfires raging on the opposite side of the country in Western Australia. While water storage dams across the country are nearing capacity it was only 12 months ago that the country was in the grips of a long term drought and water supplies were at record lows.

The dangers of debris, submerged entanglements and strong torrents of water are the main problem at this stage. But as the waterways have found new courses and animal habitats disrupted it will not be long before crocodiles and other less than hospitable creatures are found outside of their normal area’s. Queensland certainly has a massive clean-up operation ahead of it.