Brisbane CBD ordered to evacuate?

[Wally]

Pic we took from a boat at 1.00pm yesterday. The level was way higher at it's worst:

[benoxr]

Originally Posted by Wally

Pic we took from a boat at 1.00pm yesterday. The level was way higher at it's worst:

Good pic Wally. The amount of water....just unbelievable

[benoxr]

And everything from these businesses and homes, everywhere actually, that needs to be thrown away, where is it all going to go?
I'm sure the regular dumps will be out of bounds for quite a while.

[whynot]

A few words about the power supply in Brisbane at present …

Recall how everyone whinges that they want underground power? Well, one of the drawbacks is that it does not cope very well with flooding. The underground cables themselves are fine. Most distribution transformers (11000/415V) are sealed, so they can tolerate a bit of immersion. The problem is the circuit breakers, isolators, and fuses. What typically happens during water ingress is that the water starts to boil (think like the inside of a kettle), internal mechanisms corrode, and occasionally they explode (think of a small bomb going off).

When I was a young tradesman, a few times I had to repair an 11000 volt switchboard that had been immersed in water and exploded. Trust me; it is a long and dirty job. However, if the switchboard is only been immersed in a de-energised state, it is a relatively simple task to clean, test, and return to service.

The power lines (overhead and underground), follow the streets. Brisbane is a hilly area. It is often impracticable to follow the high ground. Power lines radiate away from the substation, like the arms of an octopus, but with cross circuits that allow power to be rerouted around problems.
A wise old electrical engineer had this saying that many electricity utilities adhere to. It is the three laws of electricity utilities. In descending order of priority it is;

1. Safety of people
2. Protect plant from damage
3. Restore supply

Under normal conditions, if a single transformer was going underwater and there is enough notice, it is possible to reroute power around and maintain supply. Often, the customer is completely unaware that this is being done. Yesterday, however, was not normal. The water was rising. Roads were cut. Alternate circuits were underwater themselves. So, if a single transformer somewhere along the feeder was going under water, the safest approach was to de-energise the entire 11000 volt circuit by remotely tripping the circuit breaker back at the substation.

While this approach may upset some people, in the long term, it is the best approach to ensuring that supply is restored as quickly as possible. The alternative is that the local ground transformer fails catastrophically (of which a few did yesterday). Note the pictures in the media of the exploded substation at Suncorp Stadium. Replacing the transformer (and local high voltage switch) can add days to restoration. Add in that this work is a specialist resource, which will be in high demand during large restoration tasks.

Today will about restoring supply where possible. Crews will work out from the substation, restoring as far as possible. If the problem is towards the back end of the feeder and access is not an issue, it will be possible to restore most of that feeder. If the problem is at the front end and no alternate supply is available at the back end, then, sorry, you will have to wait.

The Brisbane CBD is a different matter. It will be a case by case assessment. A lot of older buildings (pre ’74) have basement level substations. There are a number of buildings constructed just after ’74 that have their substation purposely built above the water line. Then, in the mid-1980’s complacency set in and the newer substations have located, you guessed it, back in the basement, below the water line. On Monday and Tuesday, a lot of the lower substations were de-energised, had their batteries and protection relays removed. When the water subsides, it will be a case of clear out the muck, test, re-install the batteries, and hope there are no other problems. The Brisbane CBD 11000 underground mesh network is extensive and has multiple cross feeders. That will help get supplies back. However, for some buildings, particularly if their low voltage switchboard is unserviceable, it will take some time to restore supply.

Compounding the problem for the CBD buildings is that they normally have only enough diesel fuel for 24 hours of emergency power. Fuel supply itself is not an issue. Fuel delivery is as there is a finite number of tankers and, with the flooding problems across Queensland, they will be fully utilised keeping emergency generators toped up.

The top priorities at the moment are hospitals, water and sewerage, major shopping centres, large commercial (food distribution, food production, etc). This is the import social infrastructure.

Over the coming days and weeks, as blackouts drag on, some are going to get rather agitated. The best help that you can provide is to be calm, patient, and try to calm down others who are getting agitated or trying to stir up trouble. Everyone is aware of the problems. Getting agitated will just slow the process down.

Postscript;

I doff my hat to the team at SEQ Water and Brisbane City Council. The hydrologists who guard Wivenhoe and Somerset have done a brilliant job. Make no mistake, without Wivenhoe, this would have been a massive disaster of a biblical scale. The reason why the flood level is lower than expected was due to the impressive juggling act the hydrologists did on Tuesday night. Brisbane City Council was giving good, honest, information in an environment that was highly dynamic.

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by benoxr

And everything from these businesses and homes, everywhere actually, that needs to be thrown away, where is it all going to go?
I'm sure the regular dumps will be out of bounds for quite a while.

The future implications for this disaster are mind boggling.

Every tradie in every trade will be fully booked till the end of the year. Hotels / motels / backpackers will be full for months, hospitals will be full treating people for injuries and water borne illnesses, tens of thousands of tons of rubbish and filth will need to go somewhere.

Then there is the environmental disaster. The Great Barrier Reef has taken a beating as well, erosion, silt deposited where it generally wouldn't be.

My goodness...

[benoxr]

Below is a link for information on what to do with your own house and possessions AFTER a flood. How to salvage and/or clean up. If you've lost your home itself the link wont be of any use.
Hopefully it can help somebody.

http://www.bom.gov.au/water/floods/d...odo_floods.pdf

[atec77]

Originally Posted by grandpa_spec_au

What has got myself and others worried is that April is tipped to see massive thunder storms, and with the ground not fully dryed out, things could get very interesting once again.

There is a storm cell sitting off the coast which some have said might develop into a cyclone, however the general opinion is this is unlikely, but not impossible.

I'm off to work so for any further updates keep tuned into your radio, TV or internet (if it hasn't been cut). The BOM website has a live radar that can be monitored.

Looking over the Coral Sea it looks like a storm brewing , another over the west , somehow I find it hard to consider relaxing for a couple of months

[Road Games]

Brisbane City Resident Flood Information courtesy of the Brisbane City Council


A mirror of Brisbane City Council flood maps and flood affected street lists are available for download below. This has been provided because the BCC website is struggling to meet demand and we are making this page available to help distribute the information to the residents of Brisbane. Council advises that conditions are changing and we will provide updated maps to you when they are available.



The Brisbane City Council advises that they are also expecting a large amount of Brisbane streets to be affected and have released a list available at the following URL:
·http://www.boostcruising.com/floods/...y_location.doc



The Boostcruising general community is constantly posting photos and updates in the following discussion topic:
·http://www.boostcruising.com/forums/...owtopic=683061 .



Brisbane Flood Maps - Click on a suburb to Download PDF
Some maps may not yet be available, if you receive a file not found error please try again later.

•Acacia Ridge (692kb)
•Albion (1.1Mb)
•Alderley (1.1Mb)
•Algester (946kb)
•Annerley (1.2Mb)
•Anstead North (436kb)
•Anstead South (589kb)
•Archerfield (678kb)
•Ascot (898kb)
•Ashgrove (1Mb)
•Aspley (1Mb)
•Auchenflower (1.2Mb)
•Bald Hills North(PDF -608kb)
•Bald Hills South (775kb)
•Balmoral (1Mb)
•Banks Creek North (214kb)
•Banks Creek South (196kb)
•Banyo (853kb)
•Bardon (1Mb)
•Bellbowrie (674kb)
•Belmont North (722kb)
•Belmont South (605kb)
•Berrinba (556kb)
•Boondall (779kb)
•Bowen Hills (1.1Mb)
•Bracken Ridge (937kb)
•Bridgeman Downs (761kb)
•Brighton (618kb)
•Brisbane CBD (1.1Mb)
•Brookfield North (413kb)
•Brookfield South (572kb)
•Bulimba (1Mb)
•Burbank North (527kb)
•Burbank South (490kb)
•Calamvale (1.1Mb)
•Camp Hill (1.2Mb)
•Cannon Hill (985kb)
•Capalaba West (502kb)
•Carina (1Mb)
•Carina Heights (1.1Mb)
•Carindale North (965kb)
•Carindale South (904kb)
•Carole Park (573kb)
•Carseldine (860kb)
•Chandler (492kb)
•Chapel Hill (905kb)
•Chelmer (953kb)
•Chermside (1.1Mb)
•Chermside West (1Mb)
•Chuwar (319kb)
•Clayfield (1.1Mb)
•Coopers Plains (894kb)
•Coorparoo (1.2Mb)
•Corinda (817kb)
•Darra (901kb)
•Deagon (892kb)
•Doolandella (864kb)
•Drewvale (677kb)
•Durack (772kb)
•Dutton Park (1Mb)
•Eagle Farm Airport (818kb)
•Eagle Farm South (531kb)
•East Brisbane (1Mb)
•Eight Mile Plains (1Mb)
•Ellen Grove (723kb)
•England Creek East (231kb)
•England Creek West (189kb)
•Enoggera (857kb)
•Enoggera Reservoir East (374kb)
•Enoggera Reservoir West (250kb)
•Everton Park (1Mb)
•Fairfield (1.1Mb)
•Ferny Grove (647kb)
•Fig Tree Pocket (1Mb)
•Fitzgibbon (954kb)
•Forest Lake (955kb)
•Fortitude Valley (1Mb)
•Gaythorne (938kb)
•Geebung (971kb)
•Gordon Park (1.2Mb)
•Graceville (878kb)
•Grange (1.1Mb)
•Greenslopes (1.3Mb)
•Gumdale (608kb)
•Hamilton (862kb)
•Hawthorne (1.1Mb)
•Heathwood (473kb)
•Hemmant (600kb)
•Hendra (841kb)
•Herston (1.1Mb)
•Highgate Hill (1Mb)
•Holland Park (1.1Mb)
•Holland Park West (1.1Mb)
•Inala (891kb)
•Indooroopilly East (926kb)
•Indooroopilly West(PDF -1Mb)
•Jamboree Heights (962kb)
•Jindalee (921kb)
•Kangaroo Point (1.1Mb)
•Karana Downs (544kb)
•Karawatha (667kb)
•Kedron (1.1Mb)
•Kelvin Grove (1.2Mb)
•Kenmore (944kb)
•Kenmore Hills (755kb)
•Keperra (775kb)
•Kholo East (393kb)
•Kholo South (351kb)
•Kholo West (344kb)
•Kuraby (906kb)
•Lake Manchester North (PDF - 286kb)
•Lake Manchester South (358kb)
•Larapinta (556kb)
•Lota (609kb)
•Lutwyche (PDF - 1.2Mb)
•Lytton (592kb)
•Macgregor (1Mb)
•Mackenzie (645kb)
•Manly (709kb)
•Manly West (1Mb)
•Mansfield (988kb)
•Mcdowall (991kb)
•Middle Park (859kb)
•Milton (1.1Mb)
•Mitchelton (826kb)
•Moggill East (538kb)
•Moggill West (551kb)
•Moorooka (1Mb)
•Morningside (970kb)
•Mt Coot-tha East (854kb)
•Mt Coot-tha West (616kb)
•Mt Crosby East (465kb)
•Mt Crosby West (455kb)
•Mt Gravatt(PDF -1Mb)
•Mt Gravatt East (1.1Mb)
•Mt Ommaney (962kb)
•Murarrie (671kb)
•Nathan(928kb)
•New Farm(PDF -1.1Mb)
•Newmarket(PDF -1.1Mb)
•Newstead (1Mb)
•Norman Park (1.1Mb)
•Northgate (944kb)
•Nudgee (644kb)
•Nudgee Beach (516kb)
•Nundah (1Mb)
•Oxley (840kb)
•Paddington (1.1Mb)
•Pallara (605kb)
•Parkinson (740kb)
•Pinjarra Hills (627kb)
•Pinkenba North (417kb)
•Pinkenba South (582kb)
•Port of Brisbane (273kb)
•Pullenvale North (390kb)
•Pullenvale South (573kb)
•Ransome (652kb)
•Red Hill (1.1Mb)
•Richlands (821kb)
•Riverhills (729kb)
•Robertson (1Mb)
•Rochedale North (501kb)
•Rochedale South (530kb)
•Rocklea (686kb)
•Runcorn (1Mb)
•Salisbury (979kb)
•Sandgate (792kb)
•Seven Hills (1.2Mb)
•Seventeen Mile Rocks (995kb)
•Sherwood (844kb)
•Shorncliffe (548kb)
•Sinnamon Park (1Mb)
•South Brisbane (1.1Mb)
•Spring Hill (1.1Mb)
•St Lucia(PDF -1Mb)
•Stafford (1.1Mb)
•Stafford Heights (1Mb)
•Stretton (816kb)
•Sumner (926kb)
•Sunnybank (1.1Mb)
•Sunnybank Hills (1.1Mb)
•Taigum (996kb)
•Taringa (1Mb)
•Tarragindi (1.1Mb)
•Tennyson (926kb)
•The Gap North (721kb)
•The Gap South (708kb)
•Tingalpa (832kb)
•Toowong (1.2Mb)
•Upper Brookfield East (395kb)
•Upper Brookfield West (326kb)
•Upper Kedron (588kb)
•Upper Mt Gravatt (1Mb)
•Virginia (1Mb)
•Wacol East (524kb)
•Wacol West (548kb)
•Wakerley (793kb)
•Wavell Heights (1.1Mb)
•West End (1.1Mb)
•Westlake (792kb)
•Willawong North (715kb)
•Willawong South (653kb)
•Wilston (1.2Mb)
•Windsor (1.2Mb )
•Wishart (919kb)
•Woolloongabba (1.2Mb)
•Wooloowin (1.2Mb)
•Wynnum (800kb)
•Wynnum West (972kb)
•Yeerongpilly (944kb)
•Yeronga (1Mb)
•Zillmere (1Mb)
You can download the latest version of Adobe Reader for free.


Suburbs likely to be affected by flooding
•Albion
•Auchenflower
•Bowen Hills
•Brisbane City
•Bulimba
•Chelmer
•Coorparoo
•East Brisbane
•Fairfield
•Fig Tree Pocket
•Fortitude Valley
•Graceville
•Hemmant
•Indooroopilly
•Kangaroo Point
•Lytton
•Milton
•Moggill
•Murrarie
•New Farm
•Newstead
•Norman Park
•Oxley
•Pinkenba
•Rocklea
•Sherwood
•South Brisbane
•Tennyson
•Yeronga
•Yerongpilly
•Windsor
•Wacol
Flood Modelling
Please find attached the latest maps from Council's flood modelling which indicate predicted areas which may be inundated by today's high tide (expected to peak at 14:09 at Brisbane Port Office) and tomorrow's high tide.

•Whole of Brisbane
•Brisbane South
•Brisbane East
•Brisbane West
Sandbag Locations
Sandbags are available free of charge at the following locations:
•Darra Works Depot, Shamrock Rd, Rocklea
•Morningside Works Depot, Redfern Street, Morningside
•Newmarket SES Depot, Wilston Rd, Newmarket (in carpark off Erneton Street)
•Zillmere Works Depot, Jennings Street, Zillmere


Residents requiring assistance with property damage or flooding within their property boundary should contact the SES on 132 500.



To report downed trees outside of your property boundary or issues with stormwater drains, contact Council on 3403 8888.



To report fallen powerlines, phone Energex on 13 19 62.

To view the maps go to www.Boostcruising.com.au you DONT have to be a member to view them ..Daz.

[old_mate]

http://www.rowlandselectrical.com.au/

I have been a forum member for many years, and will personally recommend this guy, i have known him for almost a decade. Please make sure in the coming days if anyone needs anything electrically inspected make sure you are permitted to use your own contractor as the state government have said they will not resupply power to your home until you are checked.

[old_mate]

likewise, if any forum members have business who have gone under, i myself provide security alarm/cctv/phone and data cabling service. Feel free to PM me however as i am a principal contractor to woolworths group I am expected to get hammered within the next few days/weeks, but will help where I can.

[TC200six]

Originally Posted by ea90_S

a volunteer said on another forums the Wivenhoe dame is cracking? I hope its note true
Prayers go out to everyone quite sad!!

Nope, it's been confirmed that was a load of fear mongering BS. Bligh mentioned that at a press conference this morning. The dam is actually under less amount of pressure now according to the premier.

[blueoval]

I for one am glad the waters are starting to recede.

The hard part is yet to come with months and months of clean up work for the towns and cities plus the possibly years of rebuilding individual houses and lives.

It will be a mammoth effort to rebuild, but I believe you queenslanders can do it and be back better than ever.

I just hope the QLD government has a contingency plan to reduce the impact of any future floods in the years to come. The Wivenhoe dam did its job well. But I fear there will be worse to come, if not soon, in the coming years. The weather is progressively changing and another back up plan may be required.

perhaps I am being too cynical, I dont know, but its food for thought.

[XESP351]

I was curious last nite so i had a look at my home insurance PDS (AAMI) only to find that we are not covered for floods! I know that it's normal not to be covered in war/war like events etc.....are floods in the same category? Would all these poor people be not covered by insurance, or is it insurance compnany/individual specific??

[Racecraft]

flood damage is usually in the fine print that you have to specifically ask for.

But be wary, I have spoken to a few that are ongoing discussions with their insurers.. There seems to be a 'tidal' flood clause on some of the policies... It can rain and flood but a tidal flood ...ie:- Brisbane although the dam release was the cause accented by the tides doesn't seem to be covered or is covered to 1 metre

[Wally]

Originally Posted by blueoval

I just hope the QLD government has a contingency plan to reduce the impact of any future floods in the years to come. The Wivenhoe dam did its job well. .

No it didn't. It was built to mitigate against just such an event and even raised in recent years. I'd bet Brisbane received both the Lockyer Valley inflow, plus a large percentage of containment water simultaneously when the gates were opened up. There won't be an independent review, but there should be.

[Yaw]

There is no "fine print" in an australian PDS.
Any PDS is written in plain english

However on the flood cover thing. It is infact the Normal thing that home insurance does not cover Flood. Som companies may offer it as an option, others don't offer it at all.
Suncorp is the only company I am aware of that automatically covers it in thier presonal home product. There may be others but that is the only one i am aware of.

When I was in the sales and service department of the insurer I work for in 2004-2006 We actually stated when doing a quote or converting a quote to a policy that "Flood IS NOT covered" It was one of the things we were monitiored on at the time for training purposes.

And My wife that works for Suncorp has had many people leave Suncorp when they in the last year or two started the Automatic flood cover because some people did not want it.

It comes back to the same thing I always say to people as does EVERY SINGLE INSURANCE comercial. *Consider the PDS to ensure it meets your personal needs*

I am not trying to upset anyone by the above. It may seem callious at a time like this but I assure you every insurer will meet what thier obligations are under your particular policy. If Flood is not covered in your policy they may not be obligated to pay a claim.
This is just simple fact.

[blueoval]

Good lord if this is true and the insurance company you are with has no cover for floods that you knew of, I forsee many people crying foul in the months to come.

[GT0132]

Originally Posted by Yaw

There is no "fine print" in an australian PDS.
Any PDS is written in plain english

However on the flood cover thing. It is infact the Normal thing that home insurance does not cover Flood. Som companies may offer it as an option, others don't offer it at all.
Suncorp is the only company I am aware of that automatically covers it in thier presonal home product. There may be others but that is the only one i am aware of.

When I was in the sales and service department of the insurer I work for in 2004-2006 We actually stated when doing a quote or converting a quote to a policy that "Flood IS NOT covered" It was one of the things we were monitiored on at the time for training purposes.

And My wife that works for Suncorp has had many people leave Suncorp when they in the last year or two started the Automatic flood cover because some people did not want it.

It comes back to the same thing I always say to people as does EVERY SINGLE INSURANCE comercial. *Consider the PDS to ensure it meets your personal needs*

I am not trying to upset anyone by the above. It may seem callious at a time like this but I assure you every insurer will meet what thier obligations are under your particular policy. If Flood is not covered in your policy they may not be obligated to pay a claim.
This is just simple fact.

Does that apply in all cases or only if you're deemed to be in a high risk area?

[DBourne]

Sorry but I don't care if it's in the fine print or not.

Insurance is needing in times like these. you don't pay suncorp money and demand it back when nothing happened, so when it does you should bloody get your money's worth

[GT0132]

Originally Posted by blueoval

Good lord if this is true and the insurance company you are with has a loophole to escape, I forsee many people crying foul in the months to come.

yep, this will be akin to anarchy....insurance companies will be relegated to "bank" status in terms of comsumer popularity if they're not down there already

[blueoval]

Originally Posted by SgtBourne

Sorry but I don't care if it's in the fine print or not.

Insurance is needing in times like these. you don't pay suncorp money and demand it back when nothing happened, so when it does you should bloody get your money's worth

I agree mate. In a time like this, people need insurance. But I think insurers will look at each individual case independently and if you have not paid for the right flood cover in your own policy, they will just say tough!

As harsh as it sounds, people need to check everything outlined in their policy when they initially took out cover.

This breaks my heart to think thousands who initially thought they were covered in fact could be left high and dry with a property that basically isn't worth anything other than the land value after the water subsides.

[BENT_8]

Is it just me, or do the media outlets covering this story have a 'do as we say, not as we do' attitude.

I've been watching a bit of the coverage on and off today and so far i've heard professionals talk about health risks etc. in regards to the likely hood of infections as a result of the stagnant waters, yet we are recieveing pictures of reporters standing upto their knee's/waists in murky water and just now a report on the Warr families plight by a bloke wearing rubber thongs whilst wondering around a silt covered debris field.

Honestly, how do they expect people to obey the constant warnings given by the authorities when they blatently ignore them themselves for 30 seconds of shock and awe journalism?

[TZENU]

Unbelievable; they cover you if your washing machine or dishwasher floods your house and tears up your floors, because you have filled it up with the wrong soap..... BUT they won't cover you if you cop a flood through your house from the creek up the road??.

[flappist]

Yes but if they automaticly did flood cover but your policiy went up a couple of thousand dollars you would all be screaming that it is too expensive.

[Scott]

Originally Posted by TZENU

Unbelievable; they cover you if your washing machine or dishwasher floods your house and tears up your floors, because you have filled it up with the wrong soap..... BUT they won't cover you if you cop a flood through your house from the creek up the road??.

They will cover you for a creek up the road if the cause is local rain X hours ago and you have appropriate cover.

It's not nice to say at the moment, but if you disregard the fact that the home you buy is in a flood prone area, you will probably have these troubles some time in the next 100 years. Brisbane is a place that has a history of flooding and when you buy a house (in the areas I was shopping, which are those that have flooded) that the house is in a particular risk category.

Hell, even the estate agents advised me on every inspection I made.

[Smoke Pursuit]

Originally Posted by SgtBourne

Sorry but I don't care if it's in the fine print or not.

Insurance is needing in times like these. you don't pay suncorp money and demand it back when nothing happened, so when it does you should bloody get your money's worth

Its a bit like insuring a car for fire and theft but not comprehensively.. You only get what you ask for!!

Sadly there will be alot of people either not insured, insured but not covered (no flood) or under insured... I dont think there will be too many that are over insured sadly.. We can thank HIH for alot of the problems with insurance.

[blueoval]

Originally Posted by DASH GT

Its a bit like insuring a car for fire and theft but not comprehensively.. You only get what you ask for!!

Sadly there will be alot of people either not insured, insured but not covered (no flood) or under insured... I dont think there will be too many that are over insured sadly.. We can thank HIH for alot of the problems with insurance.

I think this could easily turn into a civil law suit as someone already mentioned as a result of not being covered.

[Yaw]

Originally Posted by GT0132

Does that apply in all cases or only if you're deemed to be in a high risk area?

I don't understand the question.
Are you talking Suncorp or any insurer.

Depends on the insurer anyhow. There are insurers that simply do not cover flood regadless of where you are, Others have it as an Option....usually quite an expensive option. What I said about suncorp is that
as far as I am aware they are the only company that includes flood cover as part of their policy from standard on PERSONAL HOME POLICIES. I am not including land lord polices or comercial policies in that statment as I do not know what Suncorp do for them.

If you recall back after Cyclone Larry Allianz Actually refused to renew new policies or take on new buisness on home insurance in certain parts of North Qld.

Check your own policy to find out what you are covered for.

[Cam]

My office is currently under about 4m of water, we managed to get the $200k of servers and software out, but heaps was lost.

Because we are right on the brisbane river (albeit elevated by 4m) no insurer would cover us for flood damage, and rightly so really.. Spoke to many others in the area in the same boat..

[Scott]

Originally Posted by Cam

...Spoke to many others in the area in the same boat..

No pun intended I'm sure. Sorry to hear mate, hopefully business can get moving asap and rcover from this.