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Thread ID: 115267	2011-01-10 09:45:00	Queensland Floods	KenESmith (6287)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1168612	2011-01-11 00:26:00	I heard on the mid-day news that the NZ Government have said we will help where we can. Supposedly the paper shufflers both side of the Tasman are now trying to reach agreement as to what is needed and can be provided. Normally, this would mean that the floods will have receded and Australia is in the middle of a drought, whilst the paper shufflers are still shuffling paper and wringing their hands. :D Anyway I’m picking “Joe Average Aussie” will have the place tidied up, and normality restored, whilst the bureaucrats ate still contemplating the next move. ;) Sure logistical help, but I doubt you will see the NZ gov donation 5 million cash or anything as it might to a 3rd world nation. I agree, once the water recedes homes will be restored quickly, farmland and some infrastructure will take a lot longer. Feel sorry for those with dodging insurance companies. In NZ I suspect EQC would cover a lot of the claims, but I dont think Australia is that organised when it comes to natural disasters and doesn't have a equivalent scheme?	Battleneter2 (9361)
1168613	2011-01-11 00:32:00	Unfortunately, the history books are full of Natural Disasters from Floods, to Volcanic Eruptions, to Tsunamis, to Earthquakes, to Droughts, the list seems endless. : Yep. Doesn't matter where you live- there's something. Tornados, hurricanes, droughts, fires.	pctek (84)
1168614	2011-01-11 01:18:00	Sure logistical help, but I doubt you will see the NZ gov donation 5 million cash or anything as it might to a 3rd world nation. I agree, once the water recedes homes will be restored quickly, farmland and some infrastructure will take a lot longer. Feel sorry for those with dodging insurance companies. In NZ I suspect EQC would cover a lot of the claims, but I dont think Australia is that organised when it comes to natural disasters and doesn't have a equivalent scheme? I agree, I doubt any money will change hands because there is no need for it to. They have plenty of that. :D But without wishing to sound callus, this is just another day at the office for some of these characters. Did you see that Real Estate Agent that has been there for thirty or so years and he has marked on his doorway where every flood came to. Clearly he and his surrounding shopkeepers are tigers for punishment. :lol: As for the insurance, I think you will find that they have chosen to live in a known flood risk area and no Insurance Company was prepared to take on that risk. I can’t really blame them. However, the residents chose to take the risk upon themselves, so I guess it’s just a case of grin and bear it. I don’t think it’s the normal scenario of the Insurance Company accepting the premium and then finding a way out with the small print should a claim be forthcoming. ;)	B.M. (505)
1168615	2011-01-11 01:23:00	how to clear out a car park, actually this is a great vid www.youtube.com	Battleneter2 (9361)
1168616	2011-01-11 03:15:00	how to clear out a car park, actually this is a great vid www.youtube.com That is incredible. There’s a very graphic lesson there in the power of water. ;)	B.M. (505)
1168617	2011-01-11 04:19:00	tvnz.co.nz	Snorkbox (15764)
1168618	2011-01-11 05:33:00	Son's office is inner city Brisbane. He said when he got to work the basement was flooded. As soon as his meeting finished he took a train home, not far from the city, but where they live is ok. We drove to Toowoomba a couple of weeks ago, where we drove is now flooded, so hard to imagine now. Insurance always has been based on the degree of risk; but even some of those who had nominated flooding in their policy are having a battle with some insurance companies. Such as: Did the flood occur right at their place or did it happen as a result of flooding hundreds of kilometres away? I will never begrudge paying the compulsory levy for earthquake etc. again. You might just as well say because we live in an area likely to have an earthquake that it is our own fault if one occurs and we are denied insurance.	Marnie (4574)
1168619	2011-01-11 07:17:00	I will never begrudge paying the compulsory levy for earthquake etc . again . You might just as well say because we live in an area likely to have an earthquake that it is our own fault if one occurs and we are denied insurance . NZ deserves a lot of praise for setting up EQC, earthquakes are a certainty and the government realised private insurers will exclude earthquakes, or charge a bomb for for the inclusion . Aus may need to look at something similar moving forward .	Battleneter2 (9361)
1168620	2011-01-11 09:59:00	Update to the Flooding Situation. At approximately 1300 AEST, the Brisbane River broke its banks in the Brisbane Metropolitan area, initially at Westend and then Eagle Pier, and now the South Bank area is unindated. www.abc.net.au Latest projections are that this flood will exceed the height of the 1974 floods, by up to half a metre, either tomorrow or Thursday. In excess of 6500 properties are likley to be completely unindated, with thousands more being partially flooded. Wivenhoe Dam is now well in excess of 150% capacity, and is spilling water into the Brisbane River, not doing so is not an option as the integrity of the Dam could be threatened if water was allowed to build higher. The City of Ipswich is expected to have flooding levels higher than 1974 with some 30% of the city being flooded, the Bremer River is expected to break over 20 metres above it's normal height. www.abc.net.au To the north of Brisbane the Carboolture area is cut off with many areas flooded including Morayfield. The death toll in the Lochyer Valley and Toowomba area now stands at 9 confirmed deaths, with a total of at least 66 people still unaccounted for, and the State Government official statements say that this is expected to at least double. Young children are listed among the dead and missing. In my life time I have seen a lot of disasters and mayhem of varying degree, but this occurrence well exceeds anything I have ever known, in most peoples experience it is unprecedented.	KenESmith (6287)
1168621	2011-01-11 10:05:00	First point: . Are these floods worse than before? . Are they the result of climate change? . Can damage like this be claimed from oil-companies? . Example: Shell is winning oil from tar-sands, winning this oil costs 65% of the energy . This is an extreme form of pollution . A few years back Shell came up with a plan to build a nuclear power plant to extract oil from lime-stone . Winning this oil costs more than 90% of the energy . . Perhaps Shell is an ideal target for claims . From all the oil-companies, they behave the most irresponsible . As far as I know ! . . Second point: Is there something that can be done to prevent this in the future? . I am from the Netherlands, a country with a lot of knowledge about water-management . . About 15 years ago there was flooding in the region Limburg and Gelderland, with the rivers the Maas and the Rijn . We made the dikes bigger and stronger . But also: We prepared peaces of farmland to be flooded whenever needed . . Question: Is it possible to dig out peaces of land and use the sand to build dams around it, . and then use these areas to store the water for more controlled flooding?	andreasfirewolf (16167)
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