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BIG RAIN
Apologies for an unplanned posting shortage; I’ve been driving around Newcastle and environs, subject since Friday to massive, deadly, ship-beaching floods (about which more here).
One Newcastle street was bordered yesterday by several seemingly undamaged cars, only notable for being awkwardly parked - and that every driver’s side window was down. They’d been abandoned in floodwaters the night before. “Of droughts and flooding rain”; Dorothy McKellar had Australia nailed a long time ago. If you have any personal stories about the floods - and happen to be in an area with electricity - here’s the place to tell them.
Whoa, flooding, I know how that works. Good luck to all, and stay safe.
Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2007 06 09 at 01:31 PM • permalinkMy dad’s Aussie friend was on the phone most of yesterday getting updates from friends and neighbors… and trying to get a flight back a couple of days earlier than he had originally planned.
Best of luck everyone. Hope you’re all safe and dry.
Posted by Spiny Norman on 2007 06 09 at 01:36 PM • permalinkOh yeah, Tim, you should be pleased to know that the first place he went for news on the Internet was the Daily Telegraph.
Posted by Spiny Norman on 2007 06 09 at 01:39 PM • permalinkI had no idea that Newcastle was a predominately black city.
Posted by Mystery Meat on 2007 06 09 at 01:52 PM • permalinkRe: my #6.
That should have read “most of yesterday afternoon”. Or about 2 hours getting news from friends and about 3 hours trying to get a flight…
...don’t want to give the impression he’s a worrier.
Posted by Spiny Norman on 2007 06 09 at 04:28 PM • permalinkArid lands get horrendous floods because they get so little rain. They got adequate rain they’d have the ground cover needed to hold the land in place and soak up all that water. And they wouldn’t be arid.
What you’re seeing here is what happen when people are allowed to build in marginal territory.
Posted by mythusmage on 2007 06 09 at 07:10 PM • permalinkI’ve got family in the Hunter Valley up the road from Newcastle, and they were okay last night. Preparing for rain, however.
No family there since my brother moved back down south with work.
Add my prayers to the list.
Posted by Nilknarf Arbed on 2007 06 09 at 07:41 PM • permalinkWhat you’re seeing here is what happen when people are allowed to build in marginal territory.
How did that cause the 18 meter high waves Ash_ mentioned?
Posted by Andrea Harris, Administrator on 2007 06 09 at 07:48 PM • permalinkSky News last night was inferring the tragic loss of the family of five was the federal government’s fault. It had one of the locals saying the safety fence at the site of the collapse was sagging before the rains arrived, a claim “denied by the Federal Government”. Federal Road Minister Jim Lloyd then appeared on the screen to say that he didn’t think there had been a problem with the road. No explanation that the road was a state road and that Lloyd’s appearance at the scene of the tragedy had more to do with him being the shocked local member than a guilt-stricken federal roads minister.
Tomorrow - how Peter Costello caused the Kerang level crossing crash.
An insensitive question i know, but any news on what this has done for dam levels? The catchments must be copping a lot of runoff as well?
Posted by thefrollickingmole on 2007 06 09 at 07:57 PM • permalinkI only got partway thru the photo series before the DT page wimped on me, but it looks like there was a lot of Darwin action going on there… “No worries, I’ve got four wheel drive, we’ll just roll through the flood, she’ll be right...” and “Look, honey, giant storm surf! Let’s send the kids out on the breakwater...!”
Posted by richard mcenroe on 2007 06 09 at 08:24 PM • permalinkMy parents are in Highfields, just north of Charlestown on the Pacific Highway. This is on the border of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie shires.
Thankfully, they got through the storm unscathed, with no house damage. They were without power for around 18 hours, until reconnected at 7PM last night.
My Dad said on Friday night the wind was so strong he thought they’d be loosing tiles for certain, the storm being far worse than the one which beached the Sygna in 1974. He said he’d never seen the sky so dark in the middle of the day.
My sister got by unscathed in Mayfield.
My brother was stuck whilst working at a Stockton nursing home, the wet weather preventing his car from starting. As he had a shift in the morning, he slept at the home overnight. The NRMA, and my Dad, were unable to get to him. Dad got his car started at 2PM Saturday afternoon.
There are photos at the ABC Newcastle website of the flooding, for those who are interested.
A boring, but almost first-hand account of what my family went through.This is pretty much normal weather for Australia—drought followed by flood.
Posted by Evil Pundit on 2007 06 09 at 09:11 PM • permalinkMy office, which is just south of the city, has four very large windows which were blown inside by the winds. The frame which they all sat in was just torn straight off the wall and driven about 5m inside, narrowly missing one of my coworkers.
Driving around on Friday night (not having realised how widespread the floodigns were), I found myself unable to get into the city and unable to get very far out of the city, due to the road closures (by police, by flooding, and by downed trees or powerlines). A few times I was driving with the tyres of my Swift completely submerged and a thousand prayers going through my head. Mobile network was totally overwhelmed; my father was missing for a short time but we later found out he’d made his way to the emergency station at Wests.
On Saturday morning I went to check on family and friends and was astonished by the numbers of abandoned cars and blocked streets. The waters had almost entirely subsided but the damage was clear. The lake had risen by at least a metre and had swallowed most of the Esplanade walkway at Warners Bay.
It’s eerie driving through a city like nEwcastle on a Saturday night and finding it dead quiet, with little traffic and lots of streets still without power (and lots of traffic lights still offline). In some areas, you can barely tell that anythign has happened and in others, but then you find yourself on a major road without streetlights or houselights.
The emergency services people were doing an excellent job of directing traffic and some of the local residents who decided to stand out in the wind and rain and help direct motorists were a godsend.
#17 - The Grahamstown Dam (which supplies Newcastle and some surrounding areas) received enough rain on Friday to keep us going for another 8 months; and I heard that the Chichester Dam was spilling. We had already been spared most of the drought but I think we’re still very lucky to get rain.
(For those who are interested, you can see how things were unfolding on my site here. It’s not terribly interesting, but its there if you’re curious.)
Moved to Newcastle at the beginning of the year, thankfully escaped the worst of the storm apart from a little puddle near the back door, and electricity has remained on in my street.
A number of friends/neighbours didn’t fare so well, and like Tim I have seen plenty of oddly parked cars around the place. A couple of mates were talking about going for a surf in these waves, they chickened out though.
It’s going to take a while to clean everything up, definitely longer than it will take for someone to blame it on global warming - haven’t seen anything so far, but will keep looking at SMH for when it comes.
Posted by brucey bonus on 2007 06 09 at 10:36 PM • permalink#13 Mythusmage, you’re fairly inaccurate.
Newcastle actually get enough rain to have adequate groundcover, but it’s damn near impossible to have enough ground cover around areas such as Nobby’s Beach (ever been there? I have. There is sand for a pretty good stretch back from the ocean, then there is an asphalt parking lot, then some grass.) And Newcastle get sufficient rain. Not as much as the residents would like, sure, but they get an adequate amount.
In fact, Newcastle are one of the only areas in the Eastern States that are not on water restrictions.
Newcastle is hardly marginal territory. If Newcastle is marginal territory, so is the rest of Australia. I’m intrigued though, do you live in Australia Mythusmage?
The actual and key reason for the floods is what Evil Pundit said at #24, and what Tim said in his post. Australia gets drought, then we get flooded.
#17 FrollickingMole, the dam levels have gone up, which can only be a good thing, but Newcastle had plenty of water to begin with.
I’ll be having nightmares about the family of five who perished on the Pacific Highway at Somersby.
Here’s the father, with family aboard including two pre-school daughters and nine year old nephew, driving very carefully no doubt because of the blinding rain, when suddenly, the highway collapses beneath his car, and car and family are washed into the surging maelstrom. Passers-by raced to their aid only to have the father ripped from their hands and washed away. The children’s restraints were unfastened meaning that frantic efforts had been made within the car to release the kids so that they could be hauled to safety.
Their bodies were found downstream yesterday afternoon. A whole family wiped out.
One minute driving. Five minutes later, dead.
God Bless them.Yep, water in dams good, water in house bad. It absolutely pissed down for a while. We live on a hill so we just lost a few trees & some power. It could’ve been worse; in ‘74 the ground was soaked for a week before the wind came which is probably why we lost so many more trees (& as a result power services) then. Glad the second night’s wind did not eventuate.
My rain gauge is a derelict fish tank in the back yard & even all through last summer it was only dry twice - & then for no more than a week at a time. We have plenty of water.
Posted by stahlblume on 2007 06 10 at 12:01 AM • permalinkBorn and bred in Newcastle but left for the Gold Coast 30 years ago and have been living in China for past 4 years. Been back in Newie for 6 months for some surgery and I’m staying in Darby Street in heart of the city area.
First thing to hit me on Saturday morning was the number of abandoned cars. Then the damage to cars crushed under fallen trees. That there wasn’t more death or serious injury is amazing. Saw a large underground car park with 2.2mtr [about 7ft] height clearance with water only a foot from the top. Anything in this carpark would have had a serious swim.
Hope Maree S had her boat well secured and suffered minimal damage if any. Also prayers for Brett McS and family. He is a lovely bloke who went out of his way to personally deliver my copy of The Great Global Warming Swindle.
Novocastrians are traditionally a tough crew and previous major floods, earthquakes etc, have only made them tougher and more determined.
Said Hanrahan, by John O’Brien. An all-time Australian classic poem which will never lose it’s relevance.
We all hope, of course, that the region recovers as quickly as possible, and without any more loss of life.
Hardly worth mentioning under the circumstances, but couldn’t help noticing that the following story reports that a certain head mufti has stepped down.
It appears to have settled down. Partly sunny day today - got some stuff dried out.
I was watching the rain radar during the height of the storm and it was just a long line of storms (probably only a few kms wide) extending direct east into the ocean from Newcastle - all heading due west. So we kept coping it, whereas just 30km north - nothing.
#26, Ian and #32, LaoHuLi,
Thanks for your concern. Power to our home has only been restored in the past 30 minutes—we’ve been without electricity for 44 hours since 8pm Friday. Mobile phone coverage returned late last night. Sadly our house was flooded, we’ve lost flooring, some furniture, electrical equipment, and many many favourite books. Water came up to knee-deep on the ground floor, our gardens are trashed and our vehicle drowned. We were driving home with our 23yo son at the time and got caught in a flash flood. We had to abandon ship and swim through neck-deep water, only reached higher ground by getting a hand-hold on a nearby school fence and moving along it hand over hand as our feet were being swept from beneath us by the force of the water flow. Though we don’t live in a designated flood zone the rain was amazingly heavy, 8 inches in a couple of hours. So we are still damp underfoot and counting the cost, but still very fortunate in comparison to those who have died or lost loved ones, and people further up the Hunter Valley who are still being evacuated in their thousands (including my sister and her family). Please keep all of these people in your thoughts.
#43, Brett, We’re in Merewether, bottom of Frederick. We were out on the motorbike today, still cars all over footpaths and roundabouts where they were abandoned. Piles of soggy carpet and sodden cartons of stuff everywhere as people begin to clear out homes & businesses. The first pub open around here is the Prince of Wales, which got power back earlier today, so things are on the improve. Many happy people on the top verandah, as downstairs is still sodden.
#44, Ash, Thanks so much for the offer. That good ol’ Newcastle spirit has kicked in as it always does in tough situations, all pitching in to help. Our nextdoor neighbours are in a worse situation than we are, they’re older and they’ve lost more belongings, so we’ve been helping out with their place first.
#46 No problem Maree. I have mates up your way, in Mayfield and in Maitland, and they’re out there today doing what they can. The ones in Maitland have horses, and a lot of their paddocks are flooded, so they’ve moved the horses up to the top paddocks and the house is unscathed, but their dams and the swimming pool are now full.
I haven’t heard anything about it, but were there many weather warnings or was it fairly sudden?
#45, Dminor, I’m really hating to think about the books, most of them are out of print but not especially valuable. However, they were like old friends & I’ll miss them. Fortunately all our best books and our professional libraries are up higher and safe. Our art is safe. Other people in our part of the world have had 6 feet of water and mud through their homes and have lost just about everything. I’m content with small mercies and all.
#47, Ash, There were warnings of severe weather, for strong wind and heavy rain, about 36 hours beforehand. The Met Bureau issued all the correct warnings. Unfortunately, east coast low pressure systems are unpredictable in their behaviour. They’re like a temperate latitude cyclone, can move and stall and deepen unexpectedly. This one stalled over Newcastle and formed a double low with another smaller low system off the coast on Friday. It intensified through friday afternoon but remained stalled, which caused the massive prolonged rain downpour. The wind conditions that put the coal ship ashore on Friday morning weren’t actually as bad as during the last disastrous east coast low in 1974, which grounded another bulk carrier, The Sygna, on Stockton beach a few miles north of Newcastle.
Newcastle Port Authority ordered all 54 ships anchored off the port out to deeper water, some didn’t take the order as it’s the decision of the ship’s master in the end. Four or five ships stayed in close to the coast so as not to jeopardise their place in the coal queue. One has come aground at Nobbys, two almost beached on Stockton, one almost beached at the end of our street in Merewether, one almost went aground at Blacksmiths, near Lake Macquarie. We have friends in the harbour tug service who volunteered to stand off these vessels in atrocious conditions and managed to keep them off the beaches, averting an even worse disaster.
As to the rain, nobody could have predicted the falls we received, or the flooding that happened in areas never previously subject to flooding.
There are still about 80,000 homes without power tonight after Friday’s events, and thousands more under evacuation due to flooding further up the river.
Emergency services and defence workers continue to do a brilliant job around the clock.
Oh, and I meant to add to my previous reports, three incidents of looting. An ambulance drowned by floodwaters on Friday night had its radio and defibrillator equipment stolen. A bushfire brigade unit removing a toppled tree from a suburban road had equipment stolen. And a cut-price shoe barn was broken into by two drunks looking for dry boots. Have we got world-class looters in Newcastle, or what?
Ash, that’s what makes the looting incidents so remarkable...they’re simple and stupid and not at all pervasive. Most people here are too decent to do it. Also, the inner-city nightspots were closed last night owing to lack of power, the trains weren’t running and most buses were cancelled, so the usual out-of-towner suspects who would have caused mayhem weren’t here to do so.
Mind you, we found a pair of youths yesterday attempting to break into vehicles where our car is stranded around in the next street from our house, and they were lucky to escape with their heads on their shoulders. They went away with a few bruises, though, courtesy of my husband and son.
All in hand, evacuations have been happening all afternoon and evening, door-by-door notifications for people to get out immediately, evacuation centres functioning, emergency road management procedures in place to direct evacuees to safety. Maitland CBD is expected to be inundated when the levees predicted to be breached between 9pm-midnight. My sister has been keeping me informed. She and her husband and daughters evacuated at 5pm and are now safe with family in Newcastle.
When, having gotten your flooded car running, you notice for weeks that water can be heard running to the front when you brake, and running to the back when you accelerate, you can complete the experience by carrying loose helium balloons, which run to the back when you brake, and run to the front when you accelerate.
This celestial opportunity comes up once in a lifetime.
I’m safely tucked away up in Rutherford, high and dry :D. I think the most serious thing to happen to us is that we may lose water supplies so Hunter Water wants us to store drinking water. Listening to ABC Newcastle online, apparently next few hours (2100 Sunday) is crucial for the Maitland CBD.
For pictures of the flood, go to ABC Radio Newcastle. I still don’t know how a car can end up perfectly placed in a stormwater drain…
Posted by Matthew Lawrence on 2007 06 10 at 05:55 AM • permalinkSheesh. In 1955 my father was part of a surfclub crew rowing down the main drag in Maitland and getting people off the shop awnings.
Hope the levees there hold tonight. He’s getting a bit past that now and my sons and I can’t take his place ‘cause we’re in this cold hole.
Keep safe, Maree, Ian and Ash. I’m heading up next weekend to help Dad with repairs. Nothing serious, luckily.
MarkL
Canberra#65, MarkL, Which surf club did your father belong to? I’m a member of Merwether SLSC and there are older fellows who I swim with who rowed surf rescue boats at Maitland in 1955.
BAD NEWS: ABC Newcastle radio has just reported water has breached the floodgates and levees at Maitland and water is spilling now inside the levee ring. Immediate evacuations have begun, with police and SES officers using loudhailers to get residents to leave. All of central Maitland is now closed off to incoming traffic.
MareeS, Brett, Ian and the rest of lurking Blairites up in the floodzone: stay safe and you’re all in my prayers.
Posted by Nilknarf Arbed on 2007 06 10 at 09:49 AM • permalinkI live on the central coast and had no power from 12.30am Friday night to 8pm Sunday. No flooding in my area, except for some water in front yards and blocking streets and lots of trees down etc. Very glad power is back up, I was beginning to die of boredom as I’m housebound with a broken foot at the moment.
Today I rigged up a couple of metho burners to heat up water for coffee. Patience being the key word. That saying that a watched pot never boils is true. But it helped pass the time.
Best wishes and thoughts to all our Blairites in the flooded zones - if there’s anything we Yanks can do to help out, let us know!
Posted by Blue State Sil on 2007 06 10 at 01:19 PM • permalinkI echo Blue State Sil. Maybe some replacement books?
Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2007 06 10 at 02:57 PM • permalink#28
You do go on about the glory that is the sandbox you call the Outback. :)
But dont feel too bad. I’m supposed to be living in a desert, and all because some 80% of Southern California is desert. Skews the rainfall average something fierce it does.
The updates in this thread have given a much clearer picture of events. Having rain clouds stick around a tad does result in more rain afterall. Newcastle had an outlier event nobody could’ve planned for withot being considered an exagerrating loon.
Posted by mythusmage on 2007 06 10 at 07:07 PM • permalinkgday Maree
I heard about the flooding at mereweather, we are up near Lochinvar and are isolated by the rising waters of the Hunter, some 10 metres in depth. The Maitland district was evacuated but damage is minimal as river levels remained just under the levees.
A lot of rain, Friday saw a continuous deluge as the wind reversed direction, we have had 305mm in 3 days (a bit over a foot on the old scale)
In many areas all services are down and have been for days, people were isolated unless they had a laptop with mobile broadband, or a battery operated transistor radio. On the local radio one caller was from Canada, she would check on the situation on the net then contact her sister in Newcastle and kept her informed.
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I hope all of the Newcastle readers here are safe.