Anniversary

This week marked the one year anniversary since the massive floods that devastated Southeast Queensland.  The initial clean-up happened very quickly and, for home owners with insurance, the recovery has gone moderately well.  There is a still an issue for those who had "flood insurance" but had water damage caused by sewers backing up or by run-off.  Like anywhere, the type of water that causes the damage is extremely important in the claim.

One story that we have been following is that of The Drift, a restaurant that was built on a dock that floated on the Brisbane River.  The story that we have heard is that the owners of the restaurant were inside the building, trying to save as much as possible from being swept away by the river.  The authorities ordered the owners to open the windows and doors of the restaurant, get out, and let the water flow through.  This makes sense because if the restaurant broke loose from the moorings it would have been a huge missle that would have destroyed major bridges.  The owners, however, believe they had a plan in place to save the restaurant from being swept away.  Now, one year later, there is an outstanding insurance claim, thousands of dollars in outstanding debt to suppliers and a restaurant owner who is now getting death threats.  There is no easy answer to what should have been done but it is really sad to see the state of the restaurant now, covered in graffiti and looking like a dump.

The Drift, January 2011

The Drift, January 2012

This summer has been extremely dry so far, but we are starting to see the rainy season now.  Last week we hit 37C and today we had a high of 22C and it rained 44mm.  How can anyone get used to those kinds of swings in the weather!