AI
Sunday, March 03, 2013 11:47:42 PM
[Queensland] State's north on cyclone watch
Marissa Calligeros - brisbanetimes.com.au reporter - March 4, 2013 - 1:23PM
.. you got it .. dam overflowing in video ..
Homes flooded as rain keeps coming ..video embedded..
More than 50 homes are inundated by floodwaters in Dalby with towns cut
off in the Lockyer Valley and a possible cyclone on the way to north Queensland.
UPDATED
The big wet is far from over, with central Queensland bracing for more flooding and the state’s north on cyclone watch.
Four rural fire crews have arrived in Dalby to help residents wash out their flooded homes.
Flooding at Dalby. Photo: Seven News
At least 37 homes in the southern Queensland town were flooded over the weekend.
But the full extent of the damage will be assessed on Monday afternoon. A team of firefighters from Brisbane has travelled to the town to help assess the damage to up to 240 affected properties.
Mayor Ray Brown said the area’s second flood in five weeks had also hit farmers who were preparing to harvest summer crops.
Weatherzone: Brisbane storm tracker .. darn the live image didn't copy .. see it here ..
"It’s gouged a lot of areas across the region with erosion. I think that’s probably the one that’s most disheartening for farmers," he told 612 ABC Brisbane.
It is estimated a number of residents in the nearby townships of Kogan, Warra and Jandowae have also had water on their properties. Fortunately, the floodwater didn’t reach floorboard level.
Meanwhile more flooding is expected in Bundaberg, which is still in the grip of a clean-up after ex-tropical cyclone Oswald last month.
The Burnett River is expected to peak at five metres between 4pm and 5pm on Monday.
The river was at 4.95 metres and rising at midday, according to the bureau.
The prediction is fortunately significantly lower than ast month's record 9.6 metres.
Bundaberg Mayor Mal Forman said no houses were expected to be affected by the rising river.
‘‘We could expect a peak of five metres during the day - it will cause some low-lying flooding in some streets and roads around the CBD and the sports fields,’’ he told 612 ABC Brisbane.
‘‘There are also a couple of businesses in low-lying areas that will have inundation into those.’’
The Bureau of Meteorology has warned there is a moderate possibility a tropical cyclone will form in the Coral Sea from Wednesday.
"We've got the south-easterly winds coming into the Coral Sea, and then we've got the monsoonal north-westerly winds to the north," Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Ken Kato said.
A cyclone could form where the two winds meet.
Brisbane should escape the worst of the bad weather this week, but the rain will continue.
"We're expecting passing showers for much of this week," Mr Kato said.
"But it's not going to be raining all day every day, so you might see some glimpses of sun and blue sky."
In the 24 hours to 9am Sunday, Brisbane received 92 millimetres of rain.
Deception Bay, north of Brisbane, received 168 millimetres in the same period.
Brisbane has already received half its average yearly rainfall.
In the past two days, the city has received 106.4 millimetres of rain – that's about 10 millimetres more than the average rainfall for the entire month of March.
Since 9am on Sunday, nearly 100 millimetres has fallen in Kenmore Hills.
Over the weekend, an upper-level low and a surface trough sitting off the east coast lashed the central and northern parts of the state.
A gauge on Munburra Road, south of Mackay, recorded 325 millimetres of rain from 9am on Sunday.
Mackay received 139 millimetres of rain.
On the Gold Coast, council crews are busy clearing debris from sand cliffs up to four metres high that line much of the shore.
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate has estimated the repair bill will top about $30 million and has asked for the state government to pitch in.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/environment/weather/states-north-on-cyclone-watch-20130304-2ffc7.html
====== .. re world could be hottest ever in 2013 ..
Up to eleven
An uncomfortable time for Australians, especially climate-change sceptics
Jan 12th 2013 | SYDNEY |From the print edition
So hot, they invented a new colour for it
IN OODNADATTA, an outback town in South Australia, the roads melted. Sydney, Australia’s biggest city, sweltered through heat of 42.3°C (108.1°F). In Tasmania, a Dunkirk-style flotilla of small craft swung into operation to rescue locals and tourists stranded by fires on the isolated Tasman peninsula. Australia’s summer-holiday season has barely begun. Yet a heatwave has swept across the country, smashing temperature records and raising questions both about the impact on annual weather patterns of global warming, and about Australia’s vulnerability to the changes.
Heat is part of the national mythology. It killed some of the country’s first white explorers, and has sparked many devastating fires. The worst, “Black Saturday” in Victoria, killed 173 people four years ago. Thanks to better preparation, firefighting skills and a good dose of luck, fires raging in four states in the latest heatwave have spared humans. Yet Australia is getting ever hotter. The 2013 heatwave has set a new record, 40.3°C, for the highest national average temperature. So far, Leonora, a town in Western Australia, has been the hottest place of all, at 49°C on January 9th. That is still below the highest temperature ever recorded in Australia, 50.7°C at Oodnadatta 53 years ago.
The authorities are preparing for such recordings as the new normal. On January 8th the Bureau of Meteorology added new colours, purple and pink, to its weather map to denote temperatures once considered off the scale: 50-52°C and 52-54°C respectively. (In “Spinal Tap” parlance, it turned the knob up to 11.) The bureau says more “significant records” are likely to be set, with no end to the heatwave in sight.
The heat rolled into Western Australia in late December, then moved east. Cloud-free skies over the central Australian desert intensified the effect, along with weak monsoon rains farther north. This produced what Alasdair Hainsworth, of the bureau, calls an “incredible build-up of heat”. Winds from the north drove the heat into south-east Australia, where most of the population lives. At least 20 places including Hobart, Tasmania’s capital, have set new heat records since December 30th.
Some climate experts are convinced the 2013 heatwave will prove a turning-point in how Australians respond to warnings about human-induced climate change. In a country that relies on fossil fuels for much of its well-being (coal is the second-biggest export and produces about four-fifths of electricity), climate-change sceptics have often swayed political debate.
When she visited areas devastated by fire in Tasmania, the prime minister, Julia Gillard, avoided blaming global warming directly. But she added that climate change would, over time, bring “more extreme weather events”. Aaron Coutts-Smith, of the Australian meteorology bureau, is less equivocal about the prospects. He says all six of the nation’s states over the past decade have had a “predominance” of new record temperatures.
From the print edition: Asia
http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21569440-uncomfortable-time-australians-especially-climate-change-sceptics-up-eleven
===== .. Australia has sinkholes, too ..
Floods open up sinkhole near Gayndah
By Frances Adcock
Posted 1 hour 1 minute ago
Map: Gayndah 4625 - http://maps.google.com/?q=-25.6266,151.6099(Gayndah%204625)&z=5
North Burnett Mayor Don Waugh says he is extremely concerned about a large sinkhole that has formed near Gayndah as a result of the floods.
A 10-metre section of causeway next to Scanlans Road, 10 kilometres north of Gayndah, washed away this morning.
Councillor Waugh says council crews are assessing the damage.
"There's a drop of 10 metres down beside the road and everything else has just gone," he said.
"It's just a massive erosion of the ground and it's just because [of the] fact the water and the grounds are totally sodden because of the amount of rain we've had."
Cr Waugh says he is worried about the stability of many of the roads after the floods.
"Well there's a few that could be like that, we haven't got to them all at this stage," he said.
"There's another one up at East Creek, there's another one at Dalgangal Road and that's just in this area of the shire."
A section of Scanlans Road is closed.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-03-04/floods-open-up-sinkhole-near-gayndah/4551624
See also:
Massive sinkhole swallows shops whole in Guangzhou, China
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=83966251
Homeowner loses home to sinkhole, told to move out as strawberry fields start pumping again.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/5673
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=85219643
New water lows for Great Lakes could drain local economies
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=83386544
Texas' water resources are drying up
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=67559062
Marissa Calligeros - brisbanetimes.com.au reporter - March 4, 2013 - 1:23PM
.. you got it .. dam overflowing in video ..
Homes flooded as rain keeps coming ..video embedded..
More than 50 homes are inundated by floodwaters in Dalby with towns cut
off in the Lockyer Valley and a possible cyclone on the way to north Queensland.
UPDATED
The big wet is far from over, with central Queensland bracing for more flooding and the state’s north on cyclone watch.
Four rural fire crews have arrived in Dalby to help residents wash out their flooded homes.
Flooding at Dalby. Photo: Seven News
At least 37 homes in the southern Queensland town were flooded over the weekend.
But the full extent of the damage will be assessed on Monday afternoon. A team of firefighters from Brisbane has travelled to the town to help assess the damage to up to 240 affected properties.
Mayor Ray Brown said the area’s second flood in five weeks had also hit farmers who were preparing to harvest summer crops.
Weatherzone: Brisbane storm tracker .. darn the live image didn't copy .. see it here ..
"It’s gouged a lot of areas across the region with erosion. I think that’s probably the one that’s most disheartening for farmers," he told 612 ABC Brisbane.
It is estimated a number of residents in the nearby townships of Kogan, Warra and Jandowae have also had water on their properties. Fortunately, the floodwater didn’t reach floorboard level.
Meanwhile more flooding is expected in Bundaberg, which is still in the grip of a clean-up after ex-tropical cyclone Oswald last month.
The Burnett River is expected to peak at five metres between 4pm and 5pm on Monday.
The river was at 4.95 metres and rising at midday, according to the bureau.
The prediction is fortunately significantly lower than ast month's record 9.6 metres.
Bundaberg Mayor Mal Forman said no houses were expected to be affected by the rising river.
‘‘We could expect a peak of five metres during the day - it will cause some low-lying flooding in some streets and roads around the CBD and the sports fields,’’ he told 612 ABC Brisbane.
‘‘There are also a couple of businesses in low-lying areas that will have inundation into those.’’
The Bureau of Meteorology has warned there is a moderate possibility a tropical cyclone will form in the Coral Sea from Wednesday.
"We've got the south-easterly winds coming into the Coral Sea, and then we've got the monsoonal north-westerly winds to the north," Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Ken Kato said.
A cyclone could form where the two winds meet.
Brisbane should escape the worst of the bad weather this week, but the rain will continue.
"We're expecting passing showers for much of this week," Mr Kato said.
"But it's not going to be raining all day every day, so you might see some glimpses of sun and blue sky."
In the 24 hours to 9am Sunday, Brisbane received 92 millimetres of rain.
Deception Bay, north of Brisbane, received 168 millimetres in the same period.
Brisbane has already received half its average yearly rainfall.
In the past two days, the city has received 106.4 millimetres of rain – that's about 10 millimetres more than the average rainfall for the entire month of March.
Since 9am on Sunday, nearly 100 millimetres has fallen in Kenmore Hills.
Over the weekend, an upper-level low and a surface trough sitting off the east coast lashed the central and northern parts of the state.
A gauge on Munburra Road, south of Mackay, recorded 325 millimetres of rain from 9am on Sunday.
Mackay received 139 millimetres of rain.
On the Gold Coast, council crews are busy clearing debris from sand cliffs up to four metres high that line much of the shore.
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate has estimated the repair bill will top about $30 million and has asked for the state government to pitch in.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/environment/weather/states-north-on-cyclone-watch-20130304-2ffc7.html
====== .. re world could be hottest ever in 2013 ..
Up to eleven
An uncomfortable time for Australians, especially climate-change sceptics
Jan 12th 2013 | SYDNEY |From the print edition
So hot, they invented a new colour for it
IN OODNADATTA, an outback town in South Australia, the roads melted. Sydney, Australia’s biggest city, sweltered through heat of 42.3°C (108.1°F). In Tasmania, a Dunkirk-style flotilla of small craft swung into operation to rescue locals and tourists stranded by fires on the isolated Tasman peninsula. Australia’s summer-holiday season has barely begun. Yet a heatwave has swept across the country, smashing temperature records and raising questions both about the impact on annual weather patterns of global warming, and about Australia’s vulnerability to the changes.
Heat is part of the national mythology. It killed some of the country’s first white explorers, and has sparked many devastating fires. The worst, “Black Saturday” in Victoria, killed 173 people four years ago. Thanks to better preparation, firefighting skills and a good dose of luck, fires raging in four states in the latest heatwave have spared humans. Yet Australia is getting ever hotter. The 2013 heatwave has set a new record, 40.3°C, for the highest national average temperature. So far, Leonora, a town in Western Australia, has been the hottest place of all, at 49°C on January 9th. That is still below the highest temperature ever recorded in Australia, 50.7°C at Oodnadatta 53 years ago.
The authorities are preparing for such recordings as the new normal. On January 8th the Bureau of Meteorology added new colours, purple and pink, to its weather map to denote temperatures once considered off the scale: 50-52°C and 52-54°C respectively. (In “Spinal Tap” parlance, it turned the knob up to 11.) The bureau says more “significant records” are likely to be set, with no end to the heatwave in sight.
The heat rolled into Western Australia in late December, then moved east. Cloud-free skies over the central Australian desert intensified the effect, along with weak monsoon rains farther north. This produced what Alasdair Hainsworth, of the bureau, calls an “incredible build-up of heat”. Winds from the north drove the heat into south-east Australia, where most of the population lives. At least 20 places including Hobart, Tasmania’s capital, have set new heat records since December 30th.
Some climate experts are convinced the 2013 heatwave will prove a turning-point in how Australians respond to warnings about human-induced climate change. In a country that relies on fossil fuels for much of its well-being (coal is the second-biggest export and produces about four-fifths of electricity), climate-change sceptics have often swayed political debate.
When she visited areas devastated by fire in Tasmania, the prime minister, Julia Gillard, avoided blaming global warming directly. But she added that climate change would, over time, bring “more extreme weather events”. Aaron Coutts-Smith, of the Australian meteorology bureau, is less equivocal about the prospects. He says all six of the nation’s states over the past decade have had a “predominance” of new record temperatures.
From the print edition: Asia
http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21569440-uncomfortable-time-australians-especially-climate-change-sceptics-up-eleven
===== .. Australia has sinkholes, too ..
Floods open up sinkhole near Gayndah
By Frances Adcock
Posted 1 hour 1 minute ago
Map: Gayndah 4625 - http://maps.google.com/?q=-25.6266,151.6099(Gayndah%204625)&z=5
North Burnett Mayor Don Waugh says he is extremely concerned about a large sinkhole that has formed near Gayndah as a result of the floods.
A 10-metre section of causeway next to Scanlans Road, 10 kilometres north of Gayndah, washed away this morning.
Councillor Waugh says council crews are assessing the damage.
"There's a drop of 10 metres down beside the road and everything else has just gone," he said.
"It's just a massive erosion of the ground and it's just because [of the] fact the water and the grounds are totally sodden because of the amount of rain we've had."
Cr Waugh says he is worried about the stability of many of the roads after the floods.
"Well there's a few that could be like that, we haven't got to them all at this stage," he said.
"There's another one up at East Creek, there's another one at Dalgangal Road and that's just in this area of the shire."
A section of Scanlans Road is closed.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-03-04/floods-open-up-sinkhole-near-gayndah/4551624
See also:
Massive sinkhole swallows shops whole in Guangzhou, China
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=83966251
Homeowner loses home to sinkhole, told to move out as strawberry fields start pumping again.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/5673
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=85219643
New water lows for Great Lakes could drain local economies
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=83386544
Texas' water resources are drying up
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=67559062
It was Plato who said, “He, O men, is the wisest, who like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing”
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