Queensland floods

The floods show no signs of letting up over in Queensland and since they've now reached Brisbane, it's about to get a whole lot worst. There's been stories of loss, despair, tragedy and horrible scenes of people trying to save what they can as they flee their precious homes (as obviously insurance won't cover it). Hmmm....why do we pay insurance again?

It must be a tricky predicament to be in. The water's seeping in under your door and you have no other option but to leave, so what do you take? You've got maybe 15 minutes/half an hour tops to gather what you can, I can't imagine what must have gone through those poor people's minds. One shopkeeper was photographed wading through the water with an industrial sized coffee machine, an older dude grabbed his treasured books whilst a young family used a trailer to carry their couch, kids toys and white goods.

The thing that's struck me most about this unfortunate disaster is how positive and courageous the Aussies are in a crisis. There's this amazing camaraderie they employ when faced with difficult situations - hell most of them were photographed  leaving their homes with smiles on their faces - SMILES! Other images that reflect the unique gun-ho Aussie spirit came in the form of a young guy pretending to cook his breakfast waist deep in water, a man in a vest refusing to leave his home (in all fairness it was on stilts) because he had enough 'tinnies to last the week' and a bunch of young men in boardies using their new found circumstances as a make shift waterpark.

Nevertheless, the reality is these people will have to face severe damage to their property and may be homeless for some time. The damage is pretty heart-breaking and when you look at the stats it beggars belief -  just short of 20,000 homes are expected to be flooded, 16,000 people will need emergency shelter, 15 people are confirmed dead and 43 are unaccounted for. So not a pretty picture.

There's a relief fund in place so if you can spare the cash, do donate.
More info here: http://www.australiafloodappeal.com/