Thursday 13 January 2011

Floods

The Globe and Mail asked me to give a Brisbanites account of the utterly devastating floods happening at home. It was a terribly hard piece to write, as it's been so terribly hard to watch it unfold from a distance. While I should be relieved to be in weather-sane Ontario, I really just wanted to be there with everyone.
 Makes no sense, but there you go. 

Anyhoo, story was published today. You can read the full piece at The Globe's website here. (Until it eventually goes behind a paywall. Sorry about that.)
An excerpt: "Most people are fine, if damp. What they’re really struggling with is a shared sense of helplessness, and a looming sense of imminent grief as the receding waters reveal the past week’s death toll, expected to be in the dozens."

No-one's looking forward to what's to come. My thoughts are with everyone at home.
xx

Tuesday 11 January 2011

What the hell, homeland?

After literally months of rain -- nothing but pouring rain -- Queensland is now mostly underwater, with floodwaters building in the Wivenhoe Dam about to be unleashed on Brizzy. What the hell is going on down there? When I left, you were in drought, Queensland. Since then you've had the hottest Christmas on record, then almost run out of water, had the worst storm in memory, and now are about to drown.  If it wasn't all so hard to watch from afar, I'd joke about you lashing out because you want me back. But it is hard, so I won't joke.
Photos below give a teeny glimpse, and it hasn't even hit its peak. Be safe, all.

(P.S.: Let's mark this moment as the first in likely a long line of 'I wish I was still a newspaper journo' moments.)
* Photos care of news websites, and my mum's friend's facebook account. 

Where I used to run at Kedron/Stafford
Down the hill from my old apartment in The Valley.
Down the hill from my folks in Stanthorpe (on another old running path from when I lived there).
Round the corner (and down the hill a bit) from my folks in Stanners.