After the flood

 On Friday, January 7 2022, the remnants of cyclone Seth crossed the coast near where we live in Hervey Bay. We only got about an inch of rain but the cyclone stopped moving and dropped 26 inches of rain near the Dickabram Bridge which we visited recently. That's a lot of water which then had to flow down the Mary River. Naturally, the river flooded and if you look briefly at the blog entry for the Bridge, the water rose to just below the level of the bridge.

A few days later, the flood water arrived at Maryborough and the usual low spots in town flooded. Roads were cut and eventually opened again so we decided to drive to Maryborough to see how the cleanup from the floods were progressing.

Most of Maryborough is built on land above the typical flood level. However, the banks of the river go well underwater. The high point is usually just a few feet down the slope. My father took me to this spot back in 1955 to see the water go past during the biggest flood since 1893. It made a major impression on me.

The building with the solar panels on the roof was almost submerged with only the roof above water. The building houses a very nice cafe but the owners have now decided to close permanently. You may notice the old rusty building behind the cafe. It was a major shipyard when I was a child. This side of the river used to be lined with docks.

Cleanup at the Sailing Club building was progressing. 

A photo from the Mayor's Facebook page taken at the height of the flood. Fortunately, Maryborough residents get a few days' notice of flooding about to occur and valuable items can be removed and stored on higher ground. The Mayor, George Seymour, is an American who came from California.

The bridge to Granville was submerged as usual in a flood. Residents have plenty of time to prepare to be isolated.

The Rowing Club was also submerged.

A sea of mud at the bottom of the hill. Yes, they are railway lines.

Mud still on the lower leaves.

A huge old tree had toppled over.

This is a wonderful old tree. Maryborough is lucky to have such a beautiful old park.

My sisters might remember the building that used to stand on this hill. It housed a number of cockatoos but it was removed decades ago.

Mud everywhere.

The mud cracks as it dries.

The ground under the grass was still soggy.

Marianne climbs the hill to the War Memorial area. With all the rain, the grass is very green but it's still soggy underneath so tough to climb.

There is a new statue representing the women who lost loved ones during the wars.

We tend to forget the heartache of those left behind.

Again from the Mayor's Facebook page. He has received a lot of positive comments about his handling of the flood. The City tried a new flood barrier to keep the floodwater out of the business district.

It did not work as well as anticipated because a valve failed allowing water to rise behind the barrier but they had huge pumps as a backup. We drove along this street and there were no visible signs of damage.

We subsequently drove to Teddington Weir since the causeway was now open. That is foam in the foreground. The weir provides drinking water for Maryborough.

There is a webcam next to the weir at the top of the hill. Next to the road up the hill is a fish ladder. Below is an image I copied during the flooding.

Somewhere under all that water is the causeway and the fish ladder.

The twelth anniversary of my retirement

 It's taken seventeen months, but finally, our local area is starting to see the effects of the virus. We have to wear masks and use a checkin app showing we are vaccinated. Locally, there are 13 people in hospital with two unfortunate persons in ICU. Of course, there are now hundreds infected with Omicron. Until the border with New South Wales opened a few weeks ago, there had been no cases locally since we arrived. Marianne and I will get our booster shots in a week's time, halfway between my infusions. I need a haircut but will now wait for a few weeks. 

Speaking of infusions, the poor nurses are getting used to my cheeky ways and are now dropping the blunt needle onto the floor before stabbing me. My CK levels remain moderately high, but low enough that I can do most things. I think I have plateaued.

Marianne and I are now going to the pool on hot afternoons for a refreshing dip. I take the opportunity to do some aquatherapy exercises including 1000 jogging on the spot steps while I do breaststroke swimming movements with my arms. I continue walking on the beach and jetty.

We have really enjoyed the past year despite not being able to travel as much as we would like. We have made some friends in the local community and we have discovered a really good restaurant as well as a good coffee shop. The availability of fresh food here is amazing it's wonderful to be able to cook a bunch of new delicious recipes.

Who knows what will happen in the coming year, but we are hoping to drive to Adelaide via an inland route and return via the coast. If New Zealand opens up again, we might fly to Auckland and take trains and a ferry to Christchurch before flying home. Who knows.

So the big news has been the flooding in our area caused by the remnants of a cyclone that passed over us and then stalled, dumping huge amounts of rain. If you remember the blog about the bridge with a road and railway tracks, a nearby location nearby received 26 inches of rain in 12 hours. All that water had to go into the local Mary River and it flooded. The river rose 18 meters (over 50 feet) to just below the level of the deck of the bridge and is now falling.

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology does a wonderful job of letting people know what is going on. There is data galore as well as webcams in locations prone to flooding.

Here is a photo from the bridge when we visited in November.

We received only an inch of rain where we live.

As you might imagine, a huge amount of debris has floated down the river and since we are only a few miles from the mouth of the river, debris has been washing up on our beach.

We wondered how and when it would eventually disappear.

However, in the afternoon two small council bulldozers appeared and cleaned up the beach and formed a large pile. 

Fortunately, the drivers had enough care for the environment to not climb up onto the rocky area near the Aquarium at the end of the beach.

However, this morning, there was even more debris than the day before. It's going to be a losing cause for a few days until the river level drops.

The bulldozers have just reappeared again.

A year ago, we received visits from some magpies. This year, we are graced by crows who enjoy singing to us. They make an aaark noise here. They sometimes land on our outdoor table while we are sitting there.