h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

This is mostly for my own benefit, so I can track developments if in fact there are any.

We had heavy rain most of the night; my garden's escaped the worst of it this time but there are a couple of things to be put right once things have dried out. But that's nothing compared to what's happening further afield.

Soon after 5:30 this morning, local ABC Radio (666 Canberra) broadcast an emergency warning. The dam at Captain's Flat is at risk of failing; the village at Captain's Flat is already flooded as the Molonglo has burst its banks. People living along the Molonglo are advised to head to higher ground immediately.

The Molonglo then flows through Queanbeyan, a large town just across the border from Canberra; flooding is expected today, in the central business district, probably peaking around 11am.

After Queanbeyan, the Molonglo cuts through central Canberra. I'm not sure what effect this will have as the river's floodplain was permanently flooded in the 1960s to form Lake Burley Griffin. The spillway at Scrivener Dam will have to cope somehow. The lake itself is already off-limits as the Queanbeyan sewage treatment works flooded a couple of days ago, with predictable results.

In the south of Canberra, Lake Tuggeranong is overflowing. That will flow to the Murrumbidgee, which picks up the Molonglo and then runs through Gundagai and Wagga.

Gundagai flooded the other day. Wagga's still having flooding issues with the risk of a second peak. Tarcutta has been partially evacuated and the Hume Highway which links Sydney and Melbourne is reported to have been cut south of Tarcutta. The most logical diversion for traffic to get around this doesn't seem like a good idea as that goes through Wagga.

There is also minor flooding around Canberra Airport and there are roads blocked in the northern suburbs. I'm glad I'm on leave and don't have to go into the office. I'll keep listening to the radio for updates, but I'm glad I'm in a reasonably high suburb on the high side of a sloping street with no natural watercourses nearby.

There were 32 mm of rain at the airport overnight, and 93mm at Tuggeranong. I suspect I got about 60mm; a couple of inches, but I can't do the precise maths at this hour. We're expecting more rain. Here's hoping things don't actually turn out as bad as seems possible.

Googong Dam, south of Queanbeyan, had 103mm of rain overnight. That's twice the average monthly rainfall for December.

There are reports of a landslip on the Snowy Mountains Highway near Talbingo. At least one road at Royalla has been washed out. Road closures are staring in Queanbeyan, with only one bridge remaining open. People with jobs in central Queanbeyan are being advised to stay home today if there's no compelling reason for them to go to w*rk.

Hoskinstown, south of Bungendore, is said to be isolated with all roads impassable. I'm assuming that those of my colleagues who live out that way will also be staying home, for want of other options.

Kings Highway has been closed between Bungendore and Queanbeyan - that's the main road from Canberra to the coast. Evacuation orders have been issued for the lower parts of Queanbeyan, with evacuation centres opening on higher ground in school halls and so forth. The major mall in Queanbeyan - Riverside Plaza - is living up to its name. The Molonglo's rising faster than expected.

On the bright side - the Captain's Flat dam is now expected to hold, but there will be a controlled release of water from it. This will still cause flooding, but it won't be as violent as a sudden collapse would have been.

There are at least a dozen serious accidents on Canberra's roads this morning. One of them might be blocking the road into Woden, where I was planning to go later to get some essentials. I'll have to wait for news on that one.

It's 9:30am and the Molonglo has hit 8.2 metres in Queanbeyan; this was the expected peak. The river's still rising.

The NSW Emergency Services Minister lives in Queanbeyan. He must hate it when his work follows him home. He's now warning people that the Molonglo could peak at 10 metres in Queanbeyan. This would be a record. (For Luddites out there - 10 metres is about 33 feet.)

And it's started raining again here. That helps, I don't think.

And the road into Woden is open so I'll be able to go and do what I need to do.

!

hope all stay safe and well

Helly, you wouldn't recognise the place. Everything's *green*, for the first time in a decade. Apart from the bits that are pure mud, of course.

Latest news: the flood seems to have peaked in Queanbeyan, but if there's more rain upstream it'll all happen again. Meanwhile, on this side of the border, all road and foot traffic has been barred from Scrivener Dam for safety reasons. A silly old fool was just on the radio complaining about this. Maybe we should let him go and drown when the footpath collapses. Man, what a prong.

There's a severe risk of accidents on the Tuggeranong Parkway because people keep stopping to look at floodwaters, thus causing hazards for people coming around the bend at 100km/h.

And Lady Denman Drive (see last Journal) is closed. I'm not at all surprised, frankly.

The sun's shining now. It's steamy as hell; almost tropical. Ugh.

Bloody hell - here's me moaning because of a bit of snow stopping me getting to my car!

Puts things into perspective, really. Stay safe, mate!

I'm safe. I'm not convinced about the safety of people I know, though, especially the ones who live between Queanbeyan and Bungendore. The main issue for me is that I'm supposed to be going to Sydney tomorrow, by road. Let's see if I get there or not. There are reports of water across the road outside Goulburn.

You aussies, seems as you must complain this time of the year. Too hot! Too firey! Too wet! Too much water around... are you never content?

Seriously, stay safe. There is always a place in the Lair if the water gets too annoying in the antipodes.

Sometimes it's good to live in a tower.

At least all this water reduces the fire risk.

Fire risk is at a maximum for so. CA after a season of good rains when the elevated vegetation 'browns off', late summer and early autumn, before autumn rains begin.

Afterward, the 'reverse 911' (911 is the national police and fire emergency number for the US) was instituted for the state of California, allowing of more rapid notifications over the phone system when evacuation orders are required and the reverse 911 system is credited with saving lives in subsequent fire storm seasons.

http://www.plantcml-eads.com/reverse-911/

The danger has now passed in this district; the expected additional rain didn't fall here. Instead it fell further north, where there is additional flooding in a more sparsely populated area.

There are stil multiple road closures in Queanbeyan. Captain's Flat is no longer flooded, apparently. The floodwaters are on their way to Wagga and points further west, where they're equally unwanted.

I'm off to Sydney today as scheduled. The road is open, despite water on the road at Wollogorang. That won't hold us up too much.