zingshoen and jape: are you staying dry?

[Weldangrind]

There's been quite a bit of coverage about the flooding in your country; are you guys ok?

[jape]

Hi W'nG, thanks for your interest, appreciated. Barnone was good enough to point me at your post, thanks Barnone.

You probably know that Aus is a huge continent and that the north is tropical while the rest is temperate with a huge chunk that is desert. Apart from the tropics, most areas where people live have been in drought for a decade or up to fifteen years nearly, which is meaning more and wilder bush-fires and all the 200 deaths from them last year in my State, Victoria, down south. We are upside down, south is like your Continental north but never as cold with snow very rare except in the higher ranges.

Well El Nina and cyclones close by but out to sea has put a stop to that with heavy rainfalls in times and places that are usually dry, to the extent that all the dams and rivers are full, so run off isn't absorbed. So over more than a thousand miles we have had a couple of months of rising rivers, what they are calling a hundred year event, and in places off the recorded charts. And this is only the start of cyclone season here.

Then we had a very unfortunate set of circumstances with a storm cell dropping a months' rain in a few hours and a wall of water crashing through a totally unprepared rural valley, sweeping 8 meters high and taking down bridges and houses, killing families, nearly twenty confirmed dead and more still missing, maybe never to be found.

Elsewhere in the same storms, especially in Qland, rising waters cut just about every road, isolating towns and cities, wiping out power and transport, then finally with just a day or so's warning, flooding the center and many suburbs of Brisbane, the third largest Aussie city.

The response has been extraordinary with so much good will and assistance from ordinary folk. The whole damn structure of the country and how it deals with floods will have to be revisited and will cost many billions. Then consider - to everyone's shock (der) the storms moved south and impacted a thousand miles away, not to the same extent but still isolating towns and major highways. All around me towns were cut off and in places rivers are still rising as water floods onto the plains.

Personally, well I live on a slope in the ranges but was still surprised to see water running inches deep across the slopes of my paddock! But I am high enough to the very tops of the hills that it just couldn't stand, however I was cut off for two days, the 'two days a year' creek was white water and 50 meters of it ran across my track exit. Trees down all over, no power but hey, I was dry. I had to light a fire for warmth and cooking and hot water - we NEVER have to do that in summer!





Without belittling the deaths and continuing problems for so many, I turned it into an adventure for me and the Kinlon. I live alone in the bush at present, fires are my usual concern but this gave me a chance to play with my emergency gear, backup batteries and so on. The biggest problem was being cut off and my battery backups and inverters failed! Glad I found that out now, not in a real crisis. So until I got the generator going on day two I had no news or any idea what was going on, ten inches of rain in two days and NO CIGARS. So I took an adventure ride through the bush on the Kinlon across this flooding road and at least six other water crossings on and off road.



I know the roads and depths very well and could read the fence posts etc to check but do not recommend people do it in general because you can get into bad trouble easily. 4wd vehicles were trapped or flooded whereas I could pick my routes on the Kinlon, going bush across the ridges and so on. The flood water can push up from under tarmac and move it in sheets 50 meters away and rip huge potholes into it, so you don't ever know for sure what is under the surface. Ride slow but firm, no bow-waves and not above your knees! Took me 60 miles instead of 10 to get my smokes and bread and milk and importantly the 2 stroke mix for chainsaw and genny, then after a few hours and getting back home I decided to grow up and sit it out.

I was very disappointed that my 'stormproof' bike gear soaked me to the skin. But the Kinlon r/t 200cc was ace, didn't miss a beat, pulled smoothly through 50 meter stretches of two-foot deep, fast-running water and had guts enough to rip up slopes on wet grass and mud when necessary. Good all rounder this bike with knobbies. I got it for a last minute escape from bush fires if necessary (they run at a 60 mph plus at times so you can get trapped easily) so I am now more confident in its (and my ) abilities under pressure.

I never mind an excuse for a yarn but lets remember, the very same storm event has also caused 500+ deaths in Brazil and 250,000 homes inundated in Sri Lanka. And even in Australia, a technologically advanced if remote land, people died. Global warming is going to force some serious rethinking of a lot of things. Now I have to watch the extra-lush growth in the bush dry out, and wait for the fires this year. They will be later but will still come.

[davidsonsgccc]

thanks for sharing your story with us. it is a shame that with all of our technological advancements that we still can get caught off guard by the weather. i pray for your country.

[jape]

Thank you. I am a gnarly old cynic and old enough to despair in the very real human stupidity and greed that causes some part of these problems; however a true spirit of community and even love and compassion has shown in places through this, enough to affect even me! I hope that some of the power-brokers and politicians learn by it. These are signs for all to learn by, not to be discounted whatever one's personal faith or belief may be.

Thank you for your prayers, never taken lightly.

[FastDoc]

I'm glad to hear the overall news about you and your area. Thanks for the thoughtful reply and the geography lesson. I love how the internet provides such a nice way for people with similar intrests from all over the world to make friends and communicate so effectively.

[Weldangrind]

Thanks for taking the time to share the details. I'm guessing that zingshoen is ok also, because he was posting about 12 hours ago.

I also pray for your country and the safety of the people.

Glad to hear that the Kinlon is a faithful soldier.

[zingshoen]

first of all thank you for your concern and good wishes about the flooding here in queensland. it is terrible that there have been 22 deaths in toowoomba and the lockyer valley, ie further up country, where flash flooding occurred.

here in brisbane many people who live in low lying areas have lost all of their possessions. i am guessing, but i think overall more households in poorer parts of town have been affected, places which were built on floodplains far away from the river, floodplains which fill up due to rainfall and flood badly with back pressure from the river into their creeks (these are not the sought after residences on the riverbanks).

as for myself, my place was high and dry, i m on a hill far away from the river in an area which never flooded on record. that is the kind of thing u look at when u buy a property here.we lost power for a day but that was it. only one bridge of three was open and cars were bumper to bumper for blocks on end. here the zong came in handy.

i read today that reports about building in low areas after the 1974 flood recommended against it, but of course then and now there are powerful interests against the devaluing of properties. and so it remains to be seen which lessons will be learned. it was the lowest of 4 floods in 180 years.

[Weldangrind]

Glad to hear that you're ok.

There was a rather large flood in our area in the forties, yet the low floodplain area is still being farmed (they take some security in the dyke). We chose a house that is part way up the mountain for that reason, and we've never had any concerns. It does pay to consider such things when choosing your home.

[jape]

Well poor old Qland just stating to clean up after the floods and now they had a cyclone, category 5, highest ever on mainland - but although it took out some small towns it has avoided the larger population centres, you have to look at the positives in these thing!

And in the middle of our summer, usually completely dry, just had another run of thunderstorms called supercells right across my part of the country, left over from the two cyclones that were on west and east coasts. Four inches of rain in an hour so I have been cut off all day, however flash floods recede quickly from me and it is other places will get the problems with riverine floods for third time this year.

Weird weather. Then I see you lot are getting 1500 mile wide snow storms .... mates, at least I can ride through the water - then when I get back kick my wet gear off and wander round in my boxers with a cold beer! You poor sods must be frozen and bored stiff! No riding and unless you have heat in the workshop, no tinkering either? I notice poor old Andrew is still limited to taking photos of his virgin Q. I hope this weird worldwide weather settles soon and you can all get a good fun ride in to blow out the cobwebs.

[Weldangrind]

Jape, I'm very glad to hear that you're ok. I was about to ask when I found this update.

Zingshoen, how are you and your family?

I live in the SW part of Canada (what the US refers to as Pacific Northwest), and we've been very lucky. We had snow twice that didn't last long, although one day it was enough to close the schools. Other than that, we're just soggy.

It's a little chilly in the shop, but I'm going to spend some time in there and work on my junk.

[zingshoen]

thanks heaps for thinking of us!

up north all hell broke loose, but it wasn t as bad as they expected, coz the cyclone veered south and hit two small towns instead of cairns. but a lot of people lost most of what they had. the mind boggles over the amount of frustration many folks are going through. it remains to be seen how the financial aid is going to be allocated and how things will be for whom in a year for now.

i liked this little write-up, though:

http://www.themonthly.com.au/queensl...ex-miller-2990

if you dont feel like reading the whole thing, here s two bits:

"Though vast and devastating and deeply tragic, today’s floods are not something new but a part of an old established pattern in the Queensland climate. The flood of 1898 was far bigger than anything we’ve seen in modern times. "

"Indigenous people speak of the 100-year flood. Some even of the 1000-year flood, stories of which have been kept alive in their oral traditions. And despite global warming – I am not a sceptic – our records show that the old weather patterns have not noticeably changed in Queensland over the past 150 years of white settlement. "

as for me, i m in south east qld, 1700 kms from cairns, the cyclone didn t affect us, but a lot of flood affected properties are on the market for cheap.

we have muggy weather, max 31 in the day, min 25 at 6 am, so the heat sticks to you, but it s not too bad when there s a breeze. i took the side panels off of my computer and put the pedestal fan in front of it. riding the zong with a rocket mc jacket with a woven fabric that lets the air through is pleasant enough. one of the good things here is that we can ride all year round (except when it buckets down in the rainy season).

[jape]

Glad you are OK!

The patterns are worldwide it seems, look at the winter in Northern hemisphere.
There are climate fluctuations that have nothing to do with global warming, I do agree. I remember a couple that had people scratching their heads over my 60 years, including one day in a heatwave in SE England fifty years ago when the sky was green, yup, bright green for a few hours and everyone thought the world 's end was nigh! But I find nothing about that in the records and no one had an explanation at the time, either volcanoes or sunspots, the usual culprits.

It is certainly climate change though, however caused and whether it is fixed or just an aberrant season. Last night was 4 degrees here. That is not usual summer weather!

On another note, how do you find those mesh jackets? Do they have enough protection, what is the material they use? Yesterday was cool enough for me in Vic that full leather required two layers underneath for comfort on the bike but last week we had a period of four or five days near or on 40. I was rather hot in all the gear!

[Weldangrind]

Thanks for checking in Zingshoen. BTW, I really enjoyed that article; good to know that basic human decency and kindness is alive and well in Australia.

[jape]

Yeah, and very quickly the 'opposition' politicians have jumped in and delayed and tried to stop things, the Insurance companies are refusing to pay many, many claims depending on their definition of what is a storm, flood etc. and of course, a few looters are getting around to take advantage.

Some people near me have had four floods in this season. Maybe time for them to move!

There are many, many good souls but the institutions we allow to run us, and our very own communities have so much greed and malice built in. I try so hard to see good in human nature but frankly, in the end it proves out as basically selfish and small minded.

I can almost understand a bunch of young men trying to 'rescue' a boat for themselves from the wreckage in the bay after the floods, not exactly community minded and certainly driven by envy and greed, but I cannot understand the mindset of those that deliberately loot the possessions of those driven out of home by disaster, fear and despair.

[zingshoen]

joe rocket is the brand name, mine cost 250 new, i like it. in south east queensland i wear it 6 months of the year, it is much lighter than my leather jacket, it has heaps of padding, in fact more so than my leather mc jacket: shoulder, elbows, forearms and back.

in melbourne i would have used it for 2.5 months of the year! it has a weatherproof insert, so it is useful in a cool change and against coolish winds. also possible to wear under another jacket, as it is light enough.

***

in many areas of public life and industry, selfishness abounds, and, more particularly, it is covered up by a faceless yet coercive system, geared by representatives of lobbies who are not under public scrutiny. their idea of freedom is the freedom of making money on a huge scale.

but all i can do is to remember voltaire: the world is for tyrants. make sure you live.

and, i would add, my actions are truly the inheritance i leave behind, so i try to be careful.