On my mind...

It has been raining here for a number of weeks now. On my mind now is  concern for those people in the communities in various parts of the state that have been flooded. Apparently 3 river systems are involved and that's a lot of area. As a comparison, the area flooded is likened to the area of Germany and France put together. The scary thing is that some towns downstream of the present flooding face flooding in the weeks to come as the wall of flood waters continues to flow.
Some communities were also flooded last year. Many people cannot access flood insurance and face a dismal future. Farms and businesses will not survive; banks will foreclose. Our Brisbane newspaper has told stories of bravery, mateship and support and utter destruction but the Aussie tradition of 'she'll be right mate; take it as it comes' shines through. The damages bill is estimated at several billion which includes clean-up, rebuilding as well as lost income from export earnings. Those of you reading this blog who live elsewhere might like to look at the Courier Mail website for photos. http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/gallery-e6frer9f-1225979450055?page=24

Many people want to help. Today in the media it was stated that help in the way of goods is not really viable at the moment; issues of transporting things on impassable roads, people whose homes haven't been cleaned of mud yet so can't put furniture in the houses yet so finding suitable storage for goods could be a problem. So the message is CASH is needed. Today I will organise to do just that. My heart goes out to those people who have been affected by the floods...I cannot truly know what they must be going through but it must be heart-breaking.
I guess the 'quilting and knitting communities' will be starting to organise the making of quilts and throws to give to people who have lost everything. This happened when Victoria suffered the devastation of those dreadful fires in 2009. So I can see I may be busy with either the knitting needles or the sewing machine!



This photo says it all! A young girl sits amidst the wreckage of what was once the furnishings in her home at Emerald. What a wonderful way to spend the long, summer school holidays! NOT!