Moving on

Seems that every time I have to move, we get wet weather - lol.
Found another place to buy - 4o acres - bit small, but still it will be a roof over my head, and somewhere to set up again.

The plan was to start moving some of the stuff that I dont need on a day to day basis out to the new place, and leave it so that there was a minimum of stuff for the last shift - been busy washing bedding etc before it was packed, and will start on the kitchen cupboards over the next day or so - still have a little bit to do outside as well when the weather permits.

It doesnt help that we are currently under major flood warnings - the river here is running at 13 mtrs +, and Grafton is expecting a 7.9 mtr peak this evening - about 400mm less than the last big one which lapped the tops of the levee system,and am not able to get to town

Flood side affects

Here we are nearly 2 months after the major floods that basically brought the North coast of NSW to a standstill for a week or so, and the side affects are still with us.

I have nearly finished repairing/replacing my fences (the main lines are done - just have to reset some gates etc and find some fill to put around a line of posts on one boundary. This rather pales into insignificance when you consider some people are still to start refencing whole areas of properties. - they have mainly got the boundary fences cobbled up, but have not even started on internal fencing yet.

It was also a big impact on most of the primary production in the region, the sugar cane harvest was just about to start- they were faced with waterlogged paddocks & mud covered cane with a consequent loss of value to the crop, cattle prices crashed badly for a couple of weeks, and there has been a major decline in the quality of cattle available due to the damage to the fodder, the timber industry has been living very much hand to mouth as the logging crews just could not work the bush to provide the logs to the mills.

Thankfully things are starting to return to normal, tho the actual weather patterns that we have experienced cannot necessarily be called abnormal or due to "Climate change" , - rather a return to the weather that was common here in the mid 1970's

(ps -All of the fence in the photo ended up completely washed out + a mile or so of other fences :-) )

After the floods

So now we are in recovery mode, following the floods last week over the whole North Coast NSW and southern Qld.

The flood on the Clarence River system (which starts in the Border ranges to the north, west to the Great Dividing Range, and south to the Dorrigo Plateau) was the fastest rising flood that I have seen here in 36 years, and was also the first major flood event that involved all the tribuartaries to the Clarence River System at one time. Whilst the peak levels were somewhat lower than the 2001 flood (450mm lower at Grafton), the damage bill is going to be astramonical due to the ferocity and rapid rate of rise in the river levels

Reports are starting to come in of people who have lost up to 150 head of cattle,and countless cases where people have lost their source of income for a substantial time, till they can get feed back in their paddocks, repair fences and other structures, andtry to return to a normal life.

Personally, I am one of the lucky ones who has had relativelly minimal losses. I had all of the fences on the lower parts of the property flattened, with the subsequent dramas of juggling cattle into 30% of the place for a week till the boundary fences could be rebuilt (about 700Meters) - still havnt had a chance to check out what is left of half of my internal fences - some of it may be totally gone- and havnt even got to see what damage has been done along the river banks

Still and all, once I had moved the cattle to high ground, the biggest worry that I had was the possibility of losing my electricity supply, as the fridge & freezer were stocked up for a weekend of the ruggies visit( + no pressure pump to put water into the house - lol )

In amongst all of this, we witnessed again the stupidity of a few teenagers who thought it was right to go and frolic in flood waters. A night in the cooler might have made an impression, as that is where they ended up - should have been a week or more though.

Floods etc

Over the last few days, the north coast of NSW Australia has been hit by heavy rains, winds& storms

As I type, there is an prepare to evacuate order being put over the local radio networks for Grafton and low lying areas of South Grafton ( this follows an evacuation order already in place for the communities of Ulmurra & Brushgrove which are downstream from Grafton).

After 30+ years of dealing with flood situations locally (including quite a few as a volunteer with the State Emergcy Services) , this event doesnt come as a total surprise, as it may be the first time in recorded history (including the Aboriginal memories prior to 1788) tha both of the northern and southern areas of the Clarence Catchment have been hit with high rainfalls (one area posted rainfall of 300mm {approx 12 inches} between 8 pm & 6 amthis morning) and cionsidering that the Bush workers were only just getting back into the bush, the countryside was already wet from the rains over the last few months.

It will be interesting to see what legal claims etc will be put to the local council if this does happen as there have been rather extensive developments in the low lying areas of Grafton over the last 20 or so years :)

(ps this have given me a day + off work)


pps as I type an evacuation order has just been broadcast for Grafton & low llying areas of South Grafton

Fires update and other nature events

Ok - so the fires in Victoria still go on but there was a bit of better news today with a revision of the expected final death toll back to approx 220 - they have been able to trace 70 + of the missing, believed killed to being alive.

Unfortunately the death toll currently stands at 210, which includes 3 firefighters - 2 volunteers and a professional firie who was working out of area to help out. Also there have been a couple of reasonably serious injuries, including members from brigades near me who were providing assistance. (Consider the fact that I live 800miles -1200 kms away from the fire scene and the enormity of the task might become a bit clearer)

On the other end of the continent, we have witnessed major flooding which has isolated communities and properties for weeks, with a number of deaths by drowning and one case of being taken by a croc (why any parent would condone, let alone allow a child to play near or in floodwaters beggars belief - floods are similar to wildfires, mother nature is running rampant and is totally unpredictable and unforgiving - to call playing in floodwaters "a rite of passage"
is akin to letting children play hopscotch in the middle of a major freeway.

Nearer home there has been major floodingto the south of me (Coffs harbour, Bellingen, Kempsey and a few areas south to Newcastle. I am under minor flood alert which is not a real issue to me at the moment - the river was rising on Tuesday so I pulled my pump etc out to high ground (dont need the pump at the moment, the tanks are full and rain is pattering on the roof as I type) ,and the cattle will work to the higher ground if the river does rise towards major levels, so all is well in my world in that respect as we needed this rain now to give us a chance to get some winter feed in the paddocks and some ground water back into the soil.