Stalins Organ Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 someone's been busy with their camera - ABC webpage - drag mouse over photos 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 What mess! It's gonna cost a fortune to clean all that up. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Other Means Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Crikey, terrible. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
costard Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 "Industry on Donaldson Rd, Rocklea" - the sewage farm went under, eh? Yeah, big, but not as big as when the Mississippi flooded in 93. And Pakistan copped it much, much worse not very long ago. And we needed the rain - what's the big deal? Oh, right, yeah, a media organisation with a story to tell and people in place to sell, sorry, tell it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironbar Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Have you ever noticed that with floods in english speaking countries, there is always kayak guy paddling through the flooded neighborhoods? He was in the video coverage of the Christchurch flooding SO linked to in the forum a couple of months ago, and in the Rosalie Villiage shots in this thread. While some might debate the 'english speaking' part of my point in the next instance in our recent flooding in Nashville, he made an appearence as well. What motivates these guys to take the aquarian challenge in the urban enviroment; "Oh look, the flood waters have comprimised the city sewage system, lets go kayaking in the effluent!" Not to mention the wonderful cornacopia of hazardous stuff flowing from flooded car batteries, gas tanks, dumpsters, and the mundane toxic crap people, (usually older folks) nonchalantly store in their garages- (you know the five gallon cans of toxic cleaning solution the neighbor bought in 1965, right before the pinks in the government declared them hazardous chemicals and banned their use). We hardly ever see this in other cultures do we? Is it something in Anglo culture; the streets are flooded- go fetch the recreational water craft. And it's always kayakers, never jet skiers or scuba divers, perhaps it worthy of a study- Kayaking makes you dumberer? As a disclaimer, I own a kayak myself, and am always ready to put it in the water, but not a t the sewage treatment plant. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Other Means Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Umm - he's looking to help people? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironbar Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 with a canoe, yes I can see that (somewhat, but not very stable) you could pick up one other. A zodiac raft, even better. An aluminum or fiberglass fishing boat perfect, two to operate, you could pick up at least four or five others. A kayak? perhaps you could point out the high ground, but a kayak is far too unstable to pick someone up in( eskimo roll anyone?). 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonS Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 with a canoe, yes I can see that (somewhat, but not very stable) you could pick up one other. A zodiac raft, even better. An aluminum or fiberglass fishing boat perfect, two to operate, you could pick up at least four or five others. A kayak? perhaps you could point out the high ground, but a kayak is far too unstable to pick someone up in( eskimo roll anyone?). Yes, exactly. Whenever I'm confronted with urban flooding I always go into my garage and select from my vast array of watercraft the one most suitable for the current conditions. Why would anyone use their kayak when they could just grab the zodiac or the fishing dinghy sitting right alongside it? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stalins Organ Posted January 19, 2011 Author Share Posted January 19, 2011 "Industry on Donaldson Rd, Rocklea" - the sewage farm went under, eh? Yeah, big, but not as big as when the Mississippi flooded in 93. According to news reports almost 12 times the area flooded - 30,000 sq miles in the Mississippi one, approx 350,000 sq miles in Queensland - the usual quote is "about half" of Queenslands 715,000 sq miles is flooded. This one says the area was larger han France and Germany combined, but doesn't give a figure - Metropolitan France and Germany add up to almost 350,000 square miles (900k sq km) And Pakistan copped it much, much worse not very long ago. About 70,000 sq km and 2000 dead, millions homeless And we needed the rain - what's the big deal? Oh, right, yeah, a media organisation with a story to tell and people in place to sell, sorry, tell it. Aus is lucky it affected an area that is not as heavily populated and is probably better built and drained as the ones you mention, or Brasil for that matter, but it was a very, very large area. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironbar Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 That's just it Jon, you can't use a kayak, the narrow beam rolls with almost any lateral pressure. Kayaks are for pleasure sport, but not very useful for amatuer rescue attempts. Oh, and I keep the bass boat BEHIND the garage, my canoe and kayak are the only watercraft IN the garage. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigduke6 Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Perhaps the thinking is that some one might be marooned or otherwise isolated and in distress from the flooding, and what with the communications somewhat degraded a kayaker might well be able to do a Good Deed. Or perhaps the expedition is made in the spirit of opportunism; when houses and businesses are flooded out the doors, windows, guard dogs, and alarm systems frequently are compromised. Therefore an enterprising kayaker might come upon bit of unsecured yet valuable debris. (Sure you can't fit a wide-screen TV inside a kayak, but the water would kill the TV anyway. But there are always PDAs and jewelry and so forth from McMansions upper floors.) Whether the Aussie suburban kayakers are motivated by Christian or criminal intent is of course not so easy to tell. Personally, I would like to think that having been a prison colony way back when has something to do with it. National stereotypes are a fine thing and I support them. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Is it something in Anglo culture... It's very Edwardian, you know. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironbar Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 I'd rather doubt the criminal intent, you would hope they might be far more stealthy if the were looting (although that wasn't the case in New Orleans, except of course for the NOPD who did demand the cameraman stop filming). But then their ancestors DID get caught,, 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.