Counting myself lucky

What does not destroy me, makes me stronger.~ Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche ~

I know I've talked about it in previous posts, yet I am like all fellow Australians who are absolutely horrified by the massive floods destroying Queensland, with almost 75% of the state now affected by floods. A flash flood through the town of Toowoomba yesterday has been described as an inland tsunami which claimed ten lives, with up to 78 people still unaccounted for. See video footage here - this is normally a road (not a river) and look at the speed that the blue car is moving (about 35 seconds into the video).

None of us can fathom these floods, some areas are expected to have flood levels reach up to 20 metres. Thousands and thousands of people have been evacuated and they expect it to get worse in the next few days. It just doesn't seem to be improving - all of our TV channels have live flood coverage at the moment and it is distressing to watch.

Seeing tragedy on a such a massive scale like this makes me realise that anything else that might be bugging or annoying me at the moment is so irrelevant and stupid. The televised fundraiser for flood victims which was held on Sunday night has so far raised 13 million, which when you see the extent of this devastation is just a drop in the ocean.

These people have nothing left to go home to; their homes are destroyed with many smashed to pieces or washed away, it's not just simply a bit of water inside. Hundreds of cars have been flipped over or carried away. Businesses have been destroyed, so it's not only homes and belongings that have been lost but the ability to earn a living also. That is of course providing these people are lucky enough not to have lost loved ones. Possessions can be replaced but not lives. Many of the lives which have been lost have been children, with much of the flash flooding occurring without warning or time to prepare or protect those who're vulnerable.

How do you begin to rebuild, where do you even start? Some of Australia's major industry is in Queensland with mining and farming being completely shut down. Roads are impassable and trucks with supplies can't get through.

Anything else that I was going to write in this post is now lost, none of it seems relevant today. My thoughts and prayers are with Aussies who're suffering at the moment and who have lost so much and have a hard road ahead of them to rebuild their lives.

Cheers, Fi