QUEENSLAND FLOODS

 G'Day

This posting is about the three weeks that we spent in Queensland working for a contract insurance assessing company who had been appointed by several insurance companies to assess the damage that had been caused by the floods in Queensland.

I am only going to do a basic overview of what we did up there and then let the pictures do the talking as it is difficult to put into words the destruction and devastation that the floods caused.

Maree and I were part of a six person team that my son David had put together to travel into the flood devastated areas in and around Brisbane.

We spent 21 days up there mainly working in Ipswich but also in Toowoomba and in Brisbane suburbs near the Brisbane river. 

The workload up there for all insurance companies was horrendous and our team was working 7 days per week, 14 hour days for 21 days straight.

There were many hundreds of assessors on the ground both in Brisbane and also in North Queensland where the cyclone hit, who I imagine were doing similar hours.

The temperature and humidity up there was unbearable and as soon as you got out of your motel room. each morning, to get into the car you were basically drenched and wet for the day. It was very uncomfortable.

The humidity was the worst and added to that there was several days of torrential rain which made it extremely difficult to keep your paperwork dry let alone your self.

However the conditions that we as assessors had to endure was nowhere near as bad as the difficulties, heartache, despair and despondency that a lot of affected people had to endure due to their losses.

Apart from the fact that many people who were affected by these floods, the final nail in the coffin for a high percentage of them was the fact that they were not covered for flood damage by their insurance company.

These were the hardest jobs to do, from a personal point of view, as most of them had an expectation that they were covered for their losses.

A lot of people just put up "For Sale" signs and walked away as they were in the 1974 floods and this was the second time that they had been wiped out.

The pictures that follow speak for themselves and I hope give an insight to what people have endured due to these floods.

The flood level for this house went over the top of the house

The kitchen in most houses had lots of damage

Another kitchen

1 metre water level

Foundations undermined requiring engineers inspection 

Another kitchen

Complete bathrooms

Kitchen appliances destroyed

Speaks for itself - one of the lower heights - The houses to the left down the street were probably submerged

Water line 2 metres

All contents destroyed

Water line inside the house

This was a Tri-Level house and this is stairs to the third level

Undermined foundations requiring engineers report

Most devastating ones were the ones where the house was completely submerged in water

Water flow stripped this kitchen cupboards

Water level 1.5 metres high

Water level not very high but just as damaging

Over the top water level - this was a brand new kitchen fitted days prior to the floods

All of these photos are unrelated to each other and are random samples of just some of the many hundreds of photos that Maree and I took during our inspections.

They probably don't do justice to the amount of pain and suffering that people suffered during the floods but I hope that they give an insight into what we saw up there.

My next posting will be over the coming weeks and will bring us up to date with whats been happening up to now.

See ya all soon

Bill and Maree