Floods in Australia, a major disaster across many states

[Vindekarr]

The floods in Brisbane are starting to subside.

 

They didnt peak half as high as people expected, and now as the water llevels drop, things are nowhere nearly as bad as feared. /relief

[Kendo 2]

Bringing the 'global climate' issue into this is folly and puts a huge stink on the subject. Focus and concern should be placed with the victims of the floods and the region getting back on its feet. People have lost their lives and the devastation will be long reaching. 'Green-speak' and other unproven hypotheticals applied to the situtaion in Australia is reprehensible and the tragedy is not an opportunity to get on soap boxes spew propaganda.

[Lisnpuppy]

*sneaks in and pushes Kendo off his soap box*

 

lol

[marharth]

Bringing the 'global climate' issue into this is folly and puts a huge stink on the subject. Focus and concern should be placed with the victims of the floods and the region getting back on its feet. People have lost their lives and the devastation will be long reaching. 'Green-speak' and other unproven hypotheticals applied to the situtaion in Australia is reprehensible and the tragedy is not an opportunity to get on soap boxes spew propaganda.

I understand what your saying but this is in the debate section after all, I don't think anyone is going to debate about people losing their lives because of it.

[Kendo 2]

This topic welcomes talk also about other disasters and how people have coped. It would be good to have positivity in this topic.

 

Seems pretty clear what the OP intended and there are plenty of existing debate threads concerning 'global warming' and green agendas. And that is all I have to say about that aspect and where some members want to steer this thread.

[Maigrets]

This topic welcomes talk also about other disasters and how people have coped. It would be good to have positivity in this topic.

 

Seems pretty clear what the OP intended and there are plenty of existing debate threads concerning 'global warming' and green agendas. And that is all I have to say about that aspect and where some members want to steer this thread.

 

@ Kendo2:

Why does it matter to you where this thread goes and what people talk about as long as it's conducted in a civil manner? That's why there are moderators on these forums to keep things from going totally off track. You're not being forced to be here or to read the offending posts.

 

The positivity as mentioned by the OP can also mean discussion about Global Warming as well as the El Nino and La Nina effects which are the main cause of this disaster. It's pretty difficult to talk about the actual event without mention of the actual causes, or possible ones.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Ni%C3%B1o-Southern_Oscillation

 

The OP also asked people to post about how they would cope or are coping, and that in itself may not necessarily positive, but talking to others in similar situations can be cathartic. It doesn't need to be all doom and gloom.

 

I live in Southern Australia and am fortunate to not be in the areas affected by flooding. However, the fallout from this is going to affect the entire country for years to come. Economically, financially and in many other ways. Queensland itself produces something like 1/4 of the food the population consumes, since much of the country is desert and most production is done along and near the coastline. The mining and tourism industries have been badly damaged, but as in previous times they will manage to come back and be productive again.

 

The Australian people will recover from this as we always do when there's a crisis. The Australian spirit is strong and we rally together when something like this happens, either by monetary donation or giving our time, physically and psychologically and any other way we can. Just having someone to talk to can do wonders even when you've lost everything. Of course there will be people who suffer shock and trauma, but help is there for anyone who needs it and they will get it without strings attached.

 

The Federal and State Governments have pledged as much financial help as it takes. The Army and other emergency services are already there doing their part. The people of Queensland themselves are coming together and supporting each other.

 

I'd say that's positive.

[ginnyfizz]

I WAS going to keep out of this, but now I am not.

 

Because I am sickened at the way this has got hijacked and turned into Yet Another Global Warming warning thread. (That, I take it, would be the same global warming that recently gave us record low temperatures here in the UK. And yes, that was a piece of British sarcasm there.) Rather than thinking about helping the people who are homeless, and getting a normal life up and running, here we go again wringing our hands and doom mongering about climate change. Guess what? There have been natural disasters since ancient times, and there have been fluctuations in climate too. It is a total waste of time, and not at all helpful to those affected by these disasters, to bleat about what are we going to do to prevent future such happenings, OMG we must all change or we are doomed. Because we will NEVER prevent natural disasters from happening. We need to get over this idea that man can control everything.

 

I do not know much about the geography and topography of the affected areas in either Australia or Brazil, but I DO know that our experience of flooding in the UK (and it has not been on the epic scale of recent floods elsewhere, I realize that) has shown that it is often more to do with unwise town planning and building decisions, shoving new builds on flood plains and diverting the floods willy nilly elsewhere, than any fashionable idea of global warming. So sorry to disappoint the global warmers. So, for the future, we should recognize this factor and start making with the flood relief plans, rather than leaping on the global warming bandwagon.

[grannywils]

Thank you Silver. I too am more concerned for the lives and welfare of those most directly effected by the results of these disasters than I am by whether or not I am accused of being politically incorrect.

 

It is of great concern to me when I see these stories and know that there is very little that I can do personally to be of individual aid to those most in harms way. However, I have no problem speaking out and pointing out that these catastrophes are happening more and more often, and that it seems to me that global warming or climate change or whatever "label" one chooses is having a really negative impact on a lot of innocent lives around the world.

 

My personal belief is that in many cases this is not necessary, and I also believe that there may be very little time to stop it. Call me what you will. Accuse me of whatever "floats your boat", but there is no Beneficent Big Brother out there who will make this all go away. Just us chickens who need to keep cackling about what we see, until enough of the other little guys start cackling too.

 

Maigrets and Maharg67, I love that those people are helping one another so wonderfully. That is what human nature does when it is working at it's purest and it's finest. Don't get me wrong, I do not mean in any way to diminish that aspect of this story. If you know me at all then you know that is the sort of thing I am always "preaching". But we cannot hide our heads in the sand and pretend that these things have not been happening over and over again for some reason.

[phoneyLogic]

 

The positivity as mentioned by the OP can also mean discussion about Global Warming as well as the El Nino and La Nina effects which are the main cause of this disaster. It's pretty difficult to talk about the actual event without mention of the actual causes, or possible ones.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Ni%C3%B1o-Southern_Oscillation

 

Yes, El Nino and La Nina are affecting the Weather.

Yes, both phenomenas are affected by the so called global warming, which does exist since the beginning of the earth.

 

Is there an impact of mankind on global warming?

Controversial.

 

Can mankind do sth against "Global Warming"?

No, except removing the earths atmosphere entirely.

(Which will result in -180°C each night.)

 

It is just wrong to tell people that they could avoid such weather catastrophes by buying some new devices. This is not true. You can't stop a global warming which is causing various ice ages and other weather phenomenas since billions of years.

It doesn't help against the sun, the earth's rotation and facts like having an atmosphere with clouds and oceans... .

 

It's pretty difficult to talk about the actual event without mention of the actual causes, or possible ones.

We need to talk about settling in flood areas. Edited January 14, 2011 by tortured Tomato

[ginnyfizz]

Very nicely put, tortured Tomato, and I am glad that someone else recognizes the need to address settling in certain flood areas as well as the fact that we cannot stop the natural cycle of events. The burying of heads in the sand is being done by those who like to bring up global warming and tell us we must repent of our nassstty filthy fossil fuel ways and turn to green energy, or else. You would not want to rely on your wind turbines to generate energy to pump away the flood water, I can tell you.