Flooding (again!)

Its 2.30am as I write this. I’m up on ‘log watch’ because the river is in flood, fairly minor so far, but enough to bring down some logs and other flotsam. Every now and then one gets stuck on the bow, and I need to don my wet weather gear and dislodge it. And every couple of minutes there’s bump-donk-donk-donk-donk as its rattles its way along the hull. And less often but more disturbing is the bump-eeeeeeeeeeeeek kind of log that scratches its way along the boat.

Crikey! She’s only just got back in the water from fitting a new bowsprit after damage in the last flood. (See Broken Mooring entry). Right now she’s moored to a jetty – in the last flood all the boats on jetties fared better than those on moorings.  I contemplated moving downstream on anchor, but there’s a gale warning for tomorrow, and it would be a more exposed position. So I decided to stay on the jetty which is well shielded from the E/NE winds.

While I’m up I might as well check the weather, and here’s what’s happening upstream in this river right now.

click here to see pdf file

And is if that not enough to catch my attention, I checked out the flood warnings…  uh oh.  back to log watch.

FLOOD WARNING FOR COASTAL STREAMS BETWEEN NOOSA AND COOLANGATTA

Issued at 11:50 PM on Tuesday the 19th of May 2009
by the Bureau of Meteorology, Brisbane.

Periods of heavy rain are causing stream rises and some flooding in coastal
streams between Noosa and the Queensland-New South Wales border, extending
inland to the ranges. Minor flood levels have been reached in smaller Sunshine
Coast streams, in the upper Stanley River around Peachester and Burpengary
Creek. A Severe Weather Warning is current for the area. 

During the next 24 to 48 hours, further creek and river rises causing flooding
are likely throughout south east Queensland from Noosa to the Queensland-New
South Wales border and extending inland to the ranges.