odysseyone

In my part of the world when we talk about the weather, it’s not usually because we have nothing else to say. Water is a popular topic, normally because there’s not enough of it. Things have changed a lot in the last few weeks and while water is still the topic of choice, it is now because we have too much and we’ve stopped praying for rain and started praying that it will stop.

I grew up in a rural town in Queensland, a town known mostly for the reason that you had to drive through it to get on to the highway to Brisbane. Once the bypass was built, the town of Gatton faded from most people’s memories. When I tell most people where I grew up, they often say, “I think I drove through there once but I can’t remember much about it.”

You can imagine it has been very strange for me to hear the name Gatton mentioned by TV hosts and journalists more in the past two days than I have heard it in my entire life. From an area that is known for its farmland, now Gatton and the even smaller communities surrounding it have become infamous across Australia.

I now live on the Sunshine Coast, where summers can sometimes be the opposite of what the name suggests and flooding isn’t uncommon. It’s usually my parents phoning me because they have heard reports of flooding up here, complaining they have had no rain, but now there’s been a complete about turn and I’m phoning them for flood updates. It’s not unusual to have summer storms and flooding in the Lockyer Valley but the sudden water surge from two days ago was unprecedented and I’m sure frightening for many people. It’s torture to be a job-hunting journalist instead of reporting on this and I would love to go home and see the damage, but I’m sure it would also be shocking. I admit I don’t get back there too often but it is frustrating that if I wanted to visit my parents, I am cut off from them by floodwaters.

What has been really encouraging in all of this is the news stories of people helping out family, friends and neighbours. Queenslanders had been reaching out to those further north last month after their towns, homes and livelihoods were devastated and now it’s the turn of those in the south east to be flood affected. It has been interesting to see how modern technology is used to speed up rescues, share emergency information and offer a helping hand. My sister found a few runaway dogs during the Toowoomba floods and used Facebook to try and find the owners and other people I know have used social networks to offer assistance and look for missing friends and relatives. The Queensland government has used the more traditional media of radio and television to broadcast updates but they have also used text messaging to share emergency information, appeal for help and have set up a website where you can report people found or missing. We live in a country where it’s not unusual to hear reports of people who have been injured or even deceased in their homes for days or weeks before anyone notices. Many homes have high fences and tight security and we think having lots of belongings will make us comfortable, safe and happy. Our culture is to keep people we don’t know well at a distance. The government has called for people to watch out for family, friends, neighbours and even strangers and I am encouraged that people have taken up the call and hope that once everything is cleaned up and life is back to normal, this renewed community spirit might remain.

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