parkcovers

Mount Isa

on the foreshore at Cairns Queensland : www.flickr.com/photos/harrydehaan/47769061602/

Built around a tidal river, some 20 km from Moreton Bay, Brisbane often floods, usually in conjunction with La Niña events bringing heavy wet conditions and cyclonic activity across the state. ‘Surviving the river’ has subsequently become an integral part of the city’s history and people’s experience of living in Brisbane. In the aftermath of floods, communities have pulled together while governments have sometimes rallied behind ambitious schemes aimed at modifying, controlling, and predicting the river. Brisbane may experience a variety of different floods throughout the year. Flash flooding in creeks is not uncommon and results from high rainfall over the Brisbane metropolitan area. Because the Brisbane River is tidal, storm surges may contribute to flooding particularly if it coincides with a high tide. River floods are less frequent though potentially more damaging. Following heavy rainfall across the catchment, water may remain above flood height for several days causing extensive backwater flooding along smaller tributaries such as the Bremer River and Oxley Creek. Throughout Brisbane’s history, the flood has repeatedly brought challenges and demanded a response, however, they have also continued to raise important questions regarding the settlement of the floodplain, where the persistent threat of flood has often been ignored and the lessons of the past easily forgotten. Source: www.qhatlas.com.au/brisbane-floods-1893-summer-sorrow