Surprise!!! I got the official wedding invitation today from Mayu 🙂 So very excited! The wedding is going to be in Gold Coast. Yay!!!
I feel bad that I am not able to help her with the wedding preparation. It should be fun doing it, I suppose! Planning for a small and intimate wedding is much more fun than "mass wedding", as I call it.
I can’t believe I was complaining about the rain today, while thousands of people in Queensland have to go through one of the worst flood disasters in decades! I feel so selfish! 🙁
I want to share with you a great reporting video, showing how Brisbane was transformed into a sea. This is filmed mostly in Coronation Drive, a long road along the Brisbane River. You can see how high the water was. My alma mater, the University of Queensland, is seen badly flooded. It’s sad to see this video :(.
One of the comments on the video cracked me up!!!
johan: Great video! But where are the kangaroos?
xblghasm: they’ve become obselete because you can’t ride a kangaroo to work now because of the floods. We’re all riding sharks.
Steer clear of the stereotypes.
LOL!!!! 😀
The first three pictures below are the neighborhoods I frequently visited/passed by during my 4 years in Brisbane. And they were all completely under water! This picture was taken when the water hadn’t got to its peak of 5.5 meters yet! So, I’m bracing for more awful pictures first thing in midnight (or morning – Brisbane time).
It’s hard breaking to see these pictures! I can’t explain how sad it is to see the news every single day.
Of course, this is my favorite picture ever. The statue of Wally Lewis, nicknamed The King, who was ready to go under! I love how the Aussies still have their sense of humor alive during this devastating moment!
The statue is located in front of the Suncorp Stadium, which is already flooded. The whole rugby stadium was filled with water.
Photos was taken from here. The photo of King Wally was taken from here.
Our street in Warren Street St Lucia in the Western Suburb of Brisbane is under water, we have been forced to evacuate to designated care centre..thank God we alive.
— WamaMy place is in the yellow zone so water will pass through a corner of my block but I am on the second floor so should be alright. and 1/4 of UQ either is or will be flooded soon.
— JustinI live in Indooroopilly, which is like a little hill next to St. Lucia, but I am just a bit surprised even Indooroopilly and some other suburbs on higher ground still get flooded. Like Toowoomba which is on top of the Toowoomba ranges (like on top of a mountain).
Went out for a walk last night, there are not many cars on the road, the news told us to stay at home and avoid unecessary travel.
And at the end of the day, went to woolies*, nearly all the bread and toilet paper were gone, apparently there won’t be any trucks resupplying them for a while… maybe I need to get some bread because most of my food is in the fridge, and if the power cuts off… oops…
I’ve seen some photos from St Lucia, like the whole Sir Fred Drive is under water… And the water is to rise further until it peaks on Thursday. So I am still waiting anxiously for the water to come. Oh, and the whole Brisbane is shut down till Friday.
— Justin
The floods in 1893 (bigger than 1974 flood) didn’t even reach this property apparently, so it should be okay unless it gets worse than them. We have packed stuff just in case. If something bad happens, we can run away anytime :)
— MayuI’m at my parents’ house now in Kenmore, which is an unaffected suburb. I just have my fingers crossed for my apartment in Toowong which is not far from the Regatta hotel opposite the river! And my contents are uninsured 🙁
— GeorginaAlhamdulillah gw ga kena sih. Tapi daerah sekitar gw udah evakuasi. Insya allah ga papa lah ya..
— Kiki
Still waiting for updates from more friends…
The bottom line is: THE WORST IS YET TO HAPPEN! 🙁
(*) Note: "woolies" is short for Woolworths, a supermarket chain in Australia.
I seriously couldn’t sleep well today. I was too worried with the floods in Queensland. As expected, when I woke up, Brisbane was flooded already. The city (CBD) was closed and people were evacuated in some areas. The worst is yet to come. People are saying that the flood will be worse than the 1974 floods. The combined capacity of dams in Queensland is 100% and is overflowing.
It shocks me. I couldn’t stand looking at those pictures. I was there. I knew the area. The good thing is that Brisbane is not a flat city. There are some high-lying areas so if people can evacuate on time, they’ll be alright. And I have to say, I’m impressed by how the government is handling the disaster. Maps of low-lying areas were published so that people would stay alert. Authorities are ready to evacuate people before the floods reached the area. But as the flood now covers the area the size of France and Germany combines, I fear the worst un-imaginable situations could happen.
Thankfully, my friends have been sending me updates and they are okay. Those who haven’t sent me any news, I can just pray for them :(. If you have time, please pray for those in Queensland!
It’s been a devastated month for Queensland (actually, MONTHS!). I watched the videos in shock!!! The flood has hit Towoomba, a city very near to Brisbane! The water will reach Brisbane soon :(. I’ve been so worried about my friends over there. I have a good friend of mine whose family is in Rockhampton, one of the hardest hit area in Queensland. I’ve been trying to contact him with no success. I hope he and his family are okay.
I pray that all of my friends in Queensland are going to be alright. Hope the situation is getting better soon. Amin.
It just happened that I was still registered to the newsletter of the Brisbane‘s Mayor, Campbell Newman. I was practically surprised to read a number of measures and initiatives he had done or was planning to do to raise awareness about the possible flood in Brisbane and to make its residents better prepared for the disaster.
+ Completed and made public local flood studies.
+ Made free flood reports available online for individual properties.
+ Made free flood flag maps available online with comprehensive information relating to flooding.
+ Installed flood warning lights on ‘at risk’ roads.
+ Implemented tough planning controls to prohibit development below the one in 100 year flood mark.
+ Conducted public education campaigns to raise awareness of the risks of suburban flooding in Brisbane.
+ Introduced a free SMS service (Early Warning Network) for Brisbane residents to advise them in advance of bad weather in their local area.
+ Funded a flood buyback scheme to purchase worst affected homes.
+ Investing more than $50m each year to reduce the impacts of flooding including desilting at 100 locations this financial
I mean, come on, Brisbane hasn’t experience any significant flooding since 1974, but they wanted to make sure that this disaster would never repeat again. So as soon as the increase in rainfalls was detected, they took some steps to mitigate flooding.
The approach that he took is EXTREMELY different than that of the governor of Jakarta, who did nothing to prevent the annual infamous Jakarta’s flood from happening. Even so, he blamed the weather for it. Maybe he should learn from Mayor Newman, or even better, the Dutch!!!
After such a tiring day, I found myself looking through the pictures taken when I was in Brisbane, Australia. It was almost three years ago that I finally said farewell. Now I miss it again… I’ll come back, one day! 🙂
This is the apartment I shared with Jenn and Mayu, where we lived for 2 years. It was in this living/dining room that we constantly played poker and Big Two until late at night, watched a Korean drama series for two days non-stop, and had dinner with friends. A lot of memories here!
And of course… having a barbie (which is an Aussie slang for BBQ) at our apartment 🙂
Will and Jenn were posing, just before we watched Miss Saigon. It was the first time for the three of us to watch a musical theater! I love this picture! 😀 Awesome time, great musical 🙂
Exploring museums and having an afternoon walk on the banks of Brisbane River in South Bank with my housemates and Mayu’s mom. It was such a great weather!
This was taken at my farewell dinner in South Bank. I remember I had this farewell a week BEFORE exams, when I didn’t even know whether I would be graduating or not! Hahaha! I had no choice! Good thing that a lot of people showed up. It was one of the best nights!
One of the foods that I really miss? Definitely Nando’s! Well, true, it’s not an Aussie food, but I can’t find it in the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, or even in Indonesia!!! How sad! I have to go all the way to Singapore or Malaysia to eat this! Somebody needs to open a Nando’s branch in Jakarta!!! I’m sure we’ll love it! and… oh… they really should make an EXTRA EXTRA EXTRA HOT Peri-Peri sauce! Hehehe.
One of my favorite pictures. Singapore, Indonesia, India, Taiwan 🙂
Not to miss, the colorful trees (including the purple Jacaranda) around Brisbane during spring. It’s beauuuuuuutifuuuuul! 🙂
Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose.
— Kevin Arnold
I was sent an invitation to attend the UQ Centenary Reception in London both via post and email. The event will be held to celebrate the 100 years of UQ. Too bad I can’t attend the event. The idea of applying a UK visa is already too complicated for me. And I won’t be in Europe during that time.
It’s just crazy how much money UQ has spent for these centenary events since the beginning of this year! The reception itself has been held in 12 cities in 9 different countries! It was even held in Jakarta, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Bangkok all together. Sadly, I missed all of them and I’ll miss another event again.
Things I miss about UQ:
Happy 100 birthday, UQ!
Damn, I’m proud to be the alumnae of the University of Queensland 🙂
And I miss the delicious pizza at the campus…. 🙁
