Already in December the northern part of Queensland got inundated, and it was just a matter of time when the floods would reach Brisbane. After further torrential rainfalls the flood came on Tuesday, 11 January. Our company asked us to leave the offices at noon time because the management wanted to make sure that everybody would be able to make it home safely back to their families. The water level went up steadily, however they finally remained under the levels of the big flood of 1974. The garage of our company building became flooded, and the energy supplier disconnected the entire area from power. If I remember correctly approx. 20,000 buildings became disconnected from power over the rest of the week, most properties became reconnected after a couple of days. Our company’s power generator did not engage, we stayed at home for two days until we were able to return back into the office on Friday.
The devastation in the areas near the river was shocking. All ferry terminals were destroyed, unmanned yachts, pontoons, a floating restaurant were washed down the river and crashed against bridges. Homes were flooded, cars went under, families lost their homes and thousands of people spent several nights in evacuation centres.