Thursday 28 April 2011

Cause of the Floods

Queensland’s devastating floods are the result of heavy rains caused by two normally unconnected weather phenomena.
La NiƱa is a seasonal interaction between the Pacific Ocean and the Earth’s atmosphere to the east of Australia.
The trade winds, the prevailing pattern of easterly winds in the tropics, force warmer water to "pool" in the western Pacific.
This warm water is trapped off the Australian coast, fuelling cloud development and rainfall.
To the northwest of Australia, the annual monsoonal low pressure trough brings wet weather and heavy rain to the region.

Impact of the Floods

The 2010–2011 floods killed 35 people in Queensland. As of 26 January, an additional nine people were missing. At least seventy towns and over 200,000 people were affected.

Mining contractors
- Anglo American , Aquila Resources , Vale , Macarthur Coal , Rio Tinto , Wesfarmers and Xstrata own mines in Queensland which are either fully or partially under force majeure, which releases them from supply obligations. - BHP Billiton declines to disclose how much capacity is subject to force majeure. BHP has a joint venture with Japan's Mitsubishi Development.
- Peabody Energy , which has annual production capacity of more than 10 million tonnes in Queensland, has declined to specify which of its mines are under force majeure. The company cut its 2010 profit forecast last week, citing the flood damage in Australia. - Coal producer New Hope Corp said on Tuesday it had suspended all operations at its Queensland mines.

Mining contractors

- Leighton Holdings has halted work on Brisbane's $4.1 billion Airport Link, the firm's largest infrastructure project. Leighton said a number of its Queensland construction and contract mining operations might be affected by the weather, but the earnings impact would take time to assess.
- Downer EDI said on Wednesday all of the coal mines where it works in Queensland were running and it did not expect much impact on earnings. Some analysts said they expected operations to be affected.
- Industrea said only one of its mining services contracts was affected, at Cockatoo Coal's Baralaba mine. Industrea said it did not expect a material impact.
- UBS analysts say other mining service contractors exposed to the floods include Macmahon Holdings , Emeco Holdings , and Bradken .
- Boom Logistics said the wet weather had cut $1.2 million from its December earnings before interest and tax.

Port/rail operators
- Ports and rail operator Asciano said Wednesday floods had shut coal mines and damaged rail lines, warning the revenue forecast for its Pacific National Coal unit was likely to be hit.
- QR National , Australia's largest coal-freight company, has closed two rail lines servicing coal mines in Queensland. Parts of its Blackwater rail line are underwater, while it said on Tuesday a line servicing mines northwest of Brisbane had been closed.
- The Port of Brisbane has been closed. Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal has been exporting coal at about 60 per cent of normal volumes in January, a spokesman for the port said Wednesday. Gladstone Port Corp said Monday it has not received any coal supplies for export since early last week due to disruptions. Neither Gladstone or Dalrymple provided an update on Tuesday.

Agriculture
Australia's wheat, sugar and cotton exports are expected to be hit by flooding, while fertiliser makers may also be hurt by reduced sales.
- Incitec Pivot is exposed on fertiliser sales to farms and ammonium nitrate sales to miners. It was too early to estimate the impact on the group's earnings, a spokesman said. It suspended operations on Dec. 23 at the 220,000 tonnes a year ammonium nitrate plant at Moura, a joint venture with Wesfarmers . The company plans to restart production this week and return to full production by the end of next week, depending on road access to Bowen Basin coal mines, a spokesman said.
- Farm chemicals maker Nufarm expects some lost sales in the near term due to ruined crops, mainly cotton and sugar. In the medium term, it sees the improved soil moisture driving strong demand for a number of products, but said it was too early to quantify.
- GrainCorp , Australia's largest grain handler. Floods halted transportation of grains in Queensland last week, but the harvest was already largely complete in that state, which anyway accounts for a small share of national output.
- Queensland Sugar Ltd, Australia's biggest sugar exporter, said it was buying more raw sugar from Brazil and Thailand as floods damage sugar cane crops.

Retailers

- Supermarket operators Wesfarmers and Woolworths face logistical issues getting produce into affected areas, according to local media. Woolworths said last week about 47 of its stories were affected.
- Shares in retailer The Reject Shop were placed in a trading halt Wednesday as the company assessed the impact of floods on a distribution centre in Queensland which services 90 of its 211 stores.
- Department store owners Myer Holdings and David Jones shut stores in flood-affected areas, according to local media.
- Paint manufacturer DuluxGroup has temporarily shut down a manufacturing plant in Queensland.
- Soft drinks bottler Coca-Cola Amatil warned on Jan. 6 that wet weather and a cooler summer would affect its earnings.
- Surfwear maker Billabong cut profit forecasts in December due to the wet weather.

Insurers
The Insurance Council of Australia, representing general insurers, says early estimates show insurers may pay out $150 million from 4,300 claims received, but this estimate was made before flash floods hit Toowoomba and raced toward Brisbane.
- Queensland's biggest insurer Suncorp Metway has received 2,500 claims so far from Queensland floods, while Insurance Australia Group has received 900 claims, including those from a tropical cyclone.
- Shares in QBE Insurance have also declined on concern about the impact of flood claims, although the level of claims received was not available.

Tourism

Fragile corals and marine life are under threat from floods flushing toxic sentiment into the Great Barrier Reef.
Queensland Tourism says rain will hurt the industry, with police telling motorists to stay off the roads in premier tourist destinations such as the Sunshine and Gold Coast. Travellers being urged to cancel holidays.
Qantas Airways says no immediate impact on flights but analysts expect bookings will be affected going forward. Virgin Blue shares fell 3.4 per cent on Wednesday due to fears about the impact of floods on bookings.

Coal seam gas
Coal seam gas drilling in Queensland's Surat Basin has been halted due to floods. - Easternwell Group, being acquired by Transfield Services , has ceased drilling in the region. The company is drilling wells for Australia's Santos , Malaysia's Petronas and state-run Korea Gas Corp .
- Canada's Savanna Energy says it has two rigs which cannot be reached. Savanna is drilling wells for Origin Energy Ltd and ConocoPhillips .

Others

- Refiner Caltex expects production to restart on Thursday at its Brisbane refinery, which it shut down last week due to an outage caused by heavy rains. A full return to production would depend on operations returning to normal at its Brisbane port, suspended due to floods. It estimated the unscheduled shutdown had cost it $5-10 million.
- The state's transport industry will be hit with hundreds of trucks stranded by flooding, according to local media.

Many species will have found higher ground but ground-dwelling fauna such as reptiles and small mammals, particularly those reliant on burrows for their shelter, will be highly impacted. Many will drown - others will become easy prey as they become stranded and exposed.
The longer it takes for the floodwaters to recede, the harder it will be for the surviving animals to find food and shelter. As with the horrific fires in Victoria, the aftermath may be significant and drawn out. Foraging for food will be difficult and most species cannot go for long without nourishment especially at this time of year when many animals have dependant offspring.
Vast tracts of riparian vegetation has been submerged or swept away. Even aquatic wildlife such as water rats, freshwater turtles and platypuses may struggle for survival in some areas.

 

Useful Links and Contact Details

Info Websites

Emergency Numbers

Flood Emergency 1800 173 349
SES 132 500
Police Flood Hotline 1300 993 191
Volunteer
1800 994 100

Donation Websites





Map Of Affected Areas

                                          Some of the worst affected areas.


Bird's eye view of Ipswich, a town torn apart by the floods.

                                                     Rivers that flooded in Queensland.

Responses of Society

More than 55,000 volunteers registered to help clean up the streets of Brisbane; with thousands more unregistered volunteers wandering the muddy streets with gumboots and mops. Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the volunteering effort showed tremendous 'Aussie spirit' and that "Right across Queensland today people have got up, marched out of their homes and gone to find people to help," she said. All across the country, people have opened their houses, their hearts and their wallets to help.


Prime Minister of Australia Julia Gillard toured flood-affected areas on 31 December, the day before Queen Elizabeth II, sent her expressions of concern and sympathy for the victims of the floods to her representative in Queensland, Governor Penelope Wensley. The Queen later made a donation to her Queensland premier's flood relief appeal, as did her son, Prince Charles. In March 2011, Prince Charles' eldest son, Prince William, toured the affected areas in Queensland, as well as those damaged by the floods in Victoria. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated, "On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I offer my condolences for the loss of life and damage in Queensland caused by the recent flooding." U.S. President Barack Obama said he was ready to help. John Key, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, held a telephone call with Prime Minister Gillard, during which she thanked New Zealand for its help. Len Brown, the Mayor of Auckland, a sister city of Brisbane, offered assistance to Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman. David Cameron, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom offered his sympathies. Downing street stated: "The Prime Minister offered his deep sympathy on behalf of the British people for those who have died, those who have lost their homes and all those who have been affected by the floods in Queensland."


The Queensland Reconstruction Authority, a body created to co-ordinate the rebuilding program, was set up. The Australian Defence Force's contribution to flood relief efforts was designated Operation Queensland Flood Assist. About 35 State Emergency Service personnel from New South Wales and 20 personnel from Victoria were deployed to provide relief to exhausted staff and volunteers. A national appeal was established on 29 December, with the state and federal governments giving A$1 million each. Small businesses and primary producers in 13 local government areas became eligible for grants of up to A$25,000 to pay for costs from damage incurred as a result of the floods. National Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements were also made available to a total of 31 local government areas across Queensland.

On 9 January, the Flood Relief Appeal: Australia Unites telethon  raised more than A$10 million in pledged aid. At the first Twenty20 cricket match between Australia and England in Adelaide on 12 January, both teams donated part of their match fees to help the victims and A$28,450 was collected from people in attendance. On 16 January, the day before the 2011 Australian Open commenced, a number of players took part in the Rally for Relief which was held at Rod Laver Arena and attended by 15,000 people, which raised A$750,000. On 27 January, the 2011 Legends of Origin charity match was contested between former New South Wales and Queensland Rugby League State of Origin players raising $380,587 to go towards the recovery effort.



Introduction To The Floods

Beginning in December 2010, a series of floods hit Australia, primarily in Queensland including its capital city, Brisbane. The floods forced the evacuation of thousands of people from towns and cities. At least seventy towns and over 200,000 people were affected.

Three-quarters of the state of Queensland was declared a disaster zone. Communities along the Fitzroy and Burnett Rivers were particularly hard hit, while the Condamine, Ballone and Mary Rivers recorded substantial flooding. An unexpected flash flood raced through Toowoomba's central business district before devastating communities in the Lockyer Valley. A few days later thousands of houses in Ipswich and Brisbane were inundated as the Brisbane River rose and Wivenhoe Dam used a considerable proportion of its flood mitigation capacity.

The 2010–2011 floods killed thirty five people in Queensland. As of 26 January, an additional nine people were missing. The Queensland floods were followed by the 2011 Victorian floods which saw more than fifty communities in western and central Victoria also grapple with significant flooding.