And Then There Was Flood

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This week is set to break flood records set in 1952 in NSW as this wild and unwelcome weather hammers the east coast of Australia. We are nearly in December and it should be summer - this morning it's 6 degrees and I'm snuggled up with a hot water bottle listening to the rain.

Yesterday, picking up plywood in town, I have to detour as the Barwon River floods across a major road. The guy who serves me shakes his head and drawls that he hasn't ever seen anything like it. He has a caravan up on the Murray he hasn't been able to access for weeks, nor the insurance people. The park is underwater, shut for the forseeable. Yesterday a cargo train derailed in the next town from us, we presume from a flooded line, containers crushed against each other and crumpled. Lines are affected everywhere, transport disrupted, post delayed, businesses closed due to flooding or access. Little spot disasters everywhere.

In one town in NSW with a population of 700, more than one in five residents have been rescued by helicopter or boat, often by rooftop. In that state they are in the 62nd day of this flooding event. In South Australia students that were meant to sit exams today couldn't - schools were without power after savage weekend storms which generated more than 100,000 lightning strikes and winds of up to 106km/h.

Jamie loves weather events and is constantly checking his phone. The rain band on the weather app covers the entire east coast often - that's massive rain band measuring more than 3000 odd kilometers.

Meanwhile, it's snowing in Tasmania.

May I repeat again that it's summer?

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As I write this it feels like deja vu. We have experienced this kind of weather before. We are a country of extremes. But all over the world it seems, people are experiencing floods of unprecedented levels, or at least close to extreme precedents. In Pakistan, a third of the country was hit by heavy rainfall in the second part of the year which killed more than 1,000 people. In Nigeria more than 600 people died in record floods, and thousands displaced. In Venezuela, a dam collapsed, washing away everything in it's path. There's been floods in Asia too. Here on Hive I notice it because people are writing about the impact of rain on their gardens, and for some it's a greater concern than others as it's a primary source of extra food for their family.

We can argue against climate change but this is appearing as a fairly strong pattern. Sydney, for example, isn't just experiencing unseasonable rain. Data shows that short-duration rainfall events in this city are increasing by 40 per cent in the past 20 years. This isn't usual climate variability. This is change.

Here, I listen to the frogs and check the flooding in the lower field. There are mosquitos everywhere. They enter the house on washing and in clouds around children and family pets. The stores are selling mosquito zapper racquets - thank goodness we picked one up or I'd be cleaning blood splatters from walls and ceiling. There are trees down - the soggy soil causes them to lose their grip on the earth.

Dare I say it, but this all feels apocalyptic?

There's not much we can do against this. I buy a few extra food items and stuff them in my stores. But in the end, this is what it is. We have to adjust, over and over again, as the levees of our prior experience break.

With Love,

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36 comments
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The emotion, and the poetry of your words reaches deep within me sister. Especially this line.

We have to adjust, over and over again, as the levees of our prior experience break.

We're coming to Melbourne in just a few week's time. I wonder what we'll find when we get there?

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Oh I was in Melbs today seeing my grandmunchkin, it's lo good!

And thanks, that line just came out of nowhere and I quite like it too!

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Yay for grandmunchkin time! 😍🤗😀

I'm also looking forward to hugging my tiny ones (Nephew in ACT... still tiny, but not for long! Neice in Sydney... big enough to tell me she's not tiny anymore 😂 and may well refuse cuddles !LOL)

Hope your place is doing okay. 🙏🙏🙏

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Awwwwww it's pretty spesh! Any plans on kiddos yourself? Not that it's important... Just a question 💚

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Nope! Brad has an adult son. He loves him, doesn't need more. I worked out several years ago that I love children but don't need or even want to birth or raise one of my own. I'm happy loving the many, many children I get to meet as I travel through life, especially the ones that are connected to me through an adult I'm bonded with.

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Climate change is real. For sure. We are seeing it right now. But it is like Big Tobacco all over again where the amount of disinformation pumped out there by fossil fuel companies who make staggering amounts of profit and don't want that harmed that is at the root of the hostility people have to accepting that we are ruining the planet.

Bastards.

Were you buying the plywood to build a big ark? :OD

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Yeah it's bizarre. I had a friend mention frigging cloud seeding to me today, like the Australian government has any kind of brains to pull off some kind of fast one on the people. It's like we believe anything but the fact we are finally experiencing what they'd been saying all along.

Oh the irony is that we are building a Defender camper as diesel prices reach all time highs and people talk about electric vehicles as the saviour of the people, because of course they'd rather shift it on public responsibility over the big companies that are responsible for all of the fucketyness.

Hopefully we'll get a few good years out of it before it all ends.

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Cloud seeding. I love the fanciful nonsense that as you say they will believe anything that is put out there rather than the straight-up boring truth that it's us wrecking the joint.

A few years would be good, can but hope! :O)

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Here in Johannesburg, South Africa, the unseasonable rain is flood suburbs on a daily basis. It’s also disrupting mobile Internet access and drenching power stations. I agree; apocalyptic! 🥲

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We are all shaking our heads and getting used to it at the same time.... Let's hope the rains ease there and some calm weather aheead for you guys x

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It is so sad to see what is happening across the state and now there is real danger in other states also. Please be safe out there.

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It's kinda scary going out in this weather ... You never know what's going to happen. I was in the west today... Went to the Footscray Market

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Oh should have reached out could have had a coffee! I haven't been to Footscray in a while I used to go to the butchers and Fish monger there to get food. It's a lot different today than it was when I was a kid.

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Yes the climate change is affecting many areas of the world in various way. From floods to wildfires and everything in between. One would think that we would wake up by now seeing the damage we’re causing with greed 💙

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I think we are waking up,but then immediately anaethetizing with the drugs they give us to keep us calm.

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That’s another story! It goes deep 🙄

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I've found the changes alarming for many years now. This year it just got worse. Who ever heard of daffodils up in November in New England???

I've had a premonition that this winter was going to be a hard one. Has started off pretty much as such, but with very weird very warm periods in between the cold. I think we are in for it now...

Knock wood I am in the 200 year flood plain, so flooding isn't likely here. It was the drought this summer...

More and more it does seem to becoming apocalyptic...

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Wow, what a weather lately… it is shifting so much.
Everybody notices now and climate change is happening. If we want to or not.
The difference we see around is just crazy.
We are moving out of Spain next month… for many reasons but one of them is the extreme weather in the south. It wasn’t like that 8 years ago. 😑
Take care… and keep cuddling that hot water bottle…
soooo good for cold days hahaha 🤣

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Well here in Vermont, its winter and properly snowed today 🙂 The boring normal can be comforting these days. The world is definitely changing.

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@riverflows,


Dare I say it, but this all feels apocalyptic?


Man sakes! When we go saying that, people hand us those pointy aluminum foil hats! 😁 Mother Nature has a way of taking care of herself. But I admit, things do seem a little... off?

I've been dealing with the usual "life" issues. But try to stop sometimes, and retrace my steps back, to the places I have walked before...

You know... check in on dear friends.


It's good to see you are still spreading positive energy and love on the blockchain. Hope you are doing ok... have a wonderful day today!

@tipu curate
!LUV

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Truly, a fearful issue that is emerging stronger and stronger as time is moving. Hopefully, the current G 20 summit reaches some solid conclusion on this.

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I despair that they will.. I don't hold faith in those in charge at all.

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I can't agree less with that as well.

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Oh my gosh. I appreciate you adding all of the info about other areas and the storms and flood damages they’ve been having. Definitely doesn’t sound or look like Summer.

I’ve been hearing people in my parts talking about preparing for a really rough winter and they are gathering supplies and stocking up on needed things. We’re in the process of stocking up our pantry and deep freezer.

Please be safe when you go outdoors my friend and I hope you don’t experience any property damage. My heart and prayers go out to those who have lost their homes and the families who have lost their loved ones. 😞

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For you guys it's the winter freeze I guess. I am in the process of restocking now. Boxes under the bed. It's all a bit crazy worldwide. Not much to be done that what you can do to look after yourself and nearest and dearest. Much love and nice to see you here.

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(Edited)

Randall Carlson does fantastic work on this and I agree that it’s disheartening to see it occur however it’s all cyclical. There is one thing that’s for sure it’s that weather is not constant. We can’t predict what it’s going to do in a few weeks never mind what’s going to happen in a year or two or ten.

I know it’s difficult but you have to remember this happened back in 1952 when the record was set for rain. If we are to think industrialization is the cause then why would it occur in 1952 when there really wasn’t the industrialization we know today across the world? Records have been broken here in New England too but they were records from the 1930’s so the odd weather happened then as well.

I know we are doing damage to the planet on some scale but I don’t think it’s to the extent that we may think. It’s more of poisoning the atmosphere with shit that eventually comes down, than saying the weather events are more extreme. They are just cyclical.

Stay warm and dry and hopefully no floods or damage to your stuff!

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When I lived in Ukraine, there was a lot of rain in my city Lviv. Sometimes it rained for 40 days in a row. The earth could not take the water. Crops in the gardens and in the field were also destroyed! Several times the city was flooded that cars floated like ships. The elements are beyond the control of people!

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