Brisbane flooding and bits and pieces...PUBLICATION PARTY CONTINUES TO RAGE IN THE FOLLOWING POST! Don't miss author Christine Bell...

Here is an update on the Brisbane flood situation. My sympathies also go out to the poor people in Brazil who are facing a similar disaster but I fear will not have the resources to cope as well as we have. Kudos to our brave citizens who plucked people from floodwaters, volunteers who're helping everywhere, Brisbane City Council, State Government, police and Federal Government. Our world has run amok and we little humans are powerless against the mighty forces of nature.

The Gallery of Modern Art. Looks okay, but the ground floor is submerged as is the restaurant underneath. Taken from the Kurilpa Bridge which links my street across the Brisbane River to the Cultural Centre, South Bank.

The side of the GOMA, looking towards West End, one of the first suburbs to be inundated. A big mop up is currently underway there. West End is an iconic suburb, full of ethnic restaurants including my favourite, Punjabi Palace.

Looking across (I'm still on our bridge) towards our high-rise section of the CBD. My apartment is behind the tallest apartment building. The waters have receded a little from their peak when I took this shot, but as you can see these buildings were not in any danger. Usually you can see walkways/cycle paths beside the expressway along the river edge.

From my vantage point on the bridge, this is part of the Cultural Centre, South Bank. Here you see the State Library, the Museum, the Edge (a centre of innovation for people under 30), then the South Bank restaurant precinct. All have been inundated on the ground floor. Our walkways/cycle paths are submerged in the foreground. This was the view from my deck so I could keep an eye on it.

Looking towards the Victoria Bridge and the centre of the CBD as the River was rising. The Riverside Expressway on the left went under during the night.

Sandbags in Queen Street Mall the night before the peak was expected. It didn't get flooded...but Louis Vuitton was taking no chances.

Watching the river rise. That is one of our walkways/cycle paths beside the river. The waters went well over the top during the night. That is our newest toll bridge on the right. One of our favourite floating riverside restaurants upstream floated alright, right into this bridge - kapow! No more anniversaries and birthdays there!

 Looking back downriver to the city. Waters rising, pontoons etc floating downriver. Water, water everywhere and lots more to come. All of this went well under.

Enteprising backpacker traveller centre urging the tourists to head north.

Major South Bank pontoons going under. The river came right in over all of this parkland. We only just got back from our photo sortie in time!

Watching the waters rise was definitely a camera moment. Those are the edges of walkways you can see, looking across to the city from South Bank.

Just this morning I went hunting. Came home pretty empty handed. Good for the diet!

There's a few limes and avocadoes and some bruised mangoes left. That's about all in the fruit and vege dept. Eek, I'll have to resort to frozen with lots of guacamole!

Can't do without our coffee. Coffee vans along the street dispensing energy by the cupful. Our brave police hate being snapped. Sorry guys! Please don't arrest me!

Volunteers putting the sand on the South Bank beach to good use. Filling sandbags to save the shops.

The backpackers just keep arriving. Maybe they'll help wash the mud off the streets! At least the worst is over we hope.

So we're going to be busy cleaning up for weeks, months, across Queensland. We're all waiting anxiously for people to be found. We know there's lots of sad news to come.

I hope this photo essay was informative and reveals a little of what we're going through.

There is a book in the pipeline, 100 Stories For Queensland where writers are invited to submit flash fiction up to 1000 words as a way to raise money to help us rebuild. The subject matter is to be uplifting - no death, disaster, bleak storylines. Only one submission per person. I don't have the guidelines link as I'm on another computer, but it is all over facebook! I posted it yesterday. It'd be cool if you could donate a story. I'm working on my story now!

Denise :)