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On this day - 1974 (Australian floods); January 25th
Topic Started: 25 Jan 2016, 08:45 AM (219 Views)
daib0
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Friday, January 25, 1974. : The devastating 1974 Brisbane floods begin


Brisbane is the capital city of the state of Queensland, Australia. The city grew up around the Brisbane River, which is fed by catchment areas in the Brisbane Valley to the west of the city. Following a particularly wet summer season for 1973-'74, the rivers in the catchment area were filled to capacity.

Cyclone Wanda made landfall on 24 January, drawing the Monsoonal Trough south, providing the extra rainfall to the Brisbane valley to produce widespread and severe flooding. The flooding commenced on 25 January 1974 as the cyclone dumped over 300mm of rain within 24 hours. Over a three-day period, 580mm of rain fell over Brisbane. There were heavier falls in river catchments and other areas, with nearby Mt Glorious recording 1,300mm in five days.

The situation was made worse by the fact that a huge container ship broke loose from the shipyards, wedging across the Brisbane River just before the mouth. This prevented the escape of the water to the sea, exacerbating the floods in the CBD. By the time the floods abated four days later, 16 people had died, 300 had been injured, and 9,000 people left homeless. Total cost of the damage, in 1974 values, was $200 million.

With the Brisbane River rising to a level of 5.45 metres, the flood was the largest in Australia in the twentieth century. As a result of the floods, measures were taken to expand Somerset Dam, which released water into the Brisbane River, and to construct another larger dam, the Wivenhoe, completed in 1985. Until the devastating floods in 2011, the dam was considered to give complete protection against any more such flooding in Brisbane.


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I didn't know anything about this. An enjoyable read.
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