And so the rains are here.

So Brisbane, the town I’ve lived in – on and off since I was a teenager, looks like it’s about to be pummelled by flood waters.

We’re not used to this type of thing here in Brisbane. We’re a capital city for goodness sake. Maryborough, Rockhampton, Townsville, those northern and extreme parts of the country are the ones that are most affected by nature’s extremes. Brisbane, well, we pull through, unaffected, right?

Apparently, not this time. Apparently, this is like some enormous payback for getting through the other times.

Yesterday, Toowoomba, a town 2.5 hours west of Brisbane, was flooded and people died in a sudden and horrific torrent of water rushing, gushing and ripping through the city streets. It’s a town that sits on a mountain range, so it’s flabbergasting how this can even happen. My dad, due to go to Toowoomba for work today, said he didn’t believe the news. Said “newsreaders always like to say the closest township so people know what, or where, they were talking about”. This is true to an extent. LSH’s family in Canada saw the floods in Rockhampton and were told through their newscasters the images were from Brisbane. Only slightly funny because Rockhampton is a 1.5 hour flight away. Dad probably still doesn’t believe that it was Toowoomba.

The water from Toowoomba’s inland tsunami is set to rush through Ipswich to the Brisbane River where it will break the banks and gush into our suburbs. Tears welled in my eyes as I saw my floating boardwalk at Southbank, where I often take a Sunday stroll, is under water. And this is just the beginning. Can’t even begin to fathom how I would feel if I saw my home like that.

I always think, in times of these natural disasters, “I hope they have insurance”. Funny thing is we’re with NRMA for our home and contents and they don’t insure for flood damage caused by overflowing rivers in Queensland. Of course, five years ago when I took out the policy, we were in a drought and I no doubt scoffed at these limitations. Frankly Brisbane hasn’t flooded since 1974 – so NRMA, in my mind are just pricks, if every 30 years is ‘prone’ in their books – I don’t know what frequent would mean. So, regardless, this morning, I started ringing around multiple insurers and my suburb is on an embargo list – along with 70 or so others. Do Not Insure, they say, likely flooding. Hmmm. Comforting words.

Maps of the city have been drawn up to show residents which houses are likely to be affected across which areas. We’re in a state of emergency, declares our Premier, a woman who looks too much like a girl I went to school with, it’s awkward and scary. The water is all starting to roll down the mountain. And the non-stop rain isn’t helping.

Our city centre was evacuated. How on earth does that happen? Our financial district, our government services our central retail all shut down. I work out of town, thankfully, but my drive home at 12.30 today was manic, thousands of people left their offices and hurtled home so as not to be stranded. The roads were busier than at peak times. Some workers were already stranded. Some people weren’t able to get home, already. I thank the universe that LSH and I have been able to arrive home and pop our dog upstairs.

People’s attitudes are interesting. My workplace said, “Look after your families and friends, look after your homes and your pets. Be safe. We advise that you don’t visit any areas that are flooded.  Work will be here when you get back.” LSH’s company and a husband of a friend of mine’s company both said, “nope, no need to leave.” LSH was nearly flooded in and unable to leave his office.

My personal attitude has been to stress and worry. I have no flood insurance. I might have a flooded home tomorrow. Not sure how high the waters are running, might be my downstairs, might be my upstairs. Might be none, might be all. I have now consumed three very quick glasses of bubbles and am starting to relax. 11pm tonight is going to be the worst, and we’re expecting some king tides tomorrow and Thursday. Some sunshine might raise our spirits a little. It’s harrowing, surreal and also completely ridiculous. I was planning a dinner out tomorrow, dinners for the weekend. Gym excursions and walks as well as mini-breaks to Sydney and now…we’re wet. All just wet. I’ve left the PC downstairs, here’s hoping that wasn’t a really silly decision.