Profile for francobolli - Well, we're going under... (Brisbane flooding)

francobolli aka Simon Massey di Vallazza is a 27.9 year old boy, has been a member since April 7, 2006, has scored 6,690 submissions, giving an average score of 1.79, helping 172 designs get printed.

URL: http://www.simonmasseydivallazza.com

Jan 10 '11 by francobolli
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Well, we're going under... (Brisbane flooding)

For those who may be interested, I've made an album on flickr with all the photos I've taken over the course of this flood. Cheers.

11 January 2011
The next few days will be interesting. Brisbane (Australia) is expecting major flooding any moment now.

I live in the city and have been watching the traffic in gridlock below as people rush to get home from their offices.

The river has been creeping up, higher and higher. Some jetties within view have succumbed already. The water is pretty much level with the riverbank now.

Might have to take up swimming again sooner than later...

Here are some photos I just took on a quick walk by the riverside...

And a few from my friend in Toowoomba too...

High tide at 2:30am, 12 January 2011
Just went for a walk to catch the high tide. Here are some more pics...

Late night commuters. Notice the North Quay City Cat terminal pontoon - normally a walkway down, now it is higher than the terminal which is consequently submerged in the flood waters.

Huge pontoon wreckage wrapped around the base of the William Jolly Bridge

Flood levels rising up walkway / bike path from the riverside to the botanical gardens.

Plants succumbing to the rising flood waters.

I don't think the City Cat ferries will be in service tomorrow for some reason...

12 January 2011
More photos from this morning before evacuating...

The City Cat ferry terminal and piers at the Riverside Center, completely submerged by the torrent of rising flood waters.

Cars driving down Margaret Street showing first signs of flooding. This was taken mid-morning. This evening it is completely under.

A pontoon at Kangaroo Point bearing the brunt of the raging river rising.

The iconic Oxley's / Drift Restaurant floating past after being swept away by raging flood waters.

Kangaroo Point slowly succumbing to the rising flood waters.

The riverside floating walkway connecting New Farm to the CBD, falling victim to the raging river.

13 January 2011
Still unable to return home but I ventured around the inner city area to check out the extent of the flooding...

Brisbane city from the Kangaroo Point Cliffs.

By the Botanical Gardens, Alice Street was still partially flooded.

Newly installed City Cycle depots feeling the wet.

Neighbouring Waterfront Place's garages are completely flooded

Sand bags in full force at the entrance of the building I live in. So thankful they didn't end up tested by the flood waters in the end amazingly.

Our car park. The floor below is flooded and it appeared to be rising as water from neighbouring buildings seeped in.

It might be too soon, but this South East Queensland Water sign made me laugh...

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jeffreyg on Jan 10 '11 at 9:22pm

oh noo :( stay safe :P

craquehaus on Jan 10 '11 at 9:24pm

Much luck!

valorandvellum on Jan 10 '11 at 9:24pm

You should buy a houseboat!

jess4002 on Jan 10 '11 at 9:25pm

stay safe!

Sarcasticatbest on Jan 10 '11 at 9:26pm

Be safe... and get a raft!

the czar on Jan 10 '11 at 9:31pm

Do you have somewhere to go? Very scary stuff. Stay safe man

ratkiss on Jan 10 '11 at 9:31pm

Scary, keep safe!

valorandvellum on Jan 10 '11 at 9:37pm

News article

Yikes! Hope you'll be okay!

reags on Jan 10 '11 at 9:38pm

come to Sydney!

fatheed on Jan 10 '11 at 9:38pm

Crazy shit dude. Stay safe.

francobolli on Jan 10 '11 at 9:38pm

Hey! Thanks all. Fortunately I live on the 36th floor of this building. I won't be going under. Although it could mean I'd be stranded here depending on how high the water levels rise.

Could be worse though. There's been some dreadful flooding in the rural areas. Yesterday a tsunami like wave swept through Toowoomba, west of here. It's so odd, because it is on top of a range. Several people were killed and over 70 people missing.

Crazy crazy...

reags on Jan 10 '11 at 9:43pm

That's hectic. My company has a store @ Toowoomba and Aussie Post just informed us they won't be picking up mail as it's flooded (obviously). The store manager just mentioned there's a car floating down the road :S

d3d on Jan 10 '11 at 9:43pm

from 36 floors up you ought to be able to hang glide to sydney. no problem.

francobolli on Jan 10 '11 at 9:51pm

Oh reags, Toowoomba has been hit hard. Can't believe it the pictures I've seen from friends up there. I'll see if I can post some on here.

lol, Leon. Now just to fashion a makeshift hang glider out of household bits and pieces...

fatheed on Jan 10 '11 at 10:47pm

just make sure you have enough water, baked beans (w/ can opener), candles, matches, and board games. You'll be fine.

Goldendust on Jan 11 '11 at 12:58am

Oh wow, those photos... people in the CBD must be freaking out!

ir0cko on Jan 11 '11 at 1:24am

uh oh! the first thing i thought of was you living so high up that you wouldn't have to worry about the water, but being stranded is no fun. hope everything will be alright! take care, simon!

also, you should take photos from your view.

coffeecandle on Jan 11 '11 at 1:30am

oh fuck, I'd forgotten you lived there. Good luck and stay safe man, get provisions and make sure you have flood cover

francobolli on Jan 11 '11 at 1:34am

Thanks for the concern. The river is high, but it hasn't really broken into the city... yet. The worst is definitely to come tomorrow. Will be interesting to see what it looks like when I wake up.

I went for a walk before and things were pretty calm really. The city is absolutely dead because everyone working in the center have been evacuated. So it was just the few locals that live in here that were walking about enjoying the peace and quiet. Haha.

Not too much to take photos of from up here at the moment, Randy. Maybe in the morning though! :-P

blossompossum on Jan 11 '11 at 1:38am

Oh man, that's really something else. I second Priscilla's idea about the houseboat. Keep safe!

ir0cko on Jan 11 '11 at 1:38am

HOLY CRAP @ TOOWOOMBA

francobolli on Jan 11 '11 at 1:42am

I know ay! I guess it was bound to happen with this relentless rain we've been having. You never expect it though until you see the water lapping up against your entrance. Hmmm.....

I'm not sure whether to be excited or concerned.

blossompossum on Jan 11 '11 at 1:47am

Well, it'll be a lot of damage done if it gets up to the buildings...

I've never actually seen a large-scale flood in person before, come to think of it.

SJ27 on Jan 11 '11 at 1:48am

It's crazy isn't it? I saw footage on the news of the water being so strong to push a car down the street and just ploughed it into a tree and it knocked the tree over too! You don't expect it in the city.

d3d on Jan 11 '11 at 1:51am

it'd be funny/horrible to slap some I Park Like An Idiot stickers around.

d3d on Jan 11 '11 at 1:52am

it'd be funny/horrible to slap some I Park Like An Idiot stickers around.

d3d on Jan 11 '11 at 1:54am

that didn't deserve to be said twice

blossompossum on Jan 11 '11 at 1:56am

I think Bruce Lee has something to do with this blog.

francobolli on Jan 11 '11 at 1:56am

LOL, Leon. So bad it's good.

Certainly is crazy though! Let's hope it doesn't swamp the city.

On a selfish personal note, my family and I have a lot in storage that won't be able to be moved in time... would suck to see that float away. Should be thankful that we're not as bad off as others right now though...

I've seen some pretty spectacular sights from Mother Nature, but never a flood of this scale.

trindli on Jan 11 '11 at 2:18am

stay safe and get enough supplies while you can still go out..

there is an article in my newspaper that says that Brisbane should be hit today or so.. I hope they make it more dramatic than it is

SJ27 on Jan 11 '11 at 2:29am

It won't peak until Thursday!

francobolli on Jan 11 '11 at 2:34am

Thanks Corinne. I've been listening to the radio (TV has died from the humidity) and the reporters are having an absolute field day over this. It's quite funny/disgusting really. Hah.

The big question is how high these waters will rise. Only time will tell. The next two high tides will be very telling...

d3d on Jan 11 '11 at 2:35am

francobolli on Jan 11 '11 at 2:37am

Bahahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaa.....

Charmar on Jan 11 '11 at 2:43am

Man that's crazy.

I was supposed to be moving to Toowoomba last year. Kinda glad I didn't now.

blue sparrow on Jan 11 '11 at 3:01am

Good luck Simon! I'm in Brisbane too but out in the suburbs
Crazy weather

Goldendust on Jan 11 '11 at 3:22am

Wow. The insurance companies phone lines will be madness right now.

Also, Leon is a genius... but we knew that already.

francobolli on Jan 11 '11 at 3:30am

I didn't realise you guys were Aussies too, let alone in Brissy. Where abouts are you, Steven? Hope you're keeping dry.

A lot of the insurance company's are tight asses when it comes to flooding. I've been told my insurance for my belongings in storage won't be covered by insurance... barstards.

Haha, yes, Leon has provided some stellar comic relief. This is also magnified by my tipsiness... having a flood party here. lol...

blue sparrow on Jan 11 '11 at 4:25am

Yeah there's a lot more aussies here than I thought. I'm at Enoggera on the north side. I didn't know I shared the city with a 5x printed threadless superstar! ;)

Tonteau on Jan 11 '11 at 4:59am

Seems like the perfect opportunity for some looting.

Boycey on Jan 11 '11 at 4:59am

I thought this was going to be about a holiday to Australia.

Shocking photos, also amazing and terrible at the same time.

I hope you stay safe and sound.

d3d on Jan 11 '11 at 5:05am

blue sparrow on Jan 11 '11 at 4:25am
Yeah there's a lot more aussies here than I thought. I'm at Enoggera on the north side. I didn't know I shared the city with a 5x printed threadless superstar! ;)

bananaphone too.

CazKing on Jan 11 '11 at 5:12am

just been watching the footage on the news - it's pretty scary.
I live in Adelaide where nothing like this ever happens. Boring I know - but safe! Although I think we are the serial killer capital of australia? Not sure if thats true or not!?

ninety-nine on Jan 11 '11 at 5:30am

I've been watching the qld police facebook page all day to follow what's been happening and to find out when and if it's going to hit the gold coast.
I have a lot of good friends in brissy who live near the river and have probably evacuated by now. Hope everyone stays safe tonight and tomorrow morning when the water levels rise.

ninety-nine on Jan 11 '11 at 5:32am

And cazking, yes that's true. Adelaide has had some pretty bad bush fires though.

soloyo on Jan 11 '11 at 5:47am

That's such a scary situation, take care of yourself.

Plu Shu on Jan 11 '11 at 6:13am

Fuck, I saw this on the news, flooded region equalling the size of France and Germany combined, and Brisbane threatened to get nemo'd, that's horrible. Especially because it's the only place I've been in Oz, and becaause I have friends there :s One of them living in Toowoomba... Good news is she was on holidays in SA, talk a bout luck. Anyway, much love to Queenslanders.

And save that farkin' XXXX factory, so that bogans can survive too.

francobolli on Jan 11 '11 at 7:17am

Steven : speak for yourself, mate. Perhaps we ought to get the Brisbane designers together for a collab when the waters subside... or for the flood disaster?!!?! Oh snap.

Jebbie : :-/

Tonteau : my moment to be a fully-fledged pirate has finally arrived. Arrrrrr!

Caz : yeah, I believe Adelaide is one of the most murderous places around, per capita. Must be something in the water. ;-)

Kali : you're down the coast? Looks like the flood waters will no doubt be continuing south after hear. Hope you're able to stay safe and sound too!

Plu Shu : yeah, put into perspective the scale of Aussie surface area never fails to be pretty mind boggling. Hope your friend is alright. Have you heard from them? XXXX should be fine as its on the crest of a hill there. If not, they could always bottle the flooded brew and market as a limited edition batch. ;-)

Tom & Nestor : cheers guys.

lucindaa on Jan 11 '11 at 8:09am

these floods are crazy! The footage on the news has been pretty scary, especially the flash flood in Toowoomba

hope everything turns out okay for you and your friends

I'll just be here in boring murdery Adelaide

francobolli on Jan 11 '11 at 8:30am

Thank you. :-)

Yeah, Toowoomba really did get hit by a freak of nature. Just unbelievable. Thankfully I don't think we'll cop the same kind of consequence here, although the damage could still be awful. Fingers crossed it won't be as bad as predicted.

I'm gonna go for a walk to see how tides are fairing.

Watch out for those psychos down there now. ;-)

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