I was in Brisbane when a huge tropical storm -that was former cyclone Oswald-hit Queensland. Like a giant child throwing a tantrum Oswald left a trail of destruction across the East coast.  Im not sure why we give cyclone and hurricanes friendly human names when they are the complete opposite! The news was dominated by warnings that the Brisbane River was going to flood! Crikey I thought-I ma staying right next to the river this sounds serious.  I had never been in a natural disaster-apart from the Great Storm of 1987 in London!

The pictures of Bundaberg were really bad with the whole city flooded! It wasn’t looking good. 

Always be prepared

Queenslands Premier said that residents should be prepared for flooding.  

Everyone in the building had to remove their cars and items from storage cages in the basement incase the building flooded. There were lots of people scrambling around moving stuff and everyone pulled together helping the less able carry heavy pieced of furniture up the stairs. I chipped in of course! I think most people were secretly enjoying the drama and hoped they would get a day off work! 

Floody Hell!

I was hiding in my friends apartment during the peak of the tropical storm. It was boiling hot, the rain was constantly lashing down and the trees swaying in the strong winds. It was far too dangerous to go out so I was forced to be a hermit for two days until the storm calmed down.  I am not good at staying in for too long so got a touch of cabin fever. 

When it was safe I had to get out so went to check the river. Its banks had burst, the water completely covering the footpath and coming up to the stairs. The water was dirty and bins were floating around. It was crazy to see a familiar river like this!

I went to explore the rest of Brisbane to see the damage further along the river. I saw a large tree near Kangaroo point that had been completely ripped from its roots. I stood by a road sign that usually stands on a footpath but was now swishing around in water.

The Anchorman!  

I spotted the main Channel 9 Anchorman Andrew Lofthouse! He was filming live reports about the flood situation just by the river. As you can see in the photos he was more then happy to take time out of his grueling schedule to pose with your Ikon London travel writer!  He took it very well when I pushed him out the way, snatched his mike and tried to steal his job! Only kidding he was more than happy for me to step into his shoes for five seconds. Thats all from me, over to you Joe!