St George .. Total evacuation anticipated ..

jonathan · Guru

St George .. Total evacuation anticipated ..

Happywanderer · The Master

I just read on my facebook link "All residents of St george are to leave town immediately via the Moonie highway while it is still open"

Beth54 · Guru

Thanks Jonathan. I was going to start a thread, but you've done it for me.

From my many cousins in these flood affected areas, the following messages are from FB. This is where FB is a blessing.

1/Everyone in St George are being told to get out and go down the Moonie Hwy.

2/To keep our businesses going through this time we need people to phone the local businesses and purchase "Care Packages" and anything else they feel that would be needed , otherwise they will not survive ie call and pay for 12 electric kettles and toasters from the local Electrical shop or the local Supermarket for toiletries etc. Our local businesses need support to survive and they should be awa...re of who needs the packages etc. Please pass this on. This is a problem that was had in Theadore last year, they had to stop the care packages coming and supply from their local shops. It's lovely that there are so many thoughtful people out there but we really do need to do this properly to maintain our fantastic community. Charleville business to supply Charleville locals, Roma business to supply Roma locals and Mitchell business to supply Mitchell locals.

3/Hi everyone,
I'm ok and in one piece. Thanks for all the texts and phone calls yesterday. Was great for the support. Sorry i didn't answer my phone or reply to messages much but my phone was near flat and was saving the power in case of an emergency. The old boat did me proud starting around midday some time and not stopping until 730 last night. managed to get around 40 odd people and their cats ...and dogs to safety. Was up again at 7 this morning doing the same and helping out the ses who some of did an amazing job yesterday. To the 2 SES ladys who manned the corner of miscamble and arthur streets yesterday till 7 that night in waste deep running water my hat goes off to ya's.

Also to the two lovely ladys i rescued from the back of a submerged landcruiser ute who came back into the flood waters with me to try and frantically rescue what we could in my house as the waters slowly rose through the floor boards at us. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Water ended up about 8 inches through my house and about a meter through my yard, shed and car.

3 of my 5 chooks made it through alive and full of beans this morning when i got back there to check on them.

Possessions can be replaced and photos where saved and for that i am happy.

Good luck to everyone who has been affected. now comes the hard part.

lilly31 · Guru

Wishing and praying all will be safe ... Said on new they were expecting the river to peak at 15 meters ..Not sure what there normal flood level is but sound's very scary .....

Beth54 · Guru

One branch of my family has been on their property since 1870 and never seen anything like this.

And I don't think Mitchell has ever flooded like this. Not in my lifetime anyway.

briggspc · Senior Member

Mandatory evacuations declared for St George

February 5, 2012, 3:03 pm
....

At a joint meeting of the St George LDMG and State agencies, it was decided that mandatory evacuations were required to ensure the safety of the members of the public in St George.

Recent Bureau of Meteorology forecasts indicate that upstream rivers are rising quickly and the Balonne River may peak in St George between 14 and potentially up to 15 metres.

The river is likely to reach 14m by approximately 9pm Monday evening and continue to rise throughout Tuesday and reach a peak of up to 15m overnight on Tuesday night.

These heights will be record levels for St George. The previous peak was 13.4m in 2010.

Residents of St George are required to evacuate by road before the Moonie Highway is cut by floodwaters, which is expected to occur sometime in the early part of Sunday evening. Current estimates indicate the Moonie Highway may be closed sometime tonight and residents should closely monitor local road conditions.

For those without their own transport, buses will leave the St George Showgrounds at 5pm and 7pm this evening and take residents to Dalby.

For residents requiring additional information, there will be a Community Information session at 4.30pm at the St George Showgrounds.

For those who do not have family or friends to go to, evacuation centres are opening at Dalby Showground and PCYC. Both centres will accept restrained pets.

Additional police resources have been positioned in the town to ensure property security.

Those who do not have their own vehicles should register with Balonne Shire Council on 4620 8888 for evacuation by bus to Dalby while this remains possible.

Air evacuation to Brisbane is being organized to ensure evacuations can proceed after the Moonie Highway closes. Air passengers will be restricted to 10kg of hand luggage only.

Pet owners are reminded that animals can not be accommodated on emergency transport, so pet owners are strongly advised to arrange road evacuation for their pets where possible.

Arrangements are being made with the RSPCA to care for pets which cannot be evacuated. They should be appropriately restrained (leash or cage) and brought to the St George Showground gathering point.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh urged people to follow the directions of authorities.

This is a very serious situation and I urge people to cooperate.

Mayor Donna Stewart said she strongly urged people to self evacuate for their safety.

For further information please call 4620 8888.

jonathan · Guru

Thanks Peter .. and welcome to the group ..

Cruising Granny · Guru

What an introduction to Grey Nomads. Welcome to you Peter. Keep up the good work.
My heart goes out to all those people who have been inundated by this record-breaking floods. Bugger records! What about the people and their property?
I was in that region just before Christmas, and it was only just starting to dry out from the last lot of floods.
No one can predict all these natural disasters, and the people and the towns can only prepare to a point. No one can predict this sort of disaster.
My prayers are with all flood victims and their families. I feel so helpless.

the rocket · Guru

Welcome Peter. rocket n strop

Gerty Dancer · Guru

Hope they are all ok. Just think, there were 2 floods last year, now this big one, how much can could you take?