Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Rain

Since around lunch time yesterday, it's been raining off and on.  However, last night, it really began to pour.  Today, after I checked the mail, it poured down from the skies and hasn't stopped.  This kind of rain reminds me of the type of rain we received last year which triggered the floods that swept through Brisbane City; and destroyed so many businesses.  The same floods that people are still recovering from one year on.  
Last year, I was so scared of what was being reported to me; and mainly it was because of how it was being done.  There were news reports every 15 minutes about which places had been flooded, who had lost what and how many people were now without power and homes.  This kind of reporting is an effective way of terrifying people everywhere; and it's not needed.  They never did it years ago, so why did they do it last year?  
This year, it's so much more different.  Our Christmas has been and gone, school has started and we're better informed about what we need to do; also insurance companies now offer flood insurance.  I remember when I was looking for insurance for my place, I really had to hunt for one that offered that particular type of insurance as my place was in a low-lying area.  So, when I found the right one, I jumped at their offer; and ironically, they usually covered people in the country and rural areas.  However, when they found out where I lived was low-lying, they took me as a customer.  It's great CGU would do that; and the best thing is that I pay monthly so I don't feel the bite of it but I know I'm covered for flood and anything else that may go wrong.
It's really strange what rain can do to places.  How the damp of the stuff can get in and destroy things you treasure, don't you think?  I don't mind rain, but when you really want to get out and do some gardening or be outside for another reason, it puts a real damper on any projects you have planned (pun intended).  
However, you can catch up with other indoor things you haven't done in a while.  For example, today, I'm hoping to get my library here in my home office tidied up before the day out.  There's books on the floor, handbags that need hanging up, shoes, the battery-run Teac radio (for when we lose power during storms) and others things that need putting away.  This room has been neglected for far too long.  So, what do you do when the rain is intense and you can't get into the outdoor work?  Do you read, watch a good movie or snooze the day away?  Until my next post, take care, keep warm and safe and remember, I'm always here.

4 comments:

  1. thinks we had around 100mm in the last 12 hours. And I am sure more rainfall will continue for the next day or so. Not good for laundry to wash and dry but great for gardens and lawns.

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  2. I just checked outside in my carport - which normally floods like you wouldn't believe - and it's dry as a bone! Yay! Whatever my Dad did to the storm drain next to my place is working like a dream! I love it... I can for the first time in 9 years sleep through tonight without fretting that my house is going to be flooded. :D

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  3. I've always loved the rain -- until this fall and winter. We had record rains here in Ohio, USA, and our house flooded pretty badly. We managed to save most of our stuff, but the carpets and walls are soaked and we lived in a chaotic mess for nearly a month. We had the carpet pulled back as far as we could, but it just kept raining, and raining, and raining. And we kept sopping it up and steam-vaccing the carpet, and throwing down towels. I never want to see rain again!

    I hope you have mush better luck than we did!

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  4. Wow! Juliann,I know how you feel... last year, we had a massive storm early one Saturday and my carport flooded right up to my side door and it it wouldn't go anywhere. The storm drain next to my house was blocked and there was a car parked on it too; and I didn't have time to find out whose it was for them to move it.
    So, there I was running around in barefooted and in a pair of soaked jeans photographing the whole thing while my house was millimetres from being fully flooded! Even with my side gate open and me pushing the water through with a broom, it didn't go anywhere... it was frightening. And this was before breakfast too. By the time I sat down to eat, I had gone through an entire set of clothes... so much for a relaxing Saturday morning!... and called my landlord about what happened (who was also the Body Corporate Chairperson) and then a few days later, he came out, took the drain cover and put up witche's hats and fixed the drain cover. Since then, I haven't had a problem with flooding. It's been wonderful to know that when it pours like it has done over the last few days, I can go to bed and know I won't be flooded during the night and the water will go exactly where it's supposed to: the storm drain.

    But I'd hate to have to go through what you guys went through; it's awful when you can't stop flood water and end up watching it inundate your house and land. And after last year's floods around Brisbane, when we all saw the rain come, we were hoping it wouldn't happen with the flooding again, but it looks like it might. :(

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