Once the Floods are Over, then what?

The floods are under way throughout the majority of Queensland and now into northern New South Wales and all we can do is hang on and wait to see the impact. Unfortunately it looks like the numbers of people who have lost their lives as a result is set to rise significantly beyond the 12 people lost thus far. And once this all settles down, then what?

There’s undoubtedly some major infrastructure issues pending. Roads will have been undermined, bridges stressed to the point of being unsafe and large commercial buildings facing significant issues once things have dried out. Businesses will have lost stock, people will be out of work, will be uninsured or underinsured, will be stressed and may have lost their homes. All of these things are likely.

Additionally there’s stock that will be facing starvation, water borne diseases, particularly mosquito borne ones will spike. Other things of a different focus, wildlife related include the likelihood of large freshwater crocodiles being in and around the suburbs of Brisbane and its waterways, the pristine Moreton Bay will likely be a dumping ground of all the detritus the flood waters carry as they empty into it – bits of houses, shipping containers, garbage, cars, refrigerators and all manner of household goods will settle in with the silt at the bottom of Moreton Bay.

Perhaps the only positive might be the eradication of the Cane Toad from across swathes of Queensland. Alas it won’t be gone