Brisbane, when it gushes

Good morning, Brisbane

I woke up at sunrise and, with no work to go to, decided to do some hill sprints up a the cliffs.  I figured I would take my camera with me, in case the river was doing anything cool.

This is where i usually run.

When I got up there, curiosity got the better of me and I instead ran from place to place, taking photos of the river.  I wasn't alone.  Every morning person in the city had come down to see how high the water had come overnight.  A crowd of us stood under the Captain Cook bridge and listened to the constant rush of water, punctuated by the hard crack of jetties slamming against pylons.

The Goodwill Bridge has become a debris collection point.

As I came down from the cliffs, the first thing I noticed was the smell; not foul or rotten, as the mangroves sometimes are, but silty.  Very silty, like snorting mud, until you get used to it.

These pelicans normally stand about a meter and a half out of the water.

Another crowd had gathered on the Goodwill Bridge, snapping photos.  Parents had brought their kids along.  They pointed and squealed at the jetties racing towards them, dashing to the other side to see them go, the world's biggest game of Poohsticks.

There is no Southbank.

In the city we could hear evacuation sirens competing for attention.  I had received multiple messages from work telling me not to go in today, and I am not alone.  Power was turned off at 7am.  I'm desperate to see photos from the CBD; I imagine it's a ghost town.

Photo speaks for itself.

A lot of people were simply going about their daily routine.  While I was taking photos, a half-dozen lycra-clad cyclists were turned back from bikeways several feet under water.

Why?

Oh.

The reappearance of the sun has brought with it the muggy air we associate with Brisbane summer.  I can only imagine what the mosquito population is going to be like once the waters go down.

The best game of Poohsticks ev- wait, does that jetty still have a boat on it?

I wonder how far it will get?

Around the corner, at Southbank, the promenade has disappeared. Shortly afterward the upper walkway also vanished under water.

I had no intention of crossing.

The closest I could get to the river at Southbank.

The Performing Arts carpark was a touch damp.

...probably not

I didn't try to get any further than the Cultural Center. I've seen a lot of photos from West End in the last few hours, and I think I did the right thing in turning back.

Water lapping against the Art Gallery and Museum.

Water levels are expected to peak at 3 this afternoon, so assuming I can still get in and out of my street I'll head back up to the cliffs then and see what I can see.  If you're reading this from outside the city, I hope this gives you an idea of what we're facing.  If you're in Brisbane, please stay safe and for the love of all things decent, stay off the roads if they're flooded.

High enough that the walkway has broken the sign.