The east coast of Australia, in particular north Queensland, was devastated by Cyclone Debbie. An enormous amount of damage was caused by this very nasty storm, especially in the Whitsunday Islands and the towns of Airlie Beach, Bowen and other centres.
After Debbie crossed the coast it degenerated into a deep tropical depression, the effects of which were felt right down the east coast as far as Sydney. We have been impacted by torrential rain causing major flooding in the Lismore area of north eastern NSW. We also had very heavy rain prior to the cyclone forming which, together with the cyclonic rain has resulted in us having 833 mm since 24th February. 391 mm of this fell in just over 24 hours at our farm, while other areas had even more. While we are well above flood height we are cut off, and will remain so for some days yet, until the river recedes. Fortunately, unlike some, we still have power as well as plenty of essential supplies, so we are fine.
The Lismore CBD has been flooded for the first time since a levee was built around 2001, prior to that flooding was a fairly common occurrence. This time, the river overtopped the levee by about a metre, causing the whole Lismore basin to be inundated, catching many business owners unawares. People had become complacent, believing they were safe behind the levee, not realising that once water spilled over, the town would flood quickly. I have experienced many floods in my time, two much bigger than the current one, and always said to anyone who would listen that one day the water would exceed the levee, and the town would be in trouble. Fortunately, a large proportion of the residential areas are on high ground and were unaffected, it's the businesses which have suffered.
I've attached a few photos, including one which graphically illustrates the water pouring into town, having come over the levee.
Peter.