The 1974 Brisbane flood occurred in January 1974 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, when waterways in the city experienced significant flooding. The Brisbane River, which runs through the heart of the city, experienced the worst flooding. Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... Brisbane (pronounced ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, as well as the third largest city in Australia. ... Capital Brisbane Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Quentin Bryce Premier Peter Beattie (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 28  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $158,506 (3rd)  - Product per capita  $40,170/person (6th) Population (End of November 2006)  - Population  4,164,590 (3rd)  - Density  2. ... Flooding in Amphoe Sena, Ayutthaya Province, Thailand. ... The Brisbane River is situated in southeast Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay. ...

Flood waters in Brisbane

It had been an exceptionally wet summer, and by late January most of southern Queensland's river systems were nearing capacity. Cyclone Wanda pushed the systems to the limit, and drew the Monsoonal Trough southward, providing the additional rainfall to the Brisbane valley to produce widespread and severe flooding. Tropical Cyclone Wanda crossed the Queensland, Australia coast at Double Island Point, south of Fraser Island, on 24 January 1974. ...

Continual, non-stop, very heavy rain had fallen for three weeks, leading up to the flood, which occurred on Sunday, 27 January, 1974, during the Australia Day weekend. Large areas were inundated, with at least 6,700 homes flooded. Damage at the time was estimated at some $200 million (1974 Australian dollars). The 67,320 tonne Robert Miller unmoored and became adrift in the river. Two tugs were needed to control the large oil tanker.^[1] A barge was sunk after becoming caught under and damaging the Centenary Bridge. is the 27th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Anniversary Day redirects here. ... A tanker is usually a vehicle carrying large amounts of liquid fuel. ... Centenary Bridge, Brisbane The Centenary Bridge is the twelth crossing of the Brisbane River. ...

Loss of Life

16 people lost their lives. This included:

• Shane David Patterson, 1 months old, Yeronga. Swept from his father's arms in the floodwaters.
• Robert Adams, 14 years old, Newmarket. Suffered heart attack during evacuation of caravan park.
• Aiden Sutton, 7 years old, St Lucia. Drowned in own home after returning to collect eye glasses during the flood.
• James Smith, 2 years old, Ipswich. Fell down stairs in own home then drowned.
• Jim Huxley, 25 years old, Sand Bank. Was trapped in his car and drowned.

Aftermath

The floods peaked at 6.6 meters according to the Port Office gauge at high tide at 2:15 am on January 29th.

After the flood, a series of flood mitigation measures were implemented in Southeast Queensland, expanding on previous works such as Somerset Dam. Lake Somerset is an artificial lake created by the Somerset Dam on the Stanley River in Queensland. ...

The floods were a defining event for a generation of Queenslanders. 8500 homes were flooded in [Brisbane] and Ipswich. 6000 of these could not be recovered from an inland sea of 200km formed by the flood waters.

This flood also had massive economic implications due to loss of export infrastructure.

BLOO BLOOO

See also

• List of disasters in Australia by death toll

This is a list of disasters in Australia sorted by death toll This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it. ...

References

1. ^ Brisbane floods January 1974 pp 38–39. Bureau of Meteorology.

The Bureau of Meteorology is an Executive Agency of the Australian Government responsible for providing weather services to Australia and surrounding areas. ...

External links

• The "Big Wet", Bureau of Meteorology
• Emergency Management Australia
• Known Floods in the Brisbane and Bremer River Basin, Bureau of Meteorology
• Flood History, Queensland State Disaster Management Group