In January 1974, the Queensland capital Brisbane, located in Australia, faced significant flooding, especially of the Brisbane River which runs through the heart of the city. 1974 (MCMLXXIV) is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... Motto: Audax at Fidelis (Bold but Faithful) Nickname: Sunshine State/Smart State Other Australian states and territories Capital Brisbane Government Governor Premier Const. ... Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the state of Queensland, Australia. ... Captain Cook Bridge from Kangaroo Point Lookout Goodwill Bridge - and the CityCat on the Brisbane River. ...

It had been an exceptionally wet summer, and by late January most of southern Queenslands 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. January 27 is the 27th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... Australia Day is Australias official national day, January 26. ...

Large areas were inundated, with at least 6,700 homes flooded.

Damage at the time was estimated at some $200 million (1974 Australian dollars).

Loss of Life

14 people lost their lives.

Shane David Patterson, 2 years old, Yeronga. Swept from his father's arms in the floodwaters.

Robert Adams, 56 years old, Newmarket. Suffered Heart Attack during evacuation of caravan park.

Aiden Sutton, 50 years old, St Lucia. Drowned in own home after returning to collect eye glasses during the flood.

Two male members of the Australian Military. Both thrown from an amphibious army vehicle when it struck power pole at Jindalee.

Aftermath

The floods peaked at 6.6 meters according to the Post Office guage 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.

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.

See also

• List of disasters in Australia by death toll

This is a list of disasters in Australia sorted by death toll. ...

External Sites

• Brisbane floods January 1974, Bureau of Meteorology