Brisbane Floods 2011

In the summer of 2010/2011, Queensland suffered the "Summer of Disasters" with floods and cyclones battering over 75% of the state.

Looking towards the house (with blue fence
at end of street) 13 January, 6.45pm
Our house was inundated by floodwaters almost to the ceiling on 13 January 2011. The peak was around 4am that morning. We had evacuated the day before taking a few belongings and it wasn't until the next day that we could get back into the house.

Everything inside the house was destroyed and everything was covered in a filthy sludge.

Over the next 2 days, family, friends and complete strangers came to the house dress in gumboots and gloves. The "Mud Army" used their high pressure cleaners, brooms and sometimes just bare hands to help us clean out the house entirely. We were very grateful.

Eventually the house had to be completely stripped back to just a frame and sat vacant for a year while the insurance was sorted out.

Now insurance has been settled, we are ready to move on to the next stage in rebuilding. But we will never forget the day the waters came and the year that followed.

Taken about 14 hours before the peak

After the flood waters receded. Don't know who's dog house or who's hot water system that is.

The front courtyard. Everything was covered in a slippery, slimy sludge.

The front door. We'd sandbagged, but it made NO difference.


The land slopes to the back so the waters still hadn't receded fully when we arrived.

The waters went over the back deck.

The poor cubby house

We sandbagged the toilet, sink and bathtub to stop sewerage from rising....didn't make any difference.

EVERYTHING was covered in sludge!

Pretty much everything had to be thrown out.





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