Forfeit or Play on? Australia Day and Natural Disasters.

1. FORFEIT OR PLAY ON: AUSTRALIA DAY AND NATURAL DISASTERS Amy Cupitt, Director, Events Coordination Queensland Department of the Premier and Cabinet

5. SUMMER TIMELINE December – torrential rains and flooding damage crops and close a coal mine. Six people die. 25 December – Tropical Cyclone Tasha makes landfall near Cairns in the early hours of Christmas Day, bringing rainfall of six to 10 inches. 28 December – disaster declared in several southern Queensland towns, where flooding prompts mass evacuations. 30 December – the town of Bundaberg experiences its worst flooding in decades, with 300 homes inundated. 2 January – floods affect 22 towns as the crisis reaches ‘biblical’ proportions. 3 January – residents of Rockhampton flee their homes as the city of 75 000 is almost entirely cut off by rising flood waters.

7. TIMELINE CONTINUED… 10 January – flash floods smash the mountainside town of Toowoomba and surrounding areas. 11 January – flood threat to Brisbane worsens,as volumes of water far exceeding catastrophic 1974 flow towards the city 13 January – Brisbane River peaks at 4.46m, lower than expected.

8. YouTube - QLD Flood Tribute SOO1