Flooded!

See, I haven't just been whinging about all the rain (there's an Australianism for you! Definition: whining). It's serious!

As you may have heard, Queensland is having some terrible flooding. So bad, in fact, that the story has been picked up by the BBC and The Wall Street Journal, to name a few. Now, I know you're all booking the next flight to come save me from the flood waters, but fear not - I am safe and dry in my third floor apartment.

The severely flooded portions of the state are to the north of us - about eight hours north. However, up there, the flood is causing major issues. Rockhampton, one of the largest cities in Queensland, is nearly completely shut down. The airport and highway are closed, and supplies are being brought into town on the one road that still connects Rockie to the rest of Australia.

Living in a flooded city is bad enough. However, many Aussies live in "rural" Australia, literally hundreds of miles from the nearest city. Some of these homesteads, set on fertile flood planes, now sit in the middle of a sea. As you can imagine, getting supplies to and even communicating with all these isolated homesteads is a huge challenge.

I am living here, and even I have trouble grappling with just how vast Australia is. To put the flood in context, here's a great comparison courtesy of the BBC: the flooded area, in Queensland alone, is larger than France and Germany combined. A lake, larger than two major countries.

All of this is even more amazing when you consider that for the last few years, Queensland has been in drought. Rivers literally dried up, and the dam that supplied the region's drinking water was depleted to only 16% of capacity. Washing cars and watering gardens was prohibited, and showers were only two minutes long as each house was allotted a certain amount of water. People here said that it was a once in 100 years drought, and now it's been matched with a once in 100 year flood. The poor farmers just can't catch a break.

This will give you an idea of the size of Queensland!

Rockhampton, under water