Floods
The floods over the past couple of months or so have been more devastating and tragic than any one of us could have predicted. Up until a day or so ago there were unfortunately a few deaths and the flood damage was largely caused by slowly rising flood waters. The events of the past 24 hours have changed all this with flash floods and the consequent loss of life and property in Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley. Its almost unthinkable that Brisbane is bracing for floods similar to those experienced in 1974.The floods have and will continue to severely impact the personal, professional and vocational lives of members of many communities in Eastern Australia. The immediate impact of flooding in my own community in Central Queensland is well documented however the longer term impact can only be assessed once the waters recede. Fellow Board member John Bayliss from Dubbo in the Macquarie region of NSW whose main library was inundated with water is now dealing with the impact of the flooding they experienced in December - unique material lost, material needing to be replaced.Up until yesterday Karen Bonanno, Executive Officer of ASLA reported that about 25 school libraries had been damaged by flooding including Theodore and Condamine who totally lost their school libraries. One of these centres had only recently had a new library built under the BER scheme. I would not be surprised if more libraries aren’t lost or damaged as a result of the flooding in South East Queensland. This disaster is affecting libraries of all sizes. As I’m writing this, I notice that the State Library of Queensland on Brisbane’s Southbank is closing at 4pm today (11/1) and not reopening until Friday 14 January as a safety measure.So what can or should we do? If you are in local communities affected by the flooding I suggest you seek out local community support initiatives to see how you best contribute. If you are further afield and would like to contribute I recommend making a donation to the Premier’s Flood Relief Appeal (http://www.qld.gov.au/floods/donate.html).The floods are having all sorts of impacts of the lives of ordinary people. Just from talking to a few people I’ve heard of people visiting relatives and being stranded, people needing to have emergency medical procedures in centres far from home and being unable to return home, people stranded while on holidays, and others stranded as a result of visiting due to a family bereavement. I’m sure everyone in Queensland and affected parts of NSW knows somebody with a flood related story. As for me I’m ’stranded’ at the Sunshine Coast, staying with relatives, working from our Noosa Campus and waiting for the rain to stop and the flood waters to recede. I like everyone else will be pleased when the weather fines up. Until then however its a case of chin up!
Graham Black, President
http://www.abc.net.au/emergency/flood/ - including how to help and donate