Bundaberg floods 2013

Many of you will be aware that I grew up in Bundaberg. While I wasn't born there, I spent my formative years there (between the ages of 8 and18). And, yes, when I turned 18 I moved to Brisbane — not so much because I hated the place, but to go in search of new opportunities. (As far as I'm aware, jobs for book editors and publishers are even rarer in regional centres than they are elsewhere.)

Now, in 2013, Bundaberg is suffering due to the biggest flood in its history, and the second major flood in as many years. There has been a lot of talk in the media about how this is 'nothing new' and that we should just accept the fact that Australia floods. In fact, these types of events are NOT commonplace. Prior to late 2010, Bundaberg had experienced nothing of the sort since the 1970s. Sure, we experienced the occasional cyclone when I was living there, but that's to be expected in a tropical climate. Some people lost their roof, and I remember my friend's trampoline ended up somewhere down the street. I'm not going to bang on about climate change (as I suspect most people who know me also know where I stand with that), except to say that for the people of Bundaberg, floods of this magnitude have never been 'normal' (not to mention tornado after tornado moving slowly down the coastline).

Some in the media have also been referring to Bundaberg as a 'town'. It is, in fact, a city, with around 75 000 residents (and around 100 000 if you count the entire area that now falls under Bundaberg Regional Council). Reports have estimated that as many as 7500 may now be either homeless or with serious damage to their homes. That's TEN PER CENT of the population. In addition, if you take into account the fact that many businesses will have to lay off staff or will simply choose not to reopen, it's a massive number of people affected. Bundaberg was never really been great for employment to begin with, so this disaster will only make matters worse.

The government has set up an appeal to help out the residents, but I suspect it will take many months for the funds to trickle down to where they're needed most. There are, however, local organisations that you can direct your money to now to assist:

• Meals on Wheels (these guys lost a lot, and need help to get back up and running — leave a note in Paypal where you want the funds sent)
• SES (send an email to let them know where you want the funds sent)
• RSPCA (currently there is no specific appeal, but they redirect funds where they're most needed).

If you're in the region and can make donations in person, I've been told by the lovely Wendy that Andy's Place run by the Uniting Church and the Salvation Army's Tom Quinn Centre could also use some help.

I've chosen not to include photos in this post, as I think there are enough of those floating around already.