Monday, January 10, 2011

Impressive video of Flash Flooding in Queensland



Check out this incredible video of flash flooding in Queensland, which came to my attention courtesy of Yorrike on Twitter. A couple of thoughts on the event: As I watched, I thought "why aren't these people moving their cars out of the way?". Of course, hindsight is wonderful, and one can't know how bad the flood is going to be until one's car is floating away. Then again, midway through the video, a fellow is seen moving his car, and I suddenly realized how unwise that could have been, given how easily the other cars floated away.

On a sedimentary note, at the end the cars display imbrication, which is something pebbles do in a stream that allows us to see which way water was flowing (a paleocurrent indicator). I can't tell if the cars are oriented correctly, but the similarity to the cobbles below is striking. This picture is from Andrew Alden's About Geology Page, and this link is a good place to find out about imbrication.


Postscript:
The person who posted this video notes the following on his Youtube page:
With the incredible exposure that my video is receiving all over the internet and media worldwide I would like to encourage you to donate to the relief appeals.

You can donate to the Queensland Government Appeal at: http://www.qld.gov.au/floods/donate.html


Or the Churches of Christ Care Queensland Flood Appeal here:
http://care.cofcqld.com.au/site/docs/...


Please pray for us. There are many people who are suffering through this.

2 comments:

biobabbler said...

Wow. Amazing. And thrilled to read your explanation of WHY the cars are stacked that way. TOOOO COOOL! =)

trav4adventures said...

Oh, my! That was amazing!