Hi hello! It’s been a hot minute. I’m isolating with COVID-19 in Melbourne so I thought, may as well use this time to write? Let’s get to it.
On Saturday the 26th of February, I left rainy Brisbane for 4 weeks in sunny Melbourne (something I never thought I would say). My flight was delayed as Brisbane’s main runway had flooded. All inbound and outbound flights were using the one, secondary, much smaller, runway. Arriving at the airport at 8am for a 9am flight, it wasn’t until 6 hours later I was walking the sunny pedestrian crossings of Melbourne’s airport to my DiDi.
That night, my house lost power. The next day, this was my street:
Luckily, I live on the top of the hill and my housemate had somewhere to go while we were out of power for 7 days. My friends and family, not so much. My parents’ hilltop home transformed into an island, cut off from all shops and amenities for several days. Friend’s homes flooded. Businesses lost millions in stock. Even friend’s homes not remotely near a river flooded, because the ground was so saturated the water simply had nowhere to go. Brisbane received more rain than Melbourne’s annual rainfall in 3 days. Meanwhile in that uniquely Australian way, friends of friends joked about the floodwaters lapping at their ankles in their 2 story Queenslanders, until the floods started lapping at their doorsteps.
And then the ‘rain bomb’ moved South.
The thing is, it wasn’t a rain bomb. That’s what politicians are calling it - a rain bomb is a freak, extreme weather event. As Matilda Boseley of The Guardian explains here, while rain bombs are actually a thing, this was just, not that. It was a combination of normally unremarkable weather events, made ‘ridiculously wet’ by warming oceans and blocked from moving onwards by a high pressure system near New Zealand.
So while politicians are calling this an extreme weather event, really this is just something that will become increasingly common as global temperatures rise.
Much of the recovery effort has been community-led. Brisbane’s official Mud Army 2.0 (2.0 because 1.0 was the devastating floods of 2011) was declared complete after one day. Yet there are thousands of homes & businesses still needing help.
Friends in the Northern Rivers have shared photos and videos of 2x ADF trucks sent to help (although 2000 are on standby, few have arrived). Complete with an official ADF photographer to capture the photo opportunity:
Our PM was quick to share:
Yet read any of the 10,000 comments on Morrison’s post and the majority look like this:
Again, the majority of efforts have been community led. So while I’ve been sitting in my Melbourne AirBnB, feeling the devastation of climate change and the guilt of not being around to help my community (+ COVID fever), here are some concrete ways to help.
For Immediate Crisis Response
My dear friend and former business partner at Rosewell (I left to focus on impact finance), Alisha, started the Recovery Project 2022 to coordinate local efforts. Needs are changing quickly and community hub managers are overwhelmed. See their Instagram for daily updates @floodsrecovery2022.
Givit is the official partner with the NSW government.
It’s really important to only give what’s needed to avoid unwanted items going to landfill.
For Local Actions
We’re about to go into an election. Call your local member. Tell them you’re a voter in their electorate and ask them what they’re doing to build a more climate-resilient Australia. Ask them what their commitments are.
For Systemic Actions
Donate to Climate200 who fight for science-based climate policy in Australia.
Donate to Groundswell Giving who fund strategic, high-impact climate advocacy (grassroots).
Donate to Grata Fund who guarantee high-impact strategic litigation cases, such as The Australian Climate Case.
There’s a lot more we can do. This is just a starting point. Stay safe and stay well.