queensland

With the access to information and world news that we all have these days, I’m sure that wherever you’re reading this from

You’ve heard about the recent flooding in Australia

The state of Queensland has been decimated by the constant rain and it’s effects

Flash floods, inland tsunamis

It was relentless

I watched so much of it absolutely stunned

Places that I know so well

Many towns that I visited last year when we toured Queensland twice

I don’t even recognize anymore

And now the state of Victoria is in the midst of it’s own flood crisis

It feels like mother nature is ‘losing her shit’ right now

We’re constantly bombarded with stories of natural distasters, world tragedies

Bad news from all over the globe

There’s a lot of news that breaks my heart when I watch TV or read about it online

Sometimes though, I think you get hardened to the images

But not this time

I’d never seen something like this in my country

Don’t recall ever seeing such fear and desperation

All you could see was rooftops

And people trapped or trying to get out

Three quarters of the state have been declared a natural disaster zone

Keep in mind this is a state that is nearly 3 times the state of Texas

Or nearly 6 times the size of United Kingdom

It’s hard to fathom an area that magnitude being under water

20 people have died and 12 are still missing

But the hard part for Queensland has only just started

Now it’s time for the rebuilding

At the beginning of the month, the floods had so far, cost the coal industry over $1 billion in lost production

And for the farmers?

Queensland is the world’s 4th largest exporter of wheat

And half of those crops were destroyed

20% of last year’s sugarcane harvest had to be abandoned

And all the planting for this years season is under water

So many people have lost their homes and  their livelihoods

I can’t tell you how proud I was to be Australian when I saw the first pictures of the cleanup

50,000 people

In boots, with shovels

Lined up and ready to do whatever they could to help

People who had flood damage of their own, lining up to help a neighbour who had it worse

I donated to the relief appeal

But I still felt pretty useless watching from the other side of the world

But when I see Aussies coming together like they are now

You can’t help but feel hope

The worst experience some Queenslanders will ever know

Is bringing out the best of their fellow countrymen

Doing whatever they can to help out

Us Aussies have always prided ourselves on our ‘mateship’

Seeing it in action from over here

And knowing the world is watching too

I couldn’t be more proud to be where I’m from

Us Aussies are a tough lot

Not big on complaining

Unique in our ability to get on with the job

It’s a beautiful thing to see

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie

YOU. FUCKING. BEAUTY.

If you can help CLICK HERE to donate to the relief appeal

People in Queensland can CLICK HERE to become a volunteer