Gratituesday

I've been watching the news updates on the flooding in Queensland all day and can hardly believe what I'm seeing. A good third of the state is affected by the floods.You can see a map of how many towns are affected here.  And we're not talking about a little bit of water.  Whole towns are under water, houses have been ripped from their foundations and swept away, people are dead and families are missing. Toowoomba had a catastrophic flash flood this morning that has been called and 'inland tsunami' - watch this news report and see the sheer force of the water that swept through the town.

In my own state we've had a massive fire burning out of control an hour or so south of Perth after an arsonist decided it would be fun to the bush alight. Five houses have burnt to the ground and hundreds of acres have been burnt out. To the north, Carnarvon is dealing with the aftermath of two floods, the worst in the history of the town, in as many weeks with houses flattened, banana plantations destroyed and peoples lives ruined.

I guess for this Gratituesday I'm so thankful to be safe and dry in my own little house. I know where my family are and that they're all safe. I'm glad to be Australian and know that the people of this wonderful country will band together to help all those affected by the devastation.

*Edited to add, this is now the biggest disaster that Australia has ever seen. It has affected 75% of Queensland, an absolutely huge area. To put it into perspective it is approximately twice the size of Texas. The death toll grows each day as the water subsides and more bodies are found.