The problem with flooding in and around Hervey Bay is an issue that won’t go away and we’d love to see some action from council, Emma-Kate Currie has the following comment:
I do indeed feel sorry for the residents of Wondonna. Although the question here is ” Do people have any common sense at all?”
When looking to purchase land people must look at the surrounding area and take note of certain key factors that might indicate that it is actually land that may very well flood repeatedly. Anywhere that you see paperbarks indicates swap. Also any water in the area for instance lakes, creeks, canals, or the sea level is your number one warning sign.
It is true that the developers should have planned their developments adequately but at the end of the day, no single development goes ahead without council approval. So it seems it is most definitely the responsibility of the council to make sure people do not purchase land in flood prone areas, and there for must foot the bill to clean it up.
The residents of Hervey Bay are just very lucky that last week’s downpour did not coincide with a 4m summer tide or we all would have been up a creek without a paddle (literally!). This is an ongoing issue for Hervey Bay as I have watched many new developments built in notorious flood spots that I know from childhood.
Now I’m not an engineer, nor qualified in any way, yet it painfully obvious to me which spots are disasters in the making. I just wish the general public had the same level of common sense.
Bringbackstrewth says: Welcome new contributor Emma-Kate Currie and we could not agree with you more. The council needs to address these issues and no longer sweep them under the carpet or come up with the usual “We’ll look into it”
[...] One Hervey Bay resident has been brave enough to openly ask an obvious question about the flooding that I’m sure many local residents have ask themselves. You can read her thoughts over on Bring Back Strewth! [...]
Unfortunately councils the world over are more interested in money than concern for its constituants.
In Maidenhead in the UK thousands of houses were built on a flood plain from the Thames. Just because it hadn’t flooded for a few years people buying assumed it would be ok until - an unusual amount if rain coinsiding with high winter tides; they had water half way up their living room walls. Not once but about 3 years running.
The people who had lived in the area for a long time new about the flooding, and so did the council but the house buyers who were moving into the area a clue.
Incidentally most of the UK has been flood maped now and depending on your postcode and the flood likelyhood your house insurance is evaluated accordinging - that is if you can get insurance!