The Cairns Diaries

Thanks, I thought 'how could I miss that!', not to mention 'was it a better job?', and trying to imagine, and then figured out that you hadn't moved, but were in the middle of a giant horribilloma.

Not really, and timeline too short, and we're incredibly frugal. We actually took a 'mystery accomodation ticket' in port douglas from wotif.com - $128 and got a pool room in the Sheraton Mirage (very noice!)

woohoo! drifting north Cairns out of the watch zone and port douglas on the edge. Breathing heavily in a northward direction!

Happy birthday, Hinge!

Thanks bfn

From a king size bed in the mirage With a glass of prose co watching the cricket.

I haven't posted on this in ages but last night, for the first time this year the overnight temperature dropped below 80F. 77F to be exact - the apparent temparature was still above 30C because overnight humidity moves between 90 and 95%.

I'm always tired. Last weekend, before this patch of wet weather, we had to get out of the pool and into the bath to cool down - tiny pool + tropical sun = unintentional spa/sauna.

May not be much consolation for you; but, according to the old calender. Autumn is approaching your land and maybe that'll bring in cooling temps.

I'm sure it will but it's been months of this. Got down to 25c last night - still haven't pulled the sheet up.

I was re-reading this thread and it sort of petered out after the flood in 2015.

We eventually got back into the house after FIVE MONTHS.

But building insurance company was good, content insurance more of a wrestle but we got there in the end.

The council put an elevated cage over the drain to try and stop the blockage.

The next big rain we had the water came with a couple of millimeters of the lowest door. We were again out at 2am using big push brooms to move the water along quicker for an hour until the level dropped.

At daylight I went to check the drain:

I took photos of it before and after I dug it out of all the (some literal) crap that washed down Mt Whitfield. Went to a council meeting about the flooding in our suburb - most people affected by changed flows caused by a housing development on higher land about a km away from us - we were in a different situation - basically if our drain is kept clear it big enough to handle 300mm in two hours. I talked to the council engineer and he asked for my photos - I made him this animated gif:

So they put big metal posts in at 45 degrees facing up the hill to catch the big branches before they get to the drain.

It seemed to work (we just have to call the council to clean out the channel after a big fall.

Just as background our backyard is adjacent to natural bushland that is adjacent to Mt Whitfield Conservation Park.

The 'flooding' is caused when the first rain of the wet season washes all the bush detritus (tree branches, dead animals, fecies, general flora) that's built up in the dry down the hill. If the first rains aren't to big it's an orderly process and won't block the drain, if a big rain comes after smaller rains have moved most of the detritus it isn't an issue. The problem is when there's a lot of detritus and a big rain, the detritus catches in the drain cover slows down the waterflow into the drain and the water courses sideways through our yards.

Anyway the engineer solution I mentioned seemed to work - until early this February.

Where this timeline of events happened.
7:30 am Hinge about to leave for work, and phone rings. Caller ID says it's my neighbour up the hill. Can't hear.
7:31 Phone rings again - caller ID doesn't recognise number. It's neighbours wife (using landline) - come quickly the drain is blocked.
7:32 Hinge has stripped off work clothes and is in shorts and singlet and thongs entering neighbour's backyard (they have a gate in their back fence to access the drain - my fence backs onto the easement (and has no access to the drain)

Their backyard is knee deep in brown water and my thongs keep coming off as I head to the drain. Get to the gate and neighbour and his adult daughter are waste deep in the concrete channel to the draining pulling branches and other detritus out an throwing it on the downhill side of the drain, I jump in and help.

8:30 we finally have water flowing into the drain at a steady pace and we're soaked, exhausted and only just thinking whether we have melioidosis.

Neighbour explains that the whole family was on their second floor deck having breakfast when they saw the water start flowining into the backyard and they knew the drain must have blocked again.

If the timing had have been at any other time (when they weren't on the deck, or I wasn't home) we would have gone under again (Mrs Hinge told me when I got back that the water was lapping at the lowest entry into the house again - I could see the waterline left by leaves and dirt and it's hard to believe it didn't get into the house.

Anyway we're dragging the engineer in again - but I don't have any before photos for him this time.

That must be so bloody...well, draining

What’s the thing you are wondering about having? A water borne thing?

Very sorry

Sounds like terrible planning re the new estate. What a bloody shock....not.

The estate planning was a bit **** - but not for us - it isn't contributing to our issue, the stormwater drain is big enough to drain anything south of Noah - as long as the water flow isn't blocked by bush detritus.

Melioidosis is another thing that tries to kill you in Australia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melioidosis bacterial disease that's pretty rampant up here. Big reason why you don't go barefoot especially if you have a wound on your feet. Mrs Hinge had a work colleague get it on a trip up the cape - he was on the verge of organ failure, but eventually came good.

That PVC pipe to the right of the drain comes from my neighbours backyard and is meant to take the excess water from his property - it was three feet underwater when we trying to clear the cage around the drain.

gak