Horror and heroism in the Queensland flood disaster

The latest news is that of floodwater receding in Brisbane and surging into other areas in Queensland.  The video clips on TV last night showed passable city streets, cars back on the road and residents cleaning up the debris in their houses and yards.

Front page, 12 January 2011.

It was good to hear that 95% of the members of the Filipino communities in the affected areas did not have to abandon their homes, and the 5% who were in the evacuation centers have returned home.

Front Page, 14 January 2011.

 Brisbane got hit with its worst flood in 118 years since 1893 (Brisbane Times, 12 Jan).  That's all because Queensland had its wettest on record last year--"the wettest spring on record, the wettest September and December, while every month from August to December ranked in their respective top 10s"  with the average annual rainfall at 1109.73 mm against the mean rainfall for all of Australia at 690 mm (Nancarrow, 05 Jan).

"It's a tragedy of epic proportions," Glenda Kwek wrote (11 Jan), "as overwhelming volumes of water cut a destructive swathe through Queensland towards Brisbane and beyond, wrecking families and their fortunes in its path. ... rushing waters savaged Toowoomba, Lockyer Valley, Grantham and Murphys Creek in just one hour."

The turbulent waters claimed lives (15 deaths as of 14 Jan), damaged properties (up to 40,000) and totally crippled the state's mining industry (equivalent to $100-million lost per day in export revenues). The Cairn Post (14 Jan) puts the daily state loss at $460-million.

With Queensland under water and damage to rail services very extensive, the coal mines declared force majeure, creating a critical impact on supply and prices of thermal and metallurgical coals to consumers around the world..  

The sobering words of state Premier Anna Bligh and the heroism of citizens, the most heart-breaking of all that of 13-year old Jordan Rice who died to save his brother, stood out through the horror of the state's and Brisbane's massive flooding.

Bligh's ringing voice through the dark, dreadful weather --

Front page, 14 Jan 2011.

"It's breaking our hearts ... but it won't break our will."

Front page, 14 Jan 2011.

Clipping from The Border Mail 'the river city' front page. 

When the summer sun shines again on Queensland, and the long recuperation and restoration begins in the lives of families and communities, they will have Jordan Rice to remember and inspire. He reminds of the boy in the dike who plugs his finger through the leak and saves his town. Jordan's heroic act is an inspiring reminder in times of desperate circumstances.

The heroism of 13-year old Jordan is best described in the account of Peta Doherty and Nicky Phillips (How Jordan died to save his brother, Brisbane Times, 13 Jan):

Jordan Rice.  Source: Brisbane Times at http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/environment/weather/how-jordan-died-to-save-his-brother-20110112-19obf.html

"IT IS almost unimaginable the fear 13-year-old Jordan Rice would have felt as the car he and his family were in was pummelled by a wall of water.

"But as it began engulfing the vehicle, Jordan, who could not swim himself, insisted his younger brother, Blake, 10, be rescued first.

"Five minutes later he was clinging to a pole, dodging cars and wheelie bins after he risked his life to try to save the Rice family.

"While Blake was rescued, Jordan and his mother, Donna, 43, perished when they were swept away in the flood.

"''When I first saw the car the water was up to the number plate,'' Mr McErlean, 37, a Toowoomba builder, told the Herald.

"''I thought I would push it backwards but by the time I walked 20 metres, it [the water] was up on the bonnet and coming up the windscreen.''

"Mr McErlean grabbed a rope, tied one end to a post, the other around his waist and set out to rescue the woman and two boys but the fast-moving water swept him downstream.

"Another rescuer, known only as Chris, pulled Mr McErlean to safety before tying the rope to himself and approaching the car to grab Jordan.

"But Jordan wanted his brother to go first so Chris took Blake, handing him to Mr McErlean part way across before heading back to the car.

"''I had the boy in one hand, the rope in the other. I wasn't going to let go but then the torrent came through and was pulling us down,'' Mr McErlean said.

"''Then this great big tall fellow just came out of nowhere, bear hugged us and ripped us out of the water.

"''When I got back I turned to look at the guy [Chris]. He looked at me and we knew it was over. The rope snapped and the car just flipped.''

"Chris, who had been holding Jordan's hand until it was torn from him, flew metres in the air before locking his legs around a post in the centre of the road, said Mr McErlean.

"''The others were just gone, just disappeared,'' he said."

 

Sources:

1.   Brisbane Times Online. Queensland Under Water at  http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/environment/weather/qldfloods

      1.1   05 Jan 2011. Dan Nancarrow. 2010: Queensland's wettest year on record

      1.2   05 Jan 2011. Staff Reporters.   Flood recovery leader appointed

      1.3   11 Jan 2011. Glenda Kwek.   A terror that took their breath away ... and it's coming again

      1.4   11 Jan 2011. Staff Reporters.  Brisbane prepares for worst flood in 118 years

      1.5   13 Jan 2011. Peta Doherty and Nicky Phillips.  How Jordan died to save his brother

  

2.    Herald Sun (Melbourne) at http://www.heraldsun.com.au/

3..   The Cairns Post (Cairns) at http://www.cairns.com.au/

4.   Townsville Bulletin (Townsville) at http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/ 

5.   The Border Mail (Albury-Wodonga) at http://www.bordermail.com.au/

Death by earth & water in the Brazilian summer



Clipped front pages of Brazil papers, 13 January 2011.

In the translation, this non-Portuguese reader found the headline of A Noticia--"the coming events in 2011"--quite eerie since it has nothing to do with the photographic spread on the "catastrophe in Rio".  The show will definitely go on for the "over 20 trade fairs and conferences in Joinvilee" during the year, but as of now, rescue workers are desperately looking for victims of the landslides in Teresopolis, Nova Friburgo and Petropolis, three cities in the mountainous region near Rio de Janeiro. 

The mountain came tumbling down at dawn of Thursday, 13 January, after becoming water-logged from so much rain--almost a month's rain in 24 hours.  "Torrents of mud and water," Reuters reported, "set off by heavy rains left trail of destruction ... toppling houses, buckling roads and burying entire families as they slept." 

The latest death toll was 443, with more feared.  It may yet exceed the 594 lives lost in the same area, which Extra  reported for the decade (2001-10), more than half of that, 331, last year.  "It's a recurring tragedy," the paper cried, "but ate quando (until when)?" 

And yet it's summer in South America when the rains come in Brazil. It's the climate and urban sprawl combined, says Correio Braziliense, that causes this tragedy. The mountainsides have been stripped where people built brick and wooden houses.

"Landslides and flash floods are common in much of Brazil," Reuters reported, "often exposing poor urban planning and a lack of preventive action by authorities." Apparently, there are no housing policies that prevent poor people from building houses in risky areas such as the base of steep hills. According to Reuters, "President Dilma Rousseff, facing the first major challenge of her presidency since taking office on January 1, called it a tragedy that could not be blamed only on mother nature."

De javu? This catastrophe in Rio recalls the landslides that swept away hillside villages in northern Philippines, and the sudden flood that submerged large portions of Metro Manila, at the height of storm Ondoy in 2009. 

Clipped front page of Manila Bulletin (Philippines), 14 Jan 2011.

At present, people are in evacuation centers in flooded towns in Albay in northern Luzon and Leyte in the Visayas due to heavy rains.  The Philippine weather office PAGASA has warned 9 provinces to brace for the worst due to predicted adverse climate conditions.

Sources:

1.   Front Pages, 13 January 2011 of the following Brazilian papers --

      1.1.  A Noticia (Joinville) at http://www.clicrbs.com.br/anoticia/jsp/default.jsp?uf=2&local=18&section=capa_online

      1.2.   Extra (Rio de Janeiro).

      1.3.   Folha da Regiao (Aracatuba) at http://www.folhadaregiao.com.br/

      1.4.   Correio Braziliense (Brasilia, Distrito Federal) at http://www.correioweb.com.br/
     1.5.   Gazeta Do Povo (Curitiba) at.http://www.gazetadopovo.com.br/

2.   Queiroz, Sergio. (2011, Jan 13). Brazil flood death toll rises to 443, more feared. Reuters. Retrieved from http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110113/wl_nm/us_brazil_rains/print

  

Second Lady Marcela Temer co-stars with Brazil President Dilma Rousseff

The above 04 January 2011 front page of Diario de Sao Paulo says of the "muses of the Dilma era":  "Not only the beautiful Marcela [in full body shot], wife of [Brazil Vice President] Michel Temer, who shines in Brasilia. The Congress has its beauties too. ... Marcela stole the show [i.e., the inauguration of Dilma]."

Blonde Marcela Temer is 27 years old, a former model and beauty queen, and a law school graduate.  She happens to be the wife of Michel Temer, Vice President of Brazil, who is 70 years old.

According to Reuters, they met seven years ago at an event in her hometown in Sao Paulo state.  She asked him for a photo; in return, he asked for her phone number.  They got married in 2003, and they have a son.

"Marcela stole the show," said the Diario de Sao Paulo (above).  With her glamorous looks and fashion style, she easily grabbed the headlines from Dilma Rousseff during her inauguration as first female president of Brazil last Saturday, 01 January.  According to BBC News, one paper compared her to a "Roman goddess" during the event.  Marcela has also become a hot topic in the social networks like Twitter.

She has also been called the Carla Bruni of Brazil.  Carla, a model and songwriter, is the third wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy. She was 41 when she married Sarkozy in February 2008.  There's just 12 years age difference between them compared to the Temer's 43!

Global Post says the age difference and the Carla tag don't bother the Temers.

Marcela is reported to have said, "Age is not an obstacle in our case. It's like Michel was 30 years old. It's funny to say, but it's true."  Regarding the Carla tag, Michel said of his wife, "[She] is discreet ..."

Our interest on Marcela Temer (and Carla Bruni) has something to do with the bachelor president of the Philippines, Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III (PNoy for short) who's turning 51 this February.

PNoy has had a string of short-term courtships with celebrities (TV hosts, politician, stylist, and lately a businesswoman) and can probably do a Michel Temer/Nicolas Sarkozy during his 6-year watch.

PNoy may have to engage his sisters, their family's elite social circle and media friends to scout for a Marcela Temer (model/beauty queen/lawyer) or a Carla Bruni (pedigreed model and music artist) for him.  He can't keep the presidential residence Pag-asa (Hope) a batchelor's pad for long with only a nanny and the security attending to his needs.  He definitely needs someone to share his love for music, someone to keep him company in his den full of his collection of music CDs.


Sources:

1.   BBC News. (2011, Jan 03).  Marcele Temer 'steals show' at Brazil inauguration.  BBC News Latin America & Caribbean Online.  Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-12108745

2.   Huntington Post, The.  (2011, Jan 03).  Marcela Temer, Brazil's 27-Year-Old Second Lady, Makes Headlines.  The Huntington Post Online.  Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/03/marcela-temer-brazil_n_803592.html

3.   News Desk--Global Post Editors. (2011, Jan 04). Marcela Temer: Brazil's Carla Bruni?  GlobalPost Online.  Retrieved from  http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/brazil/110104/marcela-temer-brazils-carla-bruni

4.   Reuters Life!. (2011, Jan 03).  In new Brazil government, ex-model steals the show.  Reuters US Edition Online.  Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE7021XG20110103

5.   Carla Bruni & Nicolas Sarkozy from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carla_Bruni and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Sarkozy,  respectively.

Dilma Rousseff becomes first female president of Brazil

President Dilma Rousseff belongs to PT (Workers' Party) while Governor Geraldo Alckmin of Sao Paulo state is with the PSDB (Brazilian Social Democracy Party).  There are 27 states including the federal district where the national capital Brasilia is located. State governors--also powers to reckon with--assumed office on New Year's Day. 

On New Year's Day, Dilma Rousseff became the first woman to become president of Brazil in 121 years.  She garnered 56% of the popular vote in the run-off elections last October.

Dilma was a student activist and joined the leftist resistance against the military dictatorship in the 1960s.  She was tortured jailed for three years, and went back to school upon her release.


Governor Antonio Augusto Anastasia of Minas Gerais state is not a Dilma partymate. He belongs to the PSDB also like Alckmin of Sao Paulo.  Anastasia did not attend Dilma's inaugural reception.

 In attendance during her inauguration in the capital Brasilia were 23 heads of state including Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, Paraguay's Fernando Lugo and Uruguay's Jose Mujica, who are said to be left-leaning, nine vice presidents, 76 ambassadors and 24 secretaries of state including Hillary Clinton. 

There are now three female presidents in Latin America:  recently widowed Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who took over the presidency of Argentina from her husband Nestor in 2007, Laura Chinchilla who was assumed the presidency of Costa Rica in May 2010, and Dilma who inherited the reins of government from her mentor, Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva, who she served as his chief of staff and before that, as minister of energy.

Lula set the bar for Dilma's success as leader of almost 200 million people--87% approval rating after eight years that saw Brazil enjoy an economic boom and rising as a global power.


Lula and Dilma (01 December 1010).

 Lula fully backed her up during the election campaign.  Since they both belong to the PT (Workers' Party), she is expected to continue his policies.  According to reports, Dilma acknowledged that "Lula has left this legacy to me: I'll be the mother of the Brazilian people."

In her inaugural speech, she "committed to honoring women, to protecting the most vulnerable and to govern for all."  Of her 37 ministers, nine are women. Brazil is a federation of 27 states including the federal district, hence, Dilma will be working with 26 state governors who may have policy agenda of their own. They may not also be with her political party.

She also said that her government will "give great attention to emerging nations .... [it] will not make the smallest concession to the protectionism from rich nations that suffocate any opportunity for so many nations to overcome poverty through the hard work of production."

Dilma Rousseff is coming in as Brazil faces bright prospects in the exploitation of its massive offshore oil reserves, and prepares to host the Copa Mundial in 2014 and the Summer Olympics in 2016 while struggling with povery, crime and corruption.  She vowed "to help eradicate extreme poverty in the next decade."


Sources:

1.   Baker, Hazel. (2011, Jan 01). Brazil hands power to first female president. Sky News Online. Retrieved from http://news.sky.com/skynews/Article/201101115877045

2.  Moura, Helena de. (2011, Jan 01). Brazil inaugurates first female president.   CNN World Online. Retrieved from  http://articles.cnn.com/2011-01-01/world/brazil.female.president_1_first-female-president-luiz-inacio-lula-brazil?_s=PM:WORLD

3.  BBC News. (2010, Oct 31). The women presidents of Latin America. BBC News Latin America & Carribean.  Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11447598

January 1 is not New Year to other cultures ...

Our translation of bottom text:  "Not all will celebrate tonight (New Year's eve).  Although the impression is of being a universal celebration, other cultures and faiths will not celebrate the arrival of a new year this evening. Aside from the Gregorian calendar, which governs the western world and the most widespread, the Hebrews, the Chinese and the Arab world have another accounting of the years. For them, this is just another night." 

Source:  El Commercio (2010, December 31). Lima, Peru. Retrieved from http://elcomercio.pe/.

The newspaper El Commercio of Lima, Peru had it in the front page feature (above) that, yes, there are other cultures that do not celebrate New Year on 01 January. People like us whose lives are governed by the Gregorian calendar (actually Christian, which replaced the pagan Julian calendar) marked the coming of the New Year last night with the usual merriment and noise, firecrackers and fireworks, and tables heavy with round fruits and favorite special dishes.

The Chinese will have their new year on 03 February, the Hebrews on 29 September, and the Muslims on 26 November, in the Gregorian year 2011. It's going to be year 5772 among the Jews, year 4709 to our Chinese friends, and year 1433 to our Muslim brothers.

It's only the Gregorians who have a fixed-date New Year (01 January). 

The Chinese move it in accordance with their 12-year cycle, and their new year comes either in January or February. The coming one is their Year of the Rabbit; next year, it's going to be Year of the Dragon, and new year will be 23 January.

The Jewish new year is more popular as Rosh Hashanah, a holiday in the United States, which is a moveable feast based on the day of the Passover, a religious event to Christians who read the Old Testament.  The Rosh is on the 163rd day after the first day of the Passover, and the Jewish year 5772 starts on the Gregorian date 29 September 2011.

The Islamic calendar is shorter by 11 to 12 days than the Gregorian, and it is based on lunar and astronomical calculations.

There is also the Buddhist calendar. Among themselves, the Buddhists have different new years, all lunar festivals.  In the Theravadin countries (Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka,Cambodia and Laos), new year is lunar, and it comes three days after the first full moon day in April.  The Thais, Cambodians and Laotians follow the same Buddhist calendar.  In the Mahayana countries (Tibet, China, Mongolia, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Nepal and Indonesia), the Buddhist New Year starts on the first full moon day in January. Tibetans usually celebrate one month later than the Chinese, Koreans and Vietnamese though (Buddhanet, 2010 at http://www.buddhanet.net/festival.htm ).

In the Philippines, tt's not surprising that most of the Pinoy's superstitions about New Year are Chinese-influenced. The Sangleys were trading with this archipelago long before the Spaniards claimed it to be become Las Islas Filipinas.

The Chinese in the Philippines of course celebrate twice--the Gregorian and their own,which would be in February yet. Last night was Manigong Bagong Taon (Happy New Year); next month will be Kung Hei Fat Choi (Gung Hay Fat Choy).

Today (01 January 2011) in numerics is 1-1-11, which elicited the same lucky-number kind of excitement as 10-10-10 (10 Oct 2010) because it also occurs very, very rarely.