Nearly 8 a.m. on March 1 here in eastern Australia. Heavy rains have been falling overnight with 50mm (2″) falling by 7 a.m. There’s talk of flooding in many areas, including around my area. A local school has closed for the day because the rural children have to travel along sometimes very slipper when wet roads.
As I look out of the window where I’m sitting, it is wet and windy. Our weather chart shows a massive band of cloud over a large area of eastern Australia so more rain will come. It makes me wonder if the sports field across the road will flood for the fourth time in two years. This is the pattern when the La Nina pattern hits the South Pacific. When EL Nino takes hold, we risk drought. Until this last two years’ La Nina, drought was a major problem now dams are overflowing, rivers are rising and the country waits the next El Nino.
One of my favourite Australian poems comes to mind when I see the extremes. Here is a four line extract of “My Country” by Dorothea MacKellar…
I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
If you are interested in seeing the full text of the poem, here is a link…
http://www.lancescoular.com/my-country-by-dorothea-mackellar.html
In two years time, the poem will be 100 years old. It is an iconic description of Australia.
@RossMannell
Teacher, NSW, Australia
