Athol's genius with 1940 Plymouth

A phone call last night from Athol in Mitchell told Doug excellent news.

In early February this year, the Maranoa River flooded Doug's 1940 Plymouth sedan to a level over the steering wheel. Subsequently, Athol offered to care for and tinker with the old girl.

In the process, he drained the engine of two buckets of water and oil. Then he flushed the engine with diesel, cleaned out the carburettor and distributor, fixed the starter motor, charged the battery, and drained the gearbox and diff.

"The old girl is going!" declared Athol on the phone last night, "better than ever!"

Doug's not surprised, as he knows better than me of Athol's remarkable mechanical skills. Nevertheless Doug's very happy! And so too am I.

Maranoa River in flood: a formidable force

With our home in Mitchell situated alongside the Maranoa River, the level of water in the river is of great interest to us.

Today the river is running at 9 m. The previous high was 8.6 m in 1990. To put it in easier to imagine terms, the river is flowing over the road bridge. Mitchell is cut off from St George in the south, Roma to the east, and Charleville to the west. As far as our house is concerned, the river has spilled over the bitumen road towards our place, and is over the nature strip and flowing up our path -- towards the house.

There's nothing we can do!

Phone calls and the Internet keep us informed. The council has put sand bags at three points along Louisa Street. All the houses along our road have been evacuated, as more rain is expected.

This, the fastest flowing river in Queensland, floods with a mighty roar. It is truly an awesome river and although I know it runs the very real risk of being flooded, I'm still glad we live alongside the Maranoa River in Mitchell.

PS.
I'll include a photo of Stego. He's thinking of the view he'd get from his Mitchell home on the verandah. He'd be able to see the river extending over the road and flowing up the path.

The photos of the river, taken in July 2011, give some idea of the river today. All would be full and overflowing down streets. An evacuation centre has been established and people are moving out. Some people have emptied their houses of valuables.