Could your home be flooded by the Brisbane River? Southeast Queensland has been visited in many years by one or more tropical cyclones. Rain has fallen downstream of the Wivenhoe and Somerset dams, preventing their flood relief. Then the flood height reached has depended on the capacity of the river channel and floodplain to carry away the floodwater.

Low-lying suburbs flooded previously could be flooded again, but also suburbs not previously flooded could be submerged when the downpour falls on them. Flooding could also be worsening because the river channel is being blocked by sediment from farm run-off, dredged until 1996. The river channel is also being obstructed by concrete bridge support islands. The combined backwater effect of numerus obstructions built in the river channel and on the floodplain could raise flood heights and bring flooding to suburbs so far unaffected.

Brisbane River Anti-Memoir examines potential to reduce flooding now, rather than being a historical record or personal data. Martin Knox is an engineer who uses philosophy to analyse physical and statistical evidence, as well hearsay, all in a phenomenological framework that discovers potential for important flood mitigation.

The conclusions apply widely to Brisbane River flooding, as a guide for needed government action and for home preparation for evacuation, including by people who have so far been lucky.

The novel: Brisbane River Anti-Memoir is available from Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/24jad5ku

Reviews and excerpts from Knox’s seven published novels are on his blog: martinknox.com