For those not aware, the Australian state of Queensland is currently suffering from major floods. Our main office is based in Brisbane and everything is getting a bit crazy. There's a lot of stuff floating around online so I just wanted to throw together a list of helpful (working, for now) online resources for people to be aware of:

• Queensland's Disaster Management Services
• Queensland state-wide travel alerts
• BCC FloodWise, to check if your address is in a flood danger zone
• Flood map mirror - from the BCC site before it went offline.
• BCC website (my mirror, as it appears to be intermittent)
• Traffic cam - Riverside Expressway (traffic at standstill), Ipswich Motorway (thanks parabol)
• Trains, Buses and Ferries travel updates (thanks HerbalLizard!)
• SES Emergency Contact Details

Update, Saturday 15th January @9:17am:The waters seem to have largely receded and things are calming down a bit. There's a lot of cleanup work to be done but it is absolutely amazing to keep hearing stories about too many volunteers and the things people are doing - the stories of random kindnesses by strangers are great to hear and it's a testament to the character of the citizens of Brisbane. Saturday Updates:

• new@5:00am BCC morning update
• new@9:00am BCC Volunteer Fact Sheet for those able to help out.
• new@9:00am Regular bus services to resume today

Friday Updates:

• @9:00am BCC fact sheets (mirror): advice for residents & business, evacuation centre news, how to volunteering
• @9:00am BCC financial relief - extra 30 days for rate bills, $100 rebate on water bill, no parking restrictions in affected areas
• @9:00am Updated bus services for Brisbane
• @9:00am From BCC Facebook (inexplicably, no link): "Public Transport will be FREE across all Translink services for eight days, until the final service on Fri, Jan 21 to assist with flood recovery across south east queensland."
• @9:00am Some bin pickups are happening. Be safe with your waste & remember it might not get picked up!

Thursday Updates:

• @5:40am BCC's morning flood update
• @11:04am Google now have flood information, including road closures and river levels.

Wednesday Updates:

• @10:00am List of roads that are closed due to flooding
• @10:30am No more sandbagging required
• @10:30am Qld Police Updates - Don't travel unless you have to. Go to high ground if you need to evacuate. Flood waters will rise despite no more rain.
• @10:49am BCC waste collection services suspended.

Tuesday Updates:

• @9:10pm List of streets and suburbs where more flooding is expected on Wednesday 12th Jan
• @10:01pm Ipswich power to be cut at 11pm tonight
• @10:09pm Severe weather warning canceled
• @10:13pm All sandbagging locations are now full. Nice work citizens!!
• @11:20pm BCC Facebook Notes has up-to-date flood maps
• @11:22pm Energex website is finally back online after an extended absence, though in a reduced version
• @11:32pm Updated Energex statement for CBD - possible shutdowns from 8.30am Wednesday morning.
• @11:36pm No more updates for tonight from me!

Other things to be aware of:

• Mobile phone networks in the Brisbane area are struggling under the load. You may have to make several calls to get through (and I personally wouldn't trust an SMS). Use landlines and the Internet where possible!
• Roads, shopping centres and petrol stations are very busy as people rush about trying to stock up for the duration. Not saying this is a good or bad idea, but if you need to go anywhere, bear it in mind.

If you are in an affected area, best of luck - stay safe, but remember to stay calm and make sure you're acting on the best possible information. All the resources listed here are at least somewhat official, but you should always try to check and verify that they are up-to-date before making any decisions based on them. There's a lot of rumours and conjecture around. To help everyone else, please try to avoid spreading panicky rumours without verification - make sure if you're posting something on Facebook or Twitter or a forum or sending SMSs, you've confirmed they're real issues and (if possible) make sure you include an official source for your information so it is easy for people to verify.

Above all, DON'T PANIC!