Synagogue spared as waters recede
AS the nation begins to get a clearer picture of the devastation caused by the Queensland floods, the impact on Brisbane’s Jewish community is also becoming known.
AS the nation begins to get a clearer picture of the devastation caused by the Queensland floods, the impact on Brisbane’s Jewish community is also becoming known.
The Brisbane River peaked yesterday below predicted levels, however enough damage has been done to take the state’s death toll to 15 and leave 26,000 homes and businesses flooded.
Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies president Jason Steinberg described the extent of the damage as “devastating”.
“As the hours have progressed we’ve really been able to see the extent of the damage that the flood waters have caused,” he said.
“From the Jewish community’s perspective, there are around 20 or so homes and Jewish families that needed to be evacuated.
“There have been around 15 to 20 homes that have actually had flood damage [and] still a dozen or so homes which are without power or are isolated, so they’re landlocked and they can’t get out and no one can get in.”
But Steinberg praised the resilience of both the Jewish and wider Queensland community.
“Everyone’s pitching in to help,” he said.
“There’s so many people wanting to volunteer to get people back up on their feet and to clear up debris and mud and help, its just really amazing to see how people have come together.”
But he said a clearer picture of the damage was still needed before a major cleanup and rebuilding could begin.
“Some people are still isolated, people are still flooded in, people can’t get to their homes or close by to see what actual damage has been done so we’re still waiting to see how we can help and what needs to be done,” he said.
He added it was fortunate Jewish infrastructure had been spared, including the Brisbane Synagogue on Margaret Street in the CBD.
“The water really just came over the intersection on Albert and Margaret Street, and the synagogue is quite a distance and height elevation away from that,” he said.
“We were [also] concerned about our Jewish kindergarten, Gan Gani at Figtree Pocket in Brisbane’s western suburbs.
“The floodwaters did not impact on that building so we were very happy about that, so no Jewish institution or building was affected by the flood.”
A Jewish children’s day camp, Gan Izzy day Camp in Burbank, was cancelled earlier in the week.
GARETH NARUNSKY
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