Brisbane Jewish Community Apprehensive as Swollen River Rises
As thousands of Brisbane residents pack up and evacuate in the face of waters from Australia’s worst flood in three decades barreling down on the Queensland state capital, Jewish leaders in the coastal city are cautiously optimistic that their historic synagogue might be spared.
According to Rabbi Levi Jaffe, director of Chabad of Brisbane and rabbi of the 125-years-old Brisbane Hebrew Congregation, some members of the 3,000-strong Jewish community who live near the already-swollen Brisbane River left as soon as the first evacuation notices went into effect. Most people, however, live farther away from the waters’ edge and have adopted a tense wait-and-see attitude.
“We’ll see what happens in the next 12 or 24 hours,” said Jaffe, who lives on higher ground some distance from the river. “The biggest threat is the runoff from floods in the rest of Queensland. It’s constantly coming into the river, but the rain here has, for now, stopped.”
Authorities on Tuesday announced that the river would crest by Thursday, possibly exceeding record levels set back in 1974. They urged those living in or near the low-lying central business district to evacuate.
“We are facing one of our toughest ever tests,” Anna Bligh, the Queensland premier, said during a press conference. “We do have a very serious natural disaster on our doorstep and we will all have to work together.”
Back in 1974, floodwaters stopped short of the Brisbane Hebrew Congregation’s doors, so no one really knows how much danger the synagogue is in. The Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies released a statement calling on anyone with knowledge of those in need to contact a central number; it also asked those living further from the water to consider putting up evacuees.
Jaffe noted that two large dams had been constructed since the last major flood, and was hopeful that they would hold.
“There’s a very good chance that it won’t be as devastating as it was then,” he said. “I think it’s going to depend on how much rain falls.”
Chief on everyone’s mind, however, was the devastation wrought against an entire countryside over the past two weeks and a horrific flashflood Monday night that wreaked havoc on the town of Toowoomba, just west of Brisbane. After an hour of unending rainfall, a veritable wall of water – described in some reports as an “inland tsunami” – scoured Toowoomba’s streets of anything it its path, whether buildings, cars or trees.
On Tuesday, 78 people were still missing; at least 10 people have so far died in the floods throughout the state.
“The circumstances in Queensland continue to be very dire indeed,” The New York Times quoted Prime Minister Julia Gillard as saying from Canberra. “The nation does need to brace itself for the fact that the death toll as a result of yesterday’s flash flooding is likely to rise.”
While rescue crews combed through the debris, officials with the Melbourne-based Chabad of Rural and Regional Australia dispatched volunteers with supplies to help survivors.
“The Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies Inc. (QJBD) is very grateful for the work of Chabad of Rural and Regional Australia who have been in regular contact with Jewish people in flooded areas,” read the statement, which was signed by Jason Steinberg, the organization’s president. “Over the next few days, and as Brisbane experiences more significant flooding, the QJBD, together with Queensland Jewish Community Services and the Jewish Help in Need Society seek your assistance.”
For his part, Jaffe said that he and his associates were ready to do whatever situations dictated. If need be, a team will remove Torah scrolls from the synagogue, and volunteers will assist evacuees.
“It’s a bit of a worry,” the rabbi acknowledged, “but we’re hoping for the best.”
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