The devastation is unbelievable. I was around in the 1974 floods and the river has peaked to just below those levels but there is a much larger population now, thousands forced out of their homes in a lot of areas. The worst is the lives lost in the tsunami. We have just been on our favourite walk along the Shorncliffe shoreline and there is a huge amount of debris washed up including lounge suites, two big pontoons, trees, all sorts of rubbish and it is now starting to smell awful. Son and grandson spent two nights at the university near the river sandbagging and pumping water out but still damage to several buildings. The river is running at 30 knots in the middle - so my grandson tells me - and there have been so many pontoons with luxury boats attached racing down the river along with all sorts of other things. One smashed into one of the major bridges and just sank. We have always admired the beautiful homes and apartments along the river's edge and nearby but are now thankful that we can only afford to live in a modest house on a hill in the 'burbs.