Grantham flood survivor recalls 'bang' that may have been quarry wall breach
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Version 0 of 1. A survivor of the 2011 Grantham floods has detailed the crucial moment he suspects an embankment wall burst and sent a deadly torrent of water crashing through his small town in south-east Queensland. Jonathan Sippel took the stand on the second day of public hearings in the Grantham floods commission of inquiry in Gatton on Tuesday. The inquiry, headed by commissioner Walter Sofronoff QC, is looking into how 12 people died when floodwaters tore through Grantham, about 80km west of Brisbane, on 10 January 2011. Sippel told the inquiry he watched his neighbours Neville and Charmaine Mallon trying to evacuate on a tractor as the floodwaters rose. “There was a hell of a crash and a bang that lasted 10-15 seconds,” Sippel said. “Both of them got sucked sideways towards the east in only about a foot of water, sucked sideways and smashed the front of the tractor into the tree.” Related: Grantham flood finding that quarry had no impact 'not rational', inquiry told Sippel, whose home was located near the town’s quarry, said he thought the loud noise and increased flooding were related. “My belief at that time was part of the [quarry] wall had let go and there was a hell of a rush,” he said. “I couldn’t physically see the wall ... but that’s when I believe the instant suction of the creek and the water flow picked up speed rapidly – very rapidly.” Sippel said he had concerns about one of the quarry’s large embankment walls before the floods, fearing its size and proximity to a nearby creek would influence the flow of water. “I took a note of it and thought to myself, ‘That’s a hell of a bank’,” he said. “It was just in the back of my head that it could possibly cause the water to get pushed sideways through our block, rather than get a free run across the plain as it had previously.” Related: Flood damage in Grantham, Australia Sippel said it appeared the embankment had been “fairly disturbed, like stuff had been deposited on there over time and taken away”. He said he mentioned his concerns informally to a local councillor, Peter Friend, but did not take the matter further. One of the inquiry’s key objectives is to determine what effect the quarry had on flood levels after a broader investigation in 2012 found it had no impact. The inquiry continues. |