Waterlogged Pilbara!

We had a VERY wet day on Sunday, and I have some exciting photos to share!

It had been raining all night as the tropical low moved in, and when we woke up the rain hadn't ceased so we made the mad dash through camp to the mess to pack our lunches and have breakfast as normal. Then out to the buses - dodging lake-like-puddles and deep suctioning mud - and in to the mine site. We all off loaded and were wet to the bone by the time we made it under cover - the rain was torrential!!

The fieldies stayed in the crib huts as it was impossible for them to work, and we office folks got a little bit done here and there before they eventually sent us home an hour or so later. Management said they needed to get everyone off site - even the people that could keep working since we were sheltered by the office - since the roads were getting so flooded it might soon be impossible to get out at all!!

Back at camp we settled in for a relaxing and unexpected day off - lots of lounging around inside watching movies and (in my case at least) knitting! When we popped our heads out the door to check out the weather (the rain had been unabating) we saw the large deep gutter that circles the camp was getting very full. I had been pondering "I wonder if it will overflow!?" so a short while later we thought we'd check on it again... Well... the answer was YES!

I threw on some work pants I didn't mind getting grubby and waded out into the gutter to see how deep it was - Shweetie humoured my crazy whim and took a shot of me from the bank! I was a bit disappointed since I had expected it to come up to my waist - but impressive none the less! I then embarked on a bit of an adventure around camp to see how bad the flooding was in other areas...

The fast paced run off from the flats surrounding the camp, gushed down into the gutters, creating a strong current in the water as it flowed.
The water started to lap at people's steps and then their DOORS! One friend of mine had an inch of water in her bathroom, it came up through the drain in the bathroom floor and flooded it!

There were a couple of hilarious moments, such as a stranded carton of beer...

and some poor person must have left their boots out the front because they were casually drifting away!


But it does make me realise that it's all fun, novelty and adventure at this stage - but how quickly things can turn disasterous and dangerous too.

All has quietened now and the waters have ebbed away, so we're back at work and back to normal - just a little bit soggy!