If you watch the ABC news or listen to Albo, you would think that the flooding in the Kimberley region of WA is “record”, “unprecedented”, and a sign that disasters are becoming more frequent and more severe.
Here’s the ABC:
“The Fitzroy River peaked at a record height of 15.8 metres at Fitzroy Crossing on Wednesday afternoon but is expected to fall below the major flood level of 12.5 metres today.”
Wow! 15.8 metres! How much above the previous record was it, intrepid ABC reporters?
A quick glance at the Fitzroy Crossing Tourism website shows how this flood compares:
| YEAR | LEVEL |
|---|---|
| 1983 | 22.37m |
| 1984 | 22.28m |
| 1986 | 22.09m |
| 1991 | 22.39m |
| 1993 | 24.38m |
| 1996 | 20.40m |
| 1997 | 19.80m |
| 1999 | 19.00m |
| 2000 | 22.05m |
| 2001 | 21.85m |
| 2002 | 22.66m |
| 2007 | 19.20m |
| 2009 | 19.90m |
| 2011 | 22.69m |
Oops!
But we’re getting used to the standard of ABC reporting, and climate catastrophism in general.
h/t Siliggy in a comment at Jen Marohasy’s blog.
kenskingdom 
January 11, 2023 at 7:34 pm |
Tks for your MAJIC to expose ABC. Frm pd at Wodonga
January 14, 2023 at 7:37 pm |
Hi Ken. That Tourism website link came in reply from Mantaray Yunupingu, to my list of links to old newspapers and other sources of history about the Eugowra floods. http://www.warwickhughes.com/agri16/6Eugowra.html
Sadly i have no idea how to check those Fitzroy crossing records. Hope one of your readers does. Someone has it badly wrong.
January 17, 2023 at 8:25 am |
Hi Lance, I have tried to find historic Fitzroy Crossing flood levels without luck. I have posted on the FC Facebook page to see if anyone knows. Surely BOM wouldn’t be so overt in being wrong
January 17, 2023 at 5:32 pm |
Could the recent 15.8M have been taken at a different location?
January 17, 2023 at 6:11 pm |
But where? Fitzroy Crossing is Fitzroy Crossing. The BOM doesn’t say where it was recorded.
January 17, 2023 at 5:34 pm |
NASA reported the 15.8M too:
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/150814/flooding-along-australias-fitzroy-river#:~:text=Australia%E2%80%99s%20Bureau%20of%20Meteorology%20reported%20that%20the%20river%E2%80%99s,during%20flooding%20in%202002.%20January%207%2C%202023%20JPEG