Yasi

[TheMercenary]

Don't they have huge empty reservoirs that could be filled to hold all that water to fight the drought?

[Sundae]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

Don't they have huge empty reservoirs that could be filled to hold all that water to fight the drought?

Australia experienced drought for years. From 2003-until 2009 huge swathes of Aus were subject to drought. One of the reasons for flooding is that when the rain falls, it falls too fast to seep into the ground and provide water for the medium to long term, it simply runs across the super-dry land. Reservoirs and dams are not really boosted by flash floods.

Things are far better than they were due to reasonably consistent rainfall, especially in QLD, since 2009. Now Australia faces the opposite problem thanks to La Nina - the cooler, female equivilant of El Nino.

But the bottom line is that Australia is the driest inhabited continent. And in large parts it is simply not a friendly place to live. Aussies love their homeland. It just doesn't love them back so much.