I've had a few emails from people a bit geographically unaware, asking if I am OK with the floods in Australia having tragically killed a few people last two days and in the current process of flooding an area the size of many countries. Thanks for the concern, appreciated, answered singly but I thought I would post this too.

I am 1700 km away and safe. The weather has arrived down here though, 5 inches (125mm) in a day, emptied the raingauge and it filled another 25mm in the last shower half an hour ago. I am sure plenty of places see this kind of rain, but not round here, usually we are worrying about totally dry forests and raging fires. Now we have flash floods across a continent. Global warming?

Even in rich countries with technology and infrastructure, fires and floods kill the old, unaware, unlucky and the young, that is the horror of it. The deaths came from a combination of factors that created and pushed an 8 meter high wall of water through a valley and smashed into small towns like a tsunami, no warning, just seconds to escape - or not.

Helicopters and rescue boats cannot handle those conditions and most of the army is away busy killing people elsewhere but the wonderful and highly trained Voluntary Emergency Services Australia relies on in fires and floods, and some army reservists, will get in there.

And the run off from those type of events over a couple of days is flooding out Brisbane, a major state capital. Anyway, you will see it on the news. And in a few days if I can get on the m'bike, I will be riding mud again!

We can deploy armies around the world, we can go to the moon but we cannot work out how to live with fire and water. Gonna cost many billions of dollars this one.