However, some of the maps from which the data that Lord Mayor Campbell Newman was talking about yesterday are derived have been archived on a website hosted privately by Greg Lexiphanic, using crowdsourcing to upload district maps downloaded by readers. The site is here.

You can check on the likelihood of flooding in particular areas, and which properties are at risk.

I’d also suggest that people “like” the Queensland Police Service on Facebook and/or follow their Tweets. The QPS media unit is doing a great job of updating people with information from the Bureau of Meteorology, and providing constantly updated advice regarding road and service closures, areas flooded, and the need to evacuate.

Latest reports are that low lying parts of West End have been flooded, and areas around Eagle Street in the CBD evacuated.

The Queensland Government has an up to date page with details of warnings, road closures and maps of where the flooding is.

The flooding is expected to worsen tomorrow, when a king tide on the river combines with the effect of the wall of water that’s caused so much damage and regrettable loss of life in the Lockyer Valley hits the Wivenhoe Dam, which was 40% over capacity already yesterday. Continued release through the flood gates is unavoidable, so it’s important that everyone prepare.

I hope everyone is safe!

Update: In Brisbane, the latest reports suggest flooding in Yeronga, Fairfield, UQ St Lucia, Milton, West End and the CBD with high tide in about two hours. I’ve just heard from a friend on Facebook that there’s no water supply in Jindalee now.

Update: Police advise that the flood waters have now reached East Brisbane and Caboolture is cut off.

Update: Relevant Twitter hashtags are #qldfloods and #thebigwet, but take care regarding unsubstantiated information.
More updates below:
Update: Rumours that Brisbane public transport is closing down are untrue. Details of service disruptions are at the TransLink website.

Update: Latest advice from the Queensland Police Service.

Update: Important information on Twitter from the Queensland Police about “flood myths” which are causing people to act counter-productively.

Update: SEQIncidents reports that Sky News claims that Brisbane Airport is being closed are wrong.

Update: SEQIncidents is a useful unofficial source of information on Twitter.

Update: A police briefing on the floods will be on ABC News at 3pm Brisbane time. It will also be posted on Youtube here and live streamed on Facebook.

Update: Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman says tomorrow and Thursday will be “devastating” with up to 6500 homes and properties being flooded.

Update: Police have advised that a voluntary evacuation centre has been set up at the RNA Showgrounds for people who wish to leave their homes, and don’t have the option of staying with family or friends.

Update: Premier Anna Bligh warns that the Brisbane River may rise more than the 1974 level of 5.4 metres by Thursday. The Bremer River may rise 2m above the 74 level in Ipswich tomorrow. There will be a state government press conference shown on ABC News 24 and broadcast on ABC Radio every two hours.

Update: People are being asked not to use mobiles casually during Brisbane floods to retain communications capacity for emergencies.

Update: Donations to the flood appeal can be made here.

Update: An emergency alert has been issued for Ipswich residents.

Update: A live stream of the Brisbane River is hosted here.

Update: Queensland Health advice on floods.

Update: ABC News 24 has removed its geo filter so expats can tune into the Brisbane floods coverage.

Update: Latest ABC reports are that the Bremer River in Ipswich is likely to peak tonight between 11pm and 1am at levels substantially higher than in 1974. As someone who used to work in Ipswich at the UQ campus, and had and has friends living in the city, my thoughts go out to everyone there.

Update: ABC crowd-sourced Queensland floods map here.

Update: Information about where to source sandbags being distributed by Brisbane City Council is here.

Update: 75% of Queensland has now been declared a disaster zone, giving police and emergency workers powers to force evacuations and to take other appropriate action.

Update: What’s happening with Wivenhoe Dam.

Update: Transcript of Julia Gillard’s press conference.

Update: A full list of Brisbane streets likely to be affected by the flood in the next few days.

Update: A Brisbane City Council compiled Twitter list of updates about the floods can be accessed here.

Update: A Twitter list of information on the Brisbane floods, compiled by Peter Black; a new Facebook page for images and information.

Update: The Brisbane City Council website is back up, in low bandwidth mode, with updated maps for possible flooding tomorrow and Thursday. The level of inundation is now expected to go beyond the 6500 properties previously mentioned. There is other useful information regarding projected road closures, and other important notices and phone numbers.

Update: Police have advised that Energex will begin switching off power in some parts of the Brisbane CBD from 7am tomorrow.

Update: The death toll has now risen to 10, with a young boy from Marburg confirmed killed, and 78 people are unaccounted for.

Premier Bligh is warning that up to 40 000 homes and properties in Brisbane could be affected tomorrow.

ABC News Radio will be carrying Brisbane 612 Local Radio overnight, and streaming it here. There are also updates at the ABC Brisbane page.

Anna Bligh’s latest press conference can be viewed at the QPS YouTube page.

There’s also some more info on what’s been happening at the Fairfax papes.

Update: Information on river heights along the Brisbane, Caboolture and Bremer Rivers and tributaries from the Bureau of Meteorology.

Update: Volunteering Queensland has a page up where people can register, and the Police Service feed continues to be a good source for information about assisting with sandbag filling, as well as most everything else. There is now a Facebook page for sharing offers of temporary accommodation help. ConsultQld is another useful state government source of information on Twitter. The RSPCA at Fairfield is in danger of flooding and is seeking offers for foster homes for pets.

Update: Via @Sylvia Jeffreys, you can sign up to receive flood alerts by sms from Council here. Safe Food Queensland provides some useful tips.

NB: I’ve also been retweeting a lot of useful and interesting tweets at the LP Twitter account.

Update: Great post from Cosmic Jester capturing what today has felt like in Brisbane. And another take from Derek Barry.

Update: Brisbane City Council is providing flood updates on the Notes tab of its Facebook page.

Update: Some good news – controlled releases from the Wivenhoe Dam are decreasing and the dam level is falling.

Update: Some more good news! If you check the BOM weather radar, very little rain is now falling in SEQ. Along with the Wivenhoe dam level dropping below 190%, that’s a very good omen for the size of the floods which will hit Brisbane tomorrow!

Update: (by Robert). Mark has just been in touch. His home has lost power (and thus he has lost internet access) but he is fine and his own house is not threatened by the floods. Kim is also fine.

Update (by Robert): Some relatively good news – the flood peak in Brisbane appears to have been reached, and at 4.6 metres was lower than originally expected. In personal news, Mark is staying with his father (Brian) for the moment.

Folks might remember I talked a while back about the ‘Creative Brisbane’ event we’re presenting tonight as part of the Brisbane CitySmart Innovation Festival. The response to both this conversation and to the BrisCulture concept has been really exciting. I thought, therefore, I’d post a quick notice to let people know details of the event, should anyone who hasn’t already responded to our rsvp be interested in checking it out. Details are available at the BrisCulture website, and on the Facebook event page. Over the fold, I’ve posted the programme for the evening.

Well, the day has arrived! BrisCulture’s ‘Creative Brisbane’ event takes place tonight at the Old School of Arts, 166 Ann Street (in the Bleeding Heart Gallery) courtesy of our partners The Eidos Institute.

I thought it might be useful if I gave a quick run down of how the event will proceed.

The bar, cafe and gallery space will be open from 5pm. If you’re coming after work, please feel free to join us for some refreshment and you may also wish to enjoy the exhibition in the Bleeding Heart Gallery – a truly wonderful space.

We will be commencing our conversation in the gallery at 6pm. Professor Bruce Muirhead of Eidos will be chairing the event. The seminar will begin with a brief opening presentation from me about the BrisCulture concept, and then be thrown open to a discussion between the panelists and audience around the themes of ‘Creative Brisbane’. At the conclusion of proceedings, I will talk briefly about where we intend to take BrisCulture in the future.

There will be an opportunity at the close of the session for participants to register their interest in future events and projects and leave written comments.

We expect to conclude around 7.10pm, at which point we invite and welcome attendees to share a drink and some tapas on the front deck. There will be a cash bar and some free nibblies. All proceeds will go to support the ongoing gallery and community work of Bleeding Heart. The bar will be open until 8.30pm.

We’re extremely excited about our inaugural event, and are looking forward so much to seeing many of you there, meeting and interacting with you, and beginning to shape a sustainable cultural future for our town together!

Update: Some initial reflections on the evening have been posted at BrisCulture.

Update: Tony Robertson has posted his photos of last night’s event to Picasa.

While literature about Creative Cities abounds, every city has its own urbanism and its own distinct culture. A ‘one size fits all’ model doesn’t map neatly onto the specificities of place. While Brisbane is now on the arts map with new cultural infrastructure capable of attracting visitors in the hundreds and thousands to major exhibitions and events, what of the sustainability of the city’s everyday lived cultural experience and production? Our town has proved its value in fostering distinctive and innovative forms of cultural practice – the germination of the music scene in the Valley or the arrival of grunge lit being notable moments in time. But much of this activity takes place ‘underground’ – it bubbles up alchemically from below; drawing energy from serendipitous connections and a sense of locale. Although we welcome the era of government support, public art and creative industries policy, we contend that embedding, celebrating and fostering emergent practice is a task still to be thought out.

That’s the task we’ve set ourselves. It sounds ambitious, but it’s realisable because we’re approaching it as an exercise in making connections and fostering the art of public conversation and collaborative policy making. You can read about the project at BrisCulture and stay tuned for our first event. As part of the 2009 Brisbane CitySmart Innovation Festival, we are hosting a joint event with The Centre for Policy Development, and in conjunction with the Eidos Institute, on the 26th of May at the Old School of Arts in Ann Street, Brisbane – Creative Brisbane: Rethinking Innovation. This will only be the beginning – we’re conceiving BrisCulture as a rolling series of events, policy interventions, performances and conversations which exists in a virtual locale as well as in the spaces of the city.

If you’re interested in all this, whether as a Brisbanite, an occasional visitor, or just curious about the town, I’d encourage you to join our Facebook group, which will be utilised to keep everyone in the loop. I’m very excited about this project, and I think it will lead to some really interesting things!

<img src="http://larvatusprodeo.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/griffith-review-xmas-party-08-002.jpg"

<img src="http://larvatusprodeo.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/griffith-review-xmas-party-08-003-1.jpg"http://larvatusprodeo.net/2008/12/17/open-christmas-season-atrocities-thread/