The memorial service at the University of Arizona was planned as a wake, a celebration of the lives of those that died, and to start the process of healing a community that has been badly shaken by a horrific event. The event was planned by the University, not by anyone else, and it was the decision of the University to push the concept of “Together We Thrive”.

Obviously this is a foreign concept to the wingnut commentariat who leapt to attack the event as political.

What sad, pathetic little lives some people lead. They are so trivial that they have to create their own enemies in their mind. I don’t think they need to be concerned that anyone will organize a memorial service when they cross the bridge, with or without politics.

The ABC latest report: ‘Post-war’ effort needed to rebuild Queensland

Premier Anna Bligh says Queensland is facing a reconstruction effort of post-war proportions as the state battles possibly the worst natural disaster in the country’s history.

The Brisbane River inundated more than 20,000 homes and businesses across the capital when it peaked this morning at 4.46 metres [14.63 feet].

More than 100,000 homes are without power across the city and to the west in Ipswich, where floodwaters are receding rapidly after yesterday’s peak.

But while the water is receding, this morning it claimed the life of a 24-year-old man who was trying to check his father’s house in the south Brisbane suburb of Durack.

His is the 14th person to die in the south-east Queensland floods and first in Brisbane.

There are washed out roads and bridges as well as buildings filled with mud from the floods. Water and sewage treatment plants will be down giving the situation of “water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink” that is common in flooded areas.

The rains have eased off for the moment, but could return at any time. Dams and reservoirs are at the maximum limit, so they can’t provide any meaningful assistance in flood control for the foreseeable future.

There are still dozens of people listed as missing in the state, so the death toll will probably rise as search and rescue teams gain access to the areas that have been flooded.

Update: Via Kryten in comments earlier: The official Australian Bureau of Meteorology River Conditions map.

[Note: if you see references to CBD, that is “Central Business District”]