Sorry, that second story will only come up if you click it from Google News (search "metric system" Here's the text version....
Nat Metric warnings cause confusion Flood memories flow: Ron Collins' house was damaged in the 1974 floods (inset), 30 years ago, but has stood the test of time. Picture: Fiona Evans ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------- } When I went to work in the morning the house was fine, but by 3 pm it had come inside the house and by dinner it was up to my waist.~ Kialla resident Ron Collins ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------- By Liselotte Johnsson May 17 2004 Shepparton News Kialla's Ron "Midge" Collins remembers the 1974 floods well, as he still lives in the house that was submerged when the floods moved through Riverview Dve. "When I went to work in the morning the house was fine, but by 3 pm it had come inside the house and by dinner it was up to my waist," Mr Collins said. "I reckon it was just on 1 m." Mr Collins said there had been confusion over radio warnings which referred to river water levels using the metric system, the roll-out of which was not completed throughout Australia until later that year. "Media kept giving out levels in metric, but we didn't understand what they meant and all of a sudden we were flooded," he said. With the water nudging at the front step, the Collins family tried to stack all its furniture on 44-gallon petrol drums but forgot to put holes in them and watched as the furniture tipped off while the drums floated away as the water entered the house. "Everything dried out all right, but three months down the track the stitching rotted, of course," Mr Collins said. "You laugh about it, it's all fun and games, but everyone lost a lot of money. "There was no structural damage to the house, but the carpet was destroyed. We're still in the same house - I'll die there." Mr Collins said at the time the floods hit his home, his son and daughter-inlaw were living in a caravan next to the house. "My daughter-in-law was pregnant and was virtually due to have it, so we had to row her out to the road and get her into town to stay with her mother," he said. Mr Collins said while the family moved to a friend's property, he returned to the house to recover some food. "We tied the boat to the front door and dived into the pantry for canned food," he said. Mr Collins said his home was affected once more when the 1993 floods left about 50 cm of water through the house. "They said the 1993 floods were bad, but 1974 were worse because it came that quickly," he said. "You could actually see the water coming up."
