During the past week summer has brought its share of seasonal rain and flooding. This year the floods were particularly bad, cutting-off towns in the local district. Being flooded-in for a couple of days presented me with the opportunity to listen to the sounds of the flood at its various stages.
This shallow creek is usually only a few metres wide. I normally do a lot of hydrophonic recordings here as it is alive with the sounds of water bugs. On this day I placed the hydrophones in the floodwater and heard only the sound of the strong current:
As the rain eased the natural sounds were broken by the whir of military helicopters flying high overhead. They are often involved in evacuations, search and rescue, and food drops during periods of flooding.
Meanwhile my favourite sound during the flood was found in a shallow puddle on our driveway. Tiny air bubbles were rising from under the ground creating this sound heard through the hydrophones:
The floodwater has now subsided though more rain is predicted. This morning the valley was filled with the sounds of frogs enjoying a brief respite from the rain.
SOUNDS LIKE NOISE 
These are really evocative sounds that conjure up a dramatic picture of your valley for me. Thank You!
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Nice recordings, but I can say the last one is my favorite.
There is life everywhere even though the flood has made a problem.
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Yes, I enjoyed waking up on the morning of the last recording and walking into the swamp to record the frogs. Everything else was so quiet that morning.
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The last two recordings feels somewhat tangled together, the frogs rhythmic sounds and the bubbles. The recording with the helicopter feels very dystopic, heavy machinery breaking through the sounds of rural Australia. Fascinating how some rain can alter the soundscape in multiple ways indirectely.
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That’s an interesting point about the sound of the helicopter provoking a sense of dystopia.I like the hydrophonic capture of the bubbles as it was such a small moment in comparison to everything else that was on a much larger scale.
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