After a downpour, where does all the water go?

Slowly and steadily a great flood is trickling its way across the outback.

Floodwater from a number of river systems
 drain into Lake Eyre in Central Australia.

Birdsville is being surrounded and the Channel Country is finally living up to its name.

In March great torrents of water crashed down on the tropical coasts and the Hunter Valley also had a drenching.

Why are these systems so different and why do some floods happen fast and others slow?

To work it out, you need to understand how the waters flow across this wide brown land.

Read the ABC News story by Kate Doyle - “After a downpour, where does all the water go?”