Queensland residents face extent of storm damage

The clean-up continues on the Gold Coast as residents are left to pick up the pieces of devastating storms.

Michael Craig was one of the many people who were faced with the extent of the damage today.

“The hardest thing to see was actually just driving in the gate and the roof was just gone,” he said.

“That’s when the reality kicked in, this is actually happening.

“Nothing prepares you for it, it hurts so much.

“You work so hard for everything and suddenly it’s just gone in seconds.

“There’s little things like keepsakes, photographs, birth certificates – all of the important things you can’t replace once it’s all gone.”

The council has launched Operation Clean Up, offering free kerb side collection for more than 650 streets. It is anticipating the removal of 90 football fields worth of green waste and debris.

It’s hoped the operation will clean up the city before the start of the school year.

More boots have arrived on the ground at Mount Tamborine, which was one of the hardest hit locations, with 70 Defence Force personnel helping to remove fallen trees.

Police joined the mammoth clean up too along with 1000 Energex staff, with crews still working to restore power to 5200 customers across the south-east. More than 3000 of those were in Mount Tamborine and the hinterland.

Clean up efforts could take weeks

Premier Steven Miles this morning said the grants would be divided between Scenic Rim, Logan and the Gold Coast councils.

“There are still trees down, this $1 million is so these councils can do whatever they need to do to get those trees cleared,” Miles said.  

“We are in recovery mode now…It’s really important that we get that work done as quickly as possible.”

Nearly 25,000 grant applications have already been approved in Queensland’s northern regions alone.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Deputy Commissioner Kevin Walsh said crews were on the ground again today. Wild weather conditions have eased meaning recovery efforts could begin.

“It gives us a really good opportunity to get on top of the recovery efforts,” Walsh said.

“Pretty much every day since Christmas we’ve had storms, torrential rain and flooding which has obviously impeded our progress.”

Walsh said clear conditions were forecast for the rest of the week and into the weekend.

But the damage is significant.

Six thousand people remain without power, there are numerous damaged properties and businesses.

At the peak of the weather event, 130,000 people were without power.

More than 900 homes suffered significant damage to their electrical systems, which will require an electrical certification to fix.

Amid the storm recovery, the Gold Coast City Council has said that rates notices and water bill payments will be postponed for residents across the city following the weather event.

Many are going through the insurance process to begin repairing the damage from a mini tornado on Christmas Day to the torrential rainfall and flash flooding over the New Year period.

”The time of year, Christmas and New Year, they would normally be enjoying times with their family and friends,” Walsh said.

“It is a really stressful situation for them and quite rightly they’re looking for answers.

“It’s a significant weather event. It’s wreaked damage right across the south-east corner and it is going to take some time to recover.”

Over 1000 people across affected communities have sought mental health assistance following the weather event. 

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said authorities were preparing for bushfires this season but suddenly were hit by a deluge and tornado.

Tate said if you put 90 football fields together, stacked all the debris and waste two metres high – that was the extent of the damage.

”They’ve got heavy-duty equipment where they can move some of these big trees that’s impinging our restoration of power lines,” he said.