Lockyer Valley storms: residents lodge more than 50 claims after Christmas supercell wreaks havoc

Lockyer Valley homeowners are counting the cost of the ‘wild’ weather the region copped on Christmas, according to the region’s mayor. And more extreme conditions are forecast.

Lockyer Valley residents are bracing for more extreme weather in the coming days after a chaotic Christmas weekend of storm activity its mayor said was the most severe she’d seen in years.

More than 50 Gatton homeowners have lodged claims with major insurance firm IAG in relation to storm damage in just a week — the second-highest area in Queensland and only behind Helensvale on the Gold Coast.

The region’s State Emergency Service crews reportedly received more than 200 requests for help from residents for a variety of problems.

Hail from the storm that hit Gatton on Saturday night, December 23. Picture: Supplied

The damaged followed an extraordinary supercell on Christmas Day that dropped nearly 50mm on the town, with the storms bringing wind gust of nearly 80km/h and hailstones the size of golf balls.

“IAG’s brands, including NRMA Insurance, CGU and WFI, have received 770 claims as a result of the extreme weather in Queensland since December 23,” a spokesman said.

“The majority of claims are from the severe storms that have impacted the southeast of the state, and are mostly for property damage, as well as damage to vehicles.

“We encourage our customers to contact us as soon as possible to lodge their claims so we can provide immediate help and support such as emergency financial assistance and temporary accommodation, if required.”

Lockyer Valley mayor Tanya Milligan said the council’s crews and SES members from two regions were assisting with the clean-up.

“We’ve had road crews cleaning out debris, doing temporary repairs, street sweepers removing green litter,” she said.

“This is the first round to look presentable ahead of any future storms — we want that water to flow freely into the drains.

Lockyer Valley Regional Council mayor Tanya Milligan. PHOTO: Ali Kuchel

“We know it’s storm season, but (I’ve had a huge) amount of people who told me they hadn’t seen something so unpredictable, wild and volatile as this.”

Ms Milligan suspected there were far more residents who had suffered damage than insurance figures claimed.

“There’s been more than 200 requests for assistance from the SES,” she said.

“With insurance excesses, there would be plenty of people who looked at the damage and thought it was better to not claim and fix it themselves.”

Gatton has already exceeded its average rainfall for December, with 145mm falling since the start of the month.

But the next week doesn’t get any easier for locals, with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting a heatwave on Thursday and Friday before another round of storms well into next week.

After years of severe floods, storms and other extreme weather, Ms Milligan said she was proud of how her community bounced back every time.

“One of my councillors told me recently that ‘tough times breed tough people’ and I have that on my whiteboard of my office, to remind me,” she said.

“I love their resilience.”