Qld storms: Storm victims still in limbo over a week since disaster
Thousands of Gold Coast residents and businesses hit hardest by the Christmas Day storm and subsequent deluge will have to wait until the weekend before their electricity is restored.
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Gold Coast residents and business devastated by the Christmas Day storm are still counting the cost of the disaster, with days of prolonged bad weather and flooding worsening the damage at their debris-riddled and still powerless properties.
As many as 8400 properties were still without power on Wednesday morning, and that is unlikely to change before the weekend.
It comes as much of South East Queensland woke to blue skies and sunshine after more than a week of stormy weather.
But flood warnings remain in place after days of intense rainfall which dumped more than half a metre in some places.
Disaster Recovery Minister Nikki Boyd said the worst of the bad weather was over, and that communities around the state would continue to rebuild with “every available set of boots on the ground”.
ADF personnel are likely to arrive in the hardest hit areas of the Gold Coast on Thursday.
On the ongoing power outages, Ms Boyd said Energex had 1000 workers on the ground, with restoration at 92 per cent in the southeast.
Queensland Police assistant commissioner Ben Marcus said power was being restored slowly, with the simplest issues fixed first.
“The ones that remain, they’ve got massive issues with the network,” he said.
Assistant Commissioner Marcus said communities still without power could be reconnected within days.
“We’re probably looking at Saturday or Sunday,” he said.
“The plan for that part of the world is to create its own network, run it off a large generator so that people don’t have to have their own generators anymore,” he said.
“That’s exactly what we’re doing around Tambourine at the moment.
“We’re not we’re not talking about one or two power poles we’re talking hundreds and hundreds.”
It comes as some residents have shared emotional pleas for more help amid fears they may never financially and mentally recover from the damage.
Residents in badly hit northern and hinterland suburbs have been travelling to and from their homes, fleeing floodwaters and navigating fallen trees and road debris to see what is left to salvage.
There was an easing of storm activity in the region on Tuesday, with less than 10mm recorded across Gold Coast suburbs between 9am and 5pm as the slow-moving rain cell headed north.
Totals of more than 100mm were recorded in the Burpengary, Beachmere, Toorbul, Bells Creek, Maroochydore, Palmview and Mountain Creek in the past 24 hours.
The Bureau of Meteorology said there should be a reprieve in storm activity on the Gold Coast allowing time for floodwaters to recede, but warnings remained for the Nerang, Coomera and Fitzroy rivers.
About 9000 properties were still without power late on Tuesday, with many homes still missing roofs, having tree damage or floors covered in thick mud.
About 700 Energex crew members remained out in the field, with SES crews called in from Victoria and NSW to assist with “makesafes”.
The remaining 11,000 homes that have been without power since Christmas are scheduled to be restored by Friday, however after surveying the flood damage, some residents anticipate the lights won’t come back on for weeks.
Courier-Mail reporter Jess Elder’s Helensvale home was badly damaged by a falling tree, and she was left without power for three days, forced to live in a deteriorating “war zone”.
Lauren and Michael Buljan’s Guanaba property was barely left standing after the cyclonic storm brought down trees and ripped the roof clean from their shed.
“It came up so fast we had no way to get out. We’ve been here 15 years and lived through floods before but this was like nothing else,” Mrs Buljan said.
“The water from Tamborine Mountain was over the road before we knew it and within five minutes the creek up the back burst it banks.
“Within 10 minutes the water was through our house”.
The couple and their 10-year-old autistic son have been without power, internet and mobile phone reception since the Christmas Day storm.
They had no way of knowing the torrent of water that was heading downstream.
When the flooding was inside their home, Mrs Buljan said they couldn’t ring for help.
“My son turned to me and said ‘Mummy when can we get up the tree?’ But he wouldn’t climb up there without his support dog,” she said.
“It was just a river right the way through. About an hour later we finally got a text message warning about the water.”
The family were eventually rescued from their flooded home by emergency services.
A week later, they returned to what is left of their home and are still waiting for the SES to help.
“We’re not OK and we’ve been forgotten,” Mrs Buljan said.
“It’s been eight days, the council have come past, we’ve seen SES and Energex but no one will help us. Just f--king help us. I haven’t stopped crying for a week.
“We’ve had two natural disasters in a week.”
In Wongawallan, Lynnette Lynch returned to what she once called her “paradise lost”.
Her picturesque dual property beside Tamborine Creek is now unrecognisable after the floods.
The entrance to her property is lined with gaping concrete holes, the foundations of sheds and garages missing, and large rocks that once covered the creek bed now cover her lawn.
Inside, a thick sludge covered the floors of her once award-winning home, a black line across the walls marking the knee-high floodwaters.
“I think I’ve got to the stage where I’m a bit numb,” she said.
“Emotionally I’m drained, physically I’m exhausted, and I’m just sad.”
Floodwaters were so strong, a car, tractor, fence panels and contents from inside steel sheds were strewn across the property.
“Neighbours that have lived here for 50-odd years and they’d never seen anything like this at all.”
Like many others, she will have to wait for debris to be cleared before a damage assessment can be done.
Local businesses fear they will not financially recover from the disaster, including owner of Spectrum Nursery Wesley Trevor,
He has been operating the nursery for 28 years but said the damage was so severe he “couldn’t see a way out of the situation” and may have to lay off staff following a minimum $500,000 loss.
“They are going to be devastated, they’re going to be in tears, they’re going to be upset,” he said.
“It’s like a war zone. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.”
The Bureau of Meteorology said late on Tuesday the worst was over with storm activity shifting north to the Sunshine Coast.
Meteorologist Felim Hanniffy said the risk of heavy falls had eased for Brisbane and the Gold Coast allowing floodwaters time to recede.
“There’s still a risk of localised heavy falls of 100-200mm around the Sunshine Coast, easing overnight,” he said.
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