‘Twice as bad as Cyclone Yasi’: Storm victims sweat on power fix as state swelters into new year
Suburbs hammered by destructive storms on Christmas night – which one emergency worker said were twice as bad as Cyclone Yasi – are being warned a repeat is possible. SEARCH THE INTERACTIVE
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The destruction that wreaked havoc on the southeast during the freak Christmas storms was twice as bad as what was inflicted from Cyclone Yasi, according to a veteran energy worker who experienced both disasters firsthand.
The clean-up continues following the horrific storms that lashed the state’s south on Christmas night and Boxing Day, killing seven people and leaving thousands of others without power, and damage to their homes.
Gold Coasters left reeling from the Christmas Night storm have been warned to expect another battering with more wild weather on the way this weekend.
Storm forecast(Sat): SEVERE STORMS LIKELY in #Brisbane#GoldCoast#SunshineCoast and SE QLD. DAMAGING WIND (>90 km/h) LARGE HAIL (>2cm) HEAVY RAIN all concerns. VERY DANGEROUS STORM with DESTRUCTIVE WINDS, GIANT HAIL, INTENSE RAIN possible. Monitor warning https://t.co/FBmpsInT9opic.twitter.com/0T1UHC8FBt
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) December 28, 2023
Nearly 30,000 households remain without power across Logan and the Gold Coast but the state government says 90 per cent of the outages will be reconnected by Sunday.
But areas in Tamborine Mountain and Jimboomba will remain without electricity for a longer period of time due to the severity and complexity of the damage, Disaster Recovery Minister Nikki Boyd said.
“We have seen weather ravage our state and here in Logan just like the Gold Coast and Scenic Rim and parts of Brisbane, that storm activity has been absolutely ferocious,” she said.
Now severe storms are predicted to hit on Saturday, placing further strain on people, property and trees already compromised by Monday night’s onslaught.
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said his understanding was that Saturday’s storms would not be as severe as the earlier tempest, but “Mother Nature is unpredictable”.
“Tomorrow is the D Day for more storms,” he said.
“125km/h winds, large hail and severe rain.
“I would rather err on the side of caution and if it turns out to be a fizzer then that’s great.
(But) we’re getting ready and we’re rolling up our sleeves.”
He said there were no plans to order evacuations from areas likely to be in the firing line of another major storm event.
Acting Inspector Nick Sellars from Gold Coast Police said authorities were “planning for the worst but hoping for the best”.
Energex group leader Josh Kerswill has experienced the worst of the disasters across the state for more than a decade, including carrying out emergency works in the far north in the wake of Cyclone Jasper this month.
He said the extent of the destruction inflicted on the southeast during the severe storm this week has shocked and overwhelmed his colleagues.
“The scale that we’re dealing with in the southeast to me is probably equivalent to twice what Cyclone Yasi put out,” Mr Kerswill said.
“It’s widespread – it covers a large populated area, so everyone working here is quite shocked at the extent of the damage.
“For the first couple of days getting a good gauge on what that looks like and coming up with a plan of attack and get it all restored was quite lengthy, but it’s all coming together now.
“It’s bigger than any of our staff have seen in the southeast. It’s definitely a unique event.”
Mr Kerswill said the scale of the damage was overwhelming for his workers.
“The more we looked into it, the more we saw how severe it was,” he said.
“We’re pretty across it now so we can formulate some good plans to get the restoration underway in good time.”
Local Disaster Co-ordinator Mark Ryan said plans were being made ahead of predicted weekend storms to keep people safe.
“We’re aware of where the most needed areas are and we’re working with our emergency services on the ground to get that message to our community,” he said.
“It’s not only those without power, it’s those that have sustained damage that may not be able to withstand the next storm.”
‘NO POWER FOR WEEKS’
While Energex estimates 90 per cent of the 130,000 properties to lose power will have it restored by the end of the year, Tamborine Mountain and Jimboomba residents face a much longer wait, with power infrastructure needing to be rebuilt.
Gold Coast City Council has identified more than 400 homes with some damage, with 37 of those significantly or severely damaged.
A heavily pregnant Grace Cutajar, whose house was partially destroyed by the storm, described her horrible nights without power with no help in sight from any services.
With only eight days till her due date, Ms Cutajar said it could not have come at a worse time.
“Because I’m pregnant, I’m like, I have to get home, I can’t be sitting here in the road with trees falling, I thought I was going to die,” Ms Cutajar said.
“And we got home and all this damage had already been done.
“We couldn’t sleep in our room because that’s where the tree was on the roof and the room was flooded; we slept in Sebastian’s boys’ room because that was the safest place in the house. It was dry, we slept in this hot room in this little bed.
“It was horrible. I have been struggling.”
But Ms Cutajar said what had been difficult was the lack of official help.
“It comes down to all the locals, working together,” she said.
“The neighbourhood has been walking through and asking if you’re OK. We’ve been talking to people we’ve never spoken to but in terms of the SES and the fire crew they haven’t said anything
“The army should be helping everyone and every disaster.
“This happens and it’s like ‘cut your own trees’; it’s sad because they could clear this up so quickly.”
Luci Simmons was at Hervey Bay when she found out the freak storm had sent a tree through their living room, making their home unsafe.
“Our insurance agencies are working on the emergency accommodation, they say they’ve got services or providers that will find an Airbnb,” she said.
“They’re a bit unsure about this time of year and the accommodation crisis.”
Ms Simmons said she was starting to worry that she would not have a place to go.
Many in the neighbourhood were using backup generators to keep their fridge, TVs and fans going.
Others were struggling with the humid weather as a heatwave gripped the state.
Sonia of Coomera said she had been on her way to buy a cooling mattress topper because it had been hot the night before and she couldn’t sleep.
“I had this towel, and I kept wetting it and putting on me to cool down, but I think I must have been up about five times to try and get it to cool down a bit,” she said.
Energy Minister Mick de Brenni said on Thursday those residents would be best served finding access to generators to get through the days and weeks ahead.
Energex spokesman Kevin Lavender said it was hard to put a figure on the number of affected properties, but it was between 6000 and 8000.
He could also not give a time frame on when those properties might have power restored.
On Wednesday, residents of the disaster-ravaged Tamborine Mountain called for the army to help with the repair effort, but federal Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt said local and state leaders were satisfied the situation was under control. He said there was an incredible strain on the system, but agencies had the situation in hand.
“From everything I’ve seen, the SES, QFES, police and the council are responding as well as they possibly can,” he said.
About 40 personnel from the SES in NSW arrived on the Gold Coast on Thursday, while crews dispatched to the North Queensland cyclone were also due to return to the coast.
A Gold Coast City Council spokeswoman said dozens of crews were out cleaning up.
COPS DEFEND RESPONSE TO DISASTER
A senior Gold Coast cop has defended the police response to Monday’s cyclonic storm which ripped through southeast Queensland.
In the days after the disaster, people were left lamenting the absence of police manning dangerous intersections where power had been lost or patrolling through the worst-hit regions, with many taking to social media to vent their frustrations.
However, speaking to media on Friday, Acting Inspector Nick Sellars from Gold Coast Police said officers were doing the best they could.
“We’ve listened to what the community was saying,” he said.
“We were coming out of a significant disaster event (in north Queensland) and then we’ve come straight into this with officers returning to do double shifts, working all night to protect the public, saving people.
“We’ve had detectives attending routine calls for service, some of our officers worked all night (on Christmas Day) and returned to houses that were damaged, they were unable to sleep and yet they’ve turned up for the next nigh’s shift.
“With a cyclone we have days to prepare but with this we had no time to prepare.”
He said it was disappointing to see criticism on social media, in particular of officers sitting in air conditioned cars.
He said one such instance referred to a traffic light operation which required six officers to be directing traffic and two more to be on standby to serve as relief.
“Some intersections it is not just as simple as putting two constables on an intersection directing traffic,” he said.
“Sometimes it requires officers on standby recuperating and rehydrating in a police vehicle in air conditioning so they can rotate through that intersection (duty).
“It’s disappointing to see members of the public identifying those officers (as if they are) sitting in police cars doing nothing.
“We are doing the best we can.”
Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll also defended the response to the “unprecedented” storm.
“When this happened, every agency had record numbers of calls, and then you have to prioritise where you go to first,” she said.
“People have been doing overtime and special (duty assignments).
“We have road policing highway patrols attending to general duty jobs, doing domestic violence jobs, so it’s all hands on deck.”
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