SES volunteers abused during storm clean-up efforts, vets brought in to help
As an SES boss reveals recovery crews volunteering over Christmas faced abuse in the wake of storms, the Deputy Premier has had a media event interrupted by residents frustrated after being without power for almost a week.
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As an SES boss reveals recovery crews volunteering over Christmas have faced abuse in the wake of the destructive Gold Coast storms, Deputy Premier Cameron Dick has had a media event interrupted by residents frustrated after being left without power for almost a week.
Mr Dick visited the Jimboomba Community Hall on Sunday morning where about one dozen residents affected by the storm were meeting support services and charging devices.
While the reception to the Deputy Premier’s arrival was subdued, several frustrated residents later interrupted his press conference to ask questions about power and when they’d receive help.
As Mr Dick was taking questions from the media, one resident joined in: “It’s great with all the financial packages and everything you’ve just talked about but how come the ADF isn’t out supplying generators to people that don’t have generators, and helping with the clean-up of people’s backyards.”
“They’ve got chainsaws, they’ve got machines, we’ve done 12.5 tonnes of trees and we haven’t even scratched the surface of our residence.”
Another resident asked why his electricity meter was ticking over despite the power at his property being out.
The Deputy Premier pledged to meet with the residents after the press conference and said he could understand their frustrations.
“It’s a really tough time for people, that’s why I’ve come here, to listen to people to see what more we can do to see what we can do,” he said.
“People are very direct with you and I appreciate that, I like that - that’s what makes Queenslanders who they are, they tell you how it is.
South East Queensland SES area controller Tony Cooper called for patience from impacted residents after admitting the army of volunteers had copped criticism from its response.
State Emergency Services crews had by Sunday responded to more than 3500 calls for assistance from residents since Christmas Day when the Gold Coast, Scenic Rim and Logan shires were battled by severe weather.
With thousands of residents stuck in damaged properties without power and their belongings destroyed, Mr Cooper said he understood the frustration among locals.
However, he reminded residents that the SES was an organisation led by volunteers, many who had spent the past five days working around the clock.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think the messaging has really gone in to just how widespread the damage is,” Mr Cooper said.
“I’ve never seen this level of destruction.”
Mr Cooper admitted there had been instances of abuse directed at the dedicated volunteers, many of whom were sacrificing their Christmas holidays to lend a hand.
He said many of the volunteers had travelled down from central and north Queensland to aid the recovery.
Crews from New South Wales and Victoria have also had to be called in.
“There probably have been specific instances but our guys are very experienced. They are very professional and take it on the chin,” he said.
“We get that people’s lives have been destroyed and there is frustration. It’s something we deal with.
“It hasn’t been real abuse but you can feel the sentiment when people have been waiting for so long without power, unable to leave their properties. But for us it’s part and parcel of it.”
Mr Cooper revealed his own home in Cedar Vale at Logan would be without power “for weeks” and that he would have to leave his wife alone at the property every day.
“I understand that people are isolated and there’s issues with communication, but these jobs take hours and hours to do,” he said.
“Often we go to a job and you look at the sheer scale of it. You have four guys with a chainsaw having to take a 30-metre gum tree off a house.
“We worked through a couple of hundred jobs yesterday and the reward for the volunteers was that they came back feeling good about themselves.
“The spirit and camaraderie is so important. I take my hat off to them.
“But it’s just the extent of the damages that’s the biggest issue, but we are starting to see light at the end of the tunnel.”
There have been more than 3000 requests for assistance from the State Emergency Service in the Gold Coast, Scenic Rim and Logan areas since 6pm on Christmas Day.
Mr Dick said Queensland Fire and Rescue Service had undertaken 2600 damage assessments in storm-affected areas, with four houses “completely destroyed” and 750 with damage ranging from minor to severe.
Energex has reconnected 85 per cent of homes and businesses, but 18,000 customers remain without power.
MORE WILD STORMS AS VETS CALLED IN TO HELP WITH CLEAN-UP
Wild storms once again battered southeast Queensland on Saturday, dumping giant hail, rivers of rain and fiery lightning strikes that left two people in hospital, as a squadron of up to 70 defence force veterans was to be deployed to clean up the mass destruction caused by the severe Christmas weather.
The Courier-Mail revealed Sunday morning that the federal government has activated Disaster Relief Australia at the request of the Miles government – a not-for-profit organisation of military veterans and first responders.
After Christmas night’s cyclonic storm left parts of the Gold Coast, Scenic Rim and Logan in ruins, storms predicted for Saturday arrived right on cue. But in welcome news for recovery efforts, suburbs still reeling from Monday were spared a second dose of Mother Nature’s fury.
Instead, waves of thunderstorms hit regions further north, delivering giant hail, lightning and torrential rain that triggered flash flooding.
A man travelling on the Bruce Hwy at Burpengary about 9.20am Saturday was taken to Caboolture Hospital in a stable condition after his car was hit by lightning, while another man was taken to Sunshine Coast University Hospital with minor injuries after the excavator he was on was struck by lightning at a private address at 11.15am at Eudlo.
🛬 Help from the south 🛬
— Qld Fire & Emergency (@QldFES) December 30, 2023
Storm response efforts in south east QLD have been bolstered with the arrival of more than 80 SES and CFA volunteers from Victoria last night ⛈ï¸ðŸ‘
The additional boots on the ground will be based at Pimpama near the Gold Coast from today, supporting… pic.twitter.com/ruQ7HadXmw
A motorist driving from the Gold Coast to Kawana said it was “scary on the roads”.
“I thought I was going to get electrocuted. The lightning was so close and everywhere,” she said.
Giant hail fell in a number of centres, including stones about 6cm across in Chinchilla on the Darling Downs.
Minor flooding on the Bruce Hwy northbound at Burpengary left traffic at a standstill, with Beerburrum recording 110mm in two hours. There were wind gusts of 93km/h recorded at Gympie.
Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said “more devastating storms” were expected in the coming days.
Federal Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt said the DRA – which had has previously been enlisted to provide support to clean-up operations after disasters including the North West Queensland floods and Lismore floods– would be deployed to the worst-affected areas, including the northern Gold Coast, Mount Tamborine and Jimboomba.
“Disaster Relief Australia bring defence expertise to a recovery operation through their veteran volunteers,” he said.
There have been widespread calls for the Australian Defence Force to be enlisted to assist in flood recovery efforts but Senator Watt said it was crucial the military was reserved for national security.
“Of course they will always be on standby as a force of last resort when people are in danger, as we saw when they were recently deployed in response to the Far North Queensland floods,” he said. “But it’s important we supplement the work the ADF currently does, to ensure they can remain focused on their core role of defending Australia.
“The important work DRA does will not only get communities back on their feet sooner, but also keep us safer.”
More than 100 selfless Victorian CFA and SES volunteers also made their way to Queensland on Saturday to assist with storm recovery efforts including removing fallen trees and power lines from homes and roads after severe storms that have claimed the lives of seven people.
Meanwhile, the state’s disaster response leaders welcomed the review of the national emergency warning system after criticism of the timing of the Bureau of Meteorology’s severe weather warnings in Queensland this month.
But Premier Steven Miles said criticism of local councils for not pushing out the Bureau’s warnings in time was not fair, given how quickly some recent storms had formed over Queensland.
Federal Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt said there “seem to have been an issue” with how emergency alert messages have delivered warnings this month ahead of the flooding catastrophe in the Far North and freak Christmas storms in the South East.
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate echoed the fury of flooding victims and farmers this week when he blasted the Bureau’s warning – issued 15 minutes after the super storm hit, as “unforgivable”.
That sparked heated debate, before Mr Watt on Friday confirmed a review of the process.
Speaking on Saturday, the Premier said the national review was “a good thing”.
“We always want to keep getting better and that’s been our approach to the disaster response in Queensland since 2010. After every disaster we have reviewed and sought to get better and that’s why we have the best disaster system in the world,” he said.
“The weather events we are seeing are changing. If there are ways we can improve our alert systems either with better technology, or by inputting these kinds of weather events we are seeing into the models the Bureau uses, then I think it is a good thing.”
The state government has confirmed all residents of affected suburbs will be eligible for disaster payments, despite the online application process implying residents needed to go without “essential services such as electricity or water for a period of five days or more” or have “immediate and urgent needs” for provisions such as food, clothing and crisis accommodation.
On Wednesday, political leaders announced the activation of payments including an Emergency Hardship Assistance grant and Essential Services Hardship Assistance grants of between $150-$180 for those affected by the violent storm, but people trying to access the funding were stunned to see disclaimers implying they needed to meet criteria such as being without power for more than five days.
Most homes in the South East had electricity restored within three or four days, though Mount Tamborine and Jimboomba face longer waits with infrastructure needing to be rebuilt.
About 28,000 households – down from 130,000 in the immediate aftermath of the storm, remain without power across the state.
For assistance with applying for grants, people can also call the Community Recovery Hotline on 1800 173 349.
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