‘We’re living in a war zone after terrifying Christmas Day storm destroyed our home’
We’re spending our days on hold to our insurer fearful anytime we get another storm warning that what is left of our home will come crashing down around us, writes Jessica Elder.
QLD News
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We have been living in what can only be described as a war zone for more than a week now.
A giant gumtree fell on our house on Christmas night, destroying our fence, retaining wall, patio, landing in our pool and on our roof.
Our bedroom ceiling collapsed and several holes were smashed in our roof.
Gutters have been ripped from the house, down pipes smashed, roof tiles blown off, floor tiles smashed and outdoor lights smashed.
Only now, eight days later, there has been finally some action here. A builder attended to do a ‘make safe’.
Up until lunch time Tuesday we still had no ceiling in our bedroom, the wet carpet was starting to stink and the patio was hanging precariously, threatening to collapse.
During the massive New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day downpours it became a literal waterfall and more wet patches appeared in other sections of our ceiling throughout the house.
There has been no temporary fencing on the Gold Coast, so our yard and pool was fenced with yellow “caution” tape, only on Tuesday afternoon proper temporary fencing was installed.
On Christmas night we had no idea what was coming.
We had seen severe weather warnings, for a dangerous thunderstorm, but this is Queensland in summer. How bad could it be?
We were sitting on the patio to watch the light show, but as it started to intensify we moved inside.
Within minutes there was an incredibly loud crash, we could see glimpses from inside that a giant gumtree was in our pool.
Then our bedroom ceiling started to leak and water started to come through the down lights.
Within a few more minutes the power was gone.
We put large tubs and buckets underneath, then huddled in the walk-in wardrobe as the glass doors, windows and our sky lights were shaking so much we were sure they would smash.
The tubs and buckets were filling so quickly we went in search of more and it was then that almost the entire ceiling caved in, spraying the room with insulation, exposing wires in the ceiling and letting rain freely pour in.
We frantically called the SES and the QFES, after being on hold with both for several hours, we were told it would be days until someone could come to help.
We spent three days without power and phone service.
The entire suburb looks like a disaster zone and minimal to no clean-ups have begun, including a neighbour with a gumtree still through the middle of his house.
We were very fortunate to have good friends come to us on Boxing Day morning to help clear what we could and to help patch the roof.
Our building assessor won’t be coming until January 10 and only after that will we be able to make a time for a separate assessor to come to inspect property and contents damage. In the meantime, we are spending hours each day on hold to our provider, trying to get action to prevent mould and further damage to our home.
Large, damaged gumtrees remain in the council reserve behind our house.
We are terrified that in further bad weather these too will fall, destroying our house even more.
The constant forecasts of heavy, relentless rain also bring an overwhelming feeling of dread, that more water will get inside our roof and perhaps more sections of our ceiling will collapse.
But despite all this, we do know how lucky we are. We could have been in that bedroom when the ceiling collapsed, or under that patio when the tree came down.
Houses and possessions can be replaced, but people can’t.
There are many who are worse off than us, still living with no power... or being unable to live in their homes at all. I can’t even imagine how they must be feeling.
The community spirit in our neighbourhood, suburb and across the Gold Coast has been nothing short of amazing.
It does renew your faith in humanity when you see how good, kind and selfless people can be and we are so appreciative of the help and support we have received.
Dealing with insurance for the multitude of things we need fixed and replaced will not be easy... the list runs pages long.
But at least we have insurance and we still have each other.
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