Council evacuation hub delay fails Robertson family forced to flee flooded Bethania home

A council is under fire for its lacklustre response to the floods, leaving a Logan family with nowhere to go in the middle of the night.

A Brisbane family left homeless from this week’s floods has slammed a local council for failing to provide adequate disaster shelter and aid.

It was a case of too little too late for the Robertson family who were forced to flee their Logan rental in the middle of the night after water started pouring in through the roof and walls.

Bethania man Matt Robertson, his partner Deena Lunn and their two children were stuck for choice when they realised they had to evacuate but had nowhere to go.

The flooding was so swift, the family had no time to collect valuables and rushed to a nearby friend’s home carrying only the urn of ashes of their dead child.

Bedding was put on the floor to soak up the flooding water.

Mr Robertson said he was worried the Bethania house was going to cave in when the backyard started flooding quickly.

He rang SES just after 6pm on Sunday to ask for sandbags but was kept waiting on the emergency line for 50 minutes with no sandbags until Monday.

Within an hour, the water was seeping in through the back door and, by 10pm it had started gushing in through the walls and the roof.

The family has been left homeless after their home started caving in with flood waters, forcing them to flee.

He tried to barricade the front of the house with rolls of carpet and mattresses were hauled into the loungeroom for the two children, aged 8 and 4, so the family could sleep in a safe room.

But when the water started coming in through the walls, his partner and the children went to stay at a nearby aunt’s house.

A Logan family has slammed the local council for not opening an evacuation centre for five days after the flooding rains started.

He tried ringing Logan City Council to ask for help and shelter but was told there was no Evacuation Centre in Logan and he would have to travel to Chandler.

“We had nowhere to live, the house was a safety risk and there was water and rubbish everywhere along with power cords,” Mr Robertson said.

“I could not leave our pets so I had to stay.”

A Logan family has nowhere to live after their house started caving in during flooding rains over the weekend.

Despite the family’s plight and that of hundreds of others who had been flooded out of their homes, Logan City Council had not set up an fully-stocked evacuation hub by 3pm on Monday.

The family was forced to feel carrying only the ashes of a dead child.

Charity Mica Projects, which helps needy people find housing, healthcare and employment, stepped in.

Mica Projects volunteer Diane Tronc said the family was being housed for a week in a hotel as there was nowhere else they could afford to go in Logan.

Ms Tronc, who has been a community advocate in Logan for 22 years, said it was unbelievable that the council delayed setting up an evacuation centre until Monday afternoon.

“The house was not safe and when I saw the eldest son carrying the ashes of his baby brother, it was heartbreaking,” she said.

“The council knew that it was going to flood days ago and still didn’t open up an evacuation centre.

“There is a community hall at Bethania, which is being run as a private office and it should have been open to this family but instead it remains shut.”

Since the family was allocated housing through Mica Projects, the council opened up an evacuation hub at Logan Metro Sports and Events Centre at Crestmead.

However, pets are not allowed inside the centre and will be housed at the council’s pound.

The evacuation centre is at 357 Browns Plains Rd and is manned around the clock by Red Cross and volunteers.

The facility has showers, limited food and drinks with catering provided by the Salvation Army, beds and blankets.

There will be no COVID-19 vaccination restrictions in place, and RAT tests will be available for any symptomatic people.

Mayor Darren Power said several local waterways and rivers were still approaching their flood peaks.