PHOTOS: Destruction left by Boxing Day storm across Wynnum, Manly
VIDEO: Brisbane families are returning to scenes of destruction left by Boxing Day’s brutal SEQ storm, while wild videos and photos capture the chaos.
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Families coming back to Brisbane’s bayside after festive holidays are being left in shock as they return to the aftermath of chaotic storms.
Shocking photos have revealed the extent of damage to beautiful suburbs in Brisbane’s idyllic bayside suburbs of Wynnum and Manly, which have triggered a growing number of calls for assistance from the SES, with more coming in as people return home from Christmas getaways.
Intense rainfall and winds ripped through Wynnum and Manly — usually bustling with visitors on holiday at this time of year — leaving scenes of destruction in its wake.
Manly State School borne the brunt of the weather, with the roof of one of it’s buildings torn off.
In a statement on social media, a school spokesman said builders had attended school following the storm and that no one had been injured.
“The building will be out of bounds for the short future.
“Once all repairs are complete … we will certainly host a working bee.
“Thank you all and please stay safe during the storms around us.”
In Wynnum there were reports that a home was crushed by a large tree as it fell to strong winds and smashed through its roof.
Since Boxing Day, the Brisbane City SES had received more than 205 jobs from locals requesting assistance with their storm recovery and clean-up.
Local Controller for the Brisbane City State Emergency Service Unit, Lowry Boyd said since December 22, they had received 367 requests, with more than 35 still outstanding, and requests from SES units afar are coming in too.
“Job requests are still trickling in as people come back from holidays,” Boyd said.
“Whether it’s a tree down or whether they go inside their home and find the carpets are wet or their ceiling is stained.
“We haven’t been able to clear our books on any single day yet.
“The SES on the Gold Coast have been asking us for assistance, but unfortunately until we clear all our books, I’m reluctant to release too many of our members to go down and help.
“We’ve got our own backyard to clean up so to speak”.
The storm left a trail of destruction as it tore through Brisbane’s bayside suburbs with Tingalpa, Belmont, Wakerley and Manly having the highest number of requests for SES assistance.
Mr Boyd said it was unfortunate that a number of the tasks they have been called out for could have been prevented if locals were more prepared for the storms.
“Leaf litter in the gutters with heavy rain in some of the areas has necessitated the gutters overflowing, and the valleys on the roofs overflowing and flooding inside the house,” Boyd said.
“But that’s not everywhere. In some cases it was purely the volume of rainfall that fell, the gutter just could not cope.
“Some places got 80 odd millimetres of rain in less than an hour and that is a phenomenal amount of rain in anyone’s language”.
The SES are urging residents to undertake some preventive maintenance around their home to reduce the risk of storm damage, if it is safe to do so.
“People can check their gutters and make sure they’re not full of leaf debris,” Boyd said.
“Cleaning the backyard is an important step, including removing any lose chairs that can become missiles at high winds.
“It’s not too late to trim some of the overhanging tree branches if they are able and capable to do so.
“Going through and just taking a few easy preventive actions might save them a bit of grief down the track”.
Brisbane City Council has five locations around the city at Lota, Morningside, Darra, Newmarket and Zillmere where free, ready-filled sandbags can be collected.
Free green waste disposal is available at council tips until January 31.
If anyone is in need of assistance, they can call the SES on 132 500.
“In the bigger events, we ask people to be patient. We are volunteers and sometimes our volunteer’s properties are affected and we don’t get the numbers that we need,” Boyd said.
“It may take us a little longer to respond to other jobs, but we will get there eventually”.
Locals also took to streets to remove debris and trees which cut across roads. Iconic trees lining the region’s foreshore were also uprooted.
Sadly, the effects of the wild weather also included the death of three people, including a local teacher, who were killed when their boat capsized off Manly.
The operators of Many Pool reported limited damage but warned of closures as the week progressed.
“We managed to survive pretty well considering the carnage around us.
“Lots of debris in the pool this morning with water levels all good so we were able to open for business.
“They are predicting more storms this week. Assume if there is anything like we experienced yesterday we will be closing our doors early to get our staff home safely.”
Mate’s restaurant and bar in Wynnum suffered cracked, water damaged ceilings, with streams pouring through to the venue’s dining room floor.
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