Cyclone aftermath: When Gold Coast schools, light rail and power will come back after TC Alfred

The sun is out and the Gold Coast is returning to normal after the devastating impact of ex-tropical cyclone Alfred but more than 44,000 people are without power and public transport is limited.

The sun is out and the Gold Coast is returning to normal after the devastating impact of ex-tropical cyclone Alfred.

But there is still plenty to be done to get the city back on its feet, with many schools still closed, more than 44,358 homes and businesses without power and public transport options limited.

Here’s the state of play on the Gold Coast on Tuesday.

LIGHT RAIL

Light rail services are limited. Picture Mike Batterham

The Gold Coast tram network sprang back to life on Wednesday, with tram services running from Helensvale to Broadbeach every seven minutes.

GoldlinQ CEO Phil Mumford said ex-tropical cyclone Alfred had caused “systemwide technical issues.”

Services between Helensvale and Gold Coast University Hospital returned on Tuesday, but it took an extra day to iron out the issues facing the rest of the network.

On Tuesday, Mr Mumford said there would be no buses to replace trams due to “lack of availability.”

Mr Mumford said: “We thank everyone who was involved in quickly re-establishing this vital Gold Coast public transport mode.”

POWER

More than 44,000. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

Energex have already restored power to hundreds of thousands of Gold Coasters in a herculean effort, but as of Tuesday morning, 44,358 coasters are still without power.

The worst affected suburb was Nerang, with 4532 homes still in the dark.

Southport had 2421 homes without power, Mudgeeraba had 2326, and Currumbin Waters had 2250.

Bonogin, Elanora, Jacobs Well, Worongary, Labrador, Maudsland, Tallebudgera, Tallai, Merrimac, and Upper Coomera all had more than 1000 homes still without power.

Energex spokesman Danny Donald said: “We’re looking better than yesterday and a lot better than the day before that.”

He said Energex published their restoration plan on Monday night, so residents could go to the outage finder and find out exactly when Energex planned to have their power restored.

Mr Donald said most Gold Coasters could expect to have their power back on by Friday, and almost everyone would have lights on by Sunday,

“This has been the biggest loss of electricity because of a natural disaster in southeast Queensland ever,” he said.

“There are more than 2000 crews out there today in the field … from as far as Cairns and Western Queensland.”

Residents can expect to see Energex crews working all over the city, as well as Energex choppers out and about getting a birds eye view to assess the damage and help gain access to more treacherous terrain.

PHONE SERVICE

As of Tuesday, there were still 99 Telstra mobile sites disrupted after the affects of TC Alfred.

Telstra area general manager, May Boisen said Telstra crews were making good progress.

“More than 300 sites are back up and running and delivering coverage, but there’s still a big job ahead,” she said.

“Our teams on the ground are working closely with authorities to ensure we can get in and restore affected services as soon as possible when it’s safe to do so.

“Our network sites have backup systems that keep services running for as long as possible, but customers should be prepared for disruptions if power’s out for a long time in their area, or if access is cut to a site.

“We’ve also activated our assistance package for affected customers, which includes extra mobile data and free call diversions.”

Crews had already restored 312 mobile sites as of Tuesday morning.

SCHOOLS

Thousands of Queensland students returned to school on Tuesday, as 360 state schools reopened.

Premier David Crisafulli said that was more than half of the students who had been kept home during the wildest of the weather.

Ms Crisafulli said decisions about reopening schools were being made on a case-by-case basis as determined by the principal.

“Our overriding principle is the moment it is safe, the moment power goes back on, kids go back to school,” he said.

“The principal drives the local decision making.”

Originally published as Cyclone aftermath: When Gold Coast schools, light rail and power will come back after TC Alfred