Helensvale residents desperate cry for help in aftermath of freak Christmas night storm

Northern Gold Coast residents are still without power and phone service almost 48 hours after the freak storm - and now say they are facing the start of the enormous recovery effort alone.

Northern Gold Coast communities battered by a freak Christmas night storm are desperately calling for assistance as they face the enormous recovery effort ahead.

Approaching 48 hours without power or essential telecommunications services, residents across Helensvale and neighbouring suburbs have started assessing the damage to their homes and clearing the debris as best they can on their own.

Paul Boyton said he had contacted both the SES and Gold Coast City Council, but was yet to receive any help or even see volunteer crews on the ground.

Paul Boyton surveys the damage to his Helensvale property. Picture Glenn Hampson

He said it took four hours to find a tarp and ropes to patch over the holes in his roof and that he and friends had cleared much of the tree debris from his property themselves.

“(The storm) was pretty scary – we were just inside, and all you could hear was things crashing and breaking, and things hitting the house,” Mr Boyton said.

“I’m a lot better off than some people, so I’m not too worried – so long as they come and put a proper tarp on before the next lot of storms.”

Mr Boyton said the lack of assistance amid widespread power and phone service outages had left residents in the dark and struggling to contact their insurance companies.

The clean up of storm damage continues across Northern Gold Coast suburbs. The red car allegedly abandoned by Robyn Carmen in Helensvale Rd before she died walking home.. . Picture Glenn Hampson

The communication blackout has also plagued Helensvale couple Trish and Bob Avery, who arrived home on Tuesday morning to find the roof had been ripped from their home of 42 years.

Family members have since arrived to help them salvage what furniture and belongings they can – and the couple say it is the only assistance they have received so far.

“There’s a lot of houses along here that got damaged. Other people in the street were ringing the SES that night and they just weren’t answering,” Mr Avery said.

A council workman clears fallen trees along Discovery Drive. . Picture Glenn Hampson

Council crews were seen breaking down tree debris elsewhere in Helensvale on Wednesday, with residents reporting workers clearing the road after the storm on Monday night.

It is understood SES volunteers were seen on Tamworth Drive – where the roof was completely torn off one house – earlier that day.

Opposition leader and Broadwater MP David Crisafulli said on Wednesday emergency services and volunteer crews were already exhausted after the floods in Far North Queensland earlier this month.

Opposition leader and Broadwater MP David Crisafulli speaking at the Paradise Point Bowls Club on Wednesday. Picture Glenn Hampson

“Many of those people had been on the ground for north of a week – now they return home for Christmas with their family and instead of sitting down to a Christmas lunch, they put on an orange uniform and go out and help people,” he said.

“They have been working crazy hours to try to get the show back on the road, but they are genuinely tired and we have to acknowledge how hard the work (is) they’re doing on the back of a couple of weeks of big hours.”

Premier Steven Miles confirmed on Wednesday morning impacted Gold Coast residents would be able to access Disaster Hardship Funding of $180 per person or $900 for families.

‘God saved my life’: Devastation in freak storm aftermath

A Helensvale couple who had the roof ripped off their home of 42 years in a freak Christmas Day storm are feeling lucky to be alive after staying at their son’s at the time.

Trish and Bob Avery spent Christmas night away from their Parkes Drive home and did not realise it had been caught in the carnage until a text from a neighbour on Tuesday morning.

Residents survey the damage at Helensvale caused by wild weather Xmas night. The home of Trish and Bob Avery had its roof ripped off during the storm.. .Picture Glenn Hampson

They arrived home to find most of their roof either ripped off or collapsed in – with debris covering their bed and its surrounds – and widespread destruction in their patio and backyard.

Mrs Avery said they feared the damage to their bedroom might have killed them had they been there during the storm.

Residents survey the damage at Helensvale caused by wild weather Xmas night. The home of Trish and Bob Avery had its roof ripped off during the storm.. .Picture Glenn Hampson

“I’m so thankful we were not here,” she said.

“We were all more worried about the storms (further north), so this was a big surprise.”

Fellow Helensvale resident Ime King found his shed and fence had been blown apart by the storm’s force with winds clocking more than 100km/h.

He survived a perilous drive home through torrential rain – swerving around a tree that crashed to the road only metres in front of him – before making the discovery, he said.

Helensvale resident Ime King in the remains of his shed, struggling to call for help amid phone service outages. Picture Glenn Hampson

“God saved my life last night,” Mr King said.

Mr King said he hardly dared travel above 30km/h on his way home due to the heavy rain and low visibility, and passed several crashes and fallen trees during the dangerous trip.

He and many other residents were now battling widespread service and power outages, making the clean-up effort - a huge task he would likely take on alone - all the more difficult.

Helensvale was among the worst impacted Gold Coast suburbs, with residents comparing the intensity and devastation to a tornado.

Trees crashed through buildings at both Helensvale Primary School and St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School in Runaway Bay. Hundreds more trees have been torn from the ground across the northern Gold Coast.

Reidents survey the damage at Helensvale caused by wild weather Xmas night. Trees down at Helensvale Primary School. Picture Glenn Hampson

Discovery Drive resident Sonny Kapita said he was left with extensive roof damage after the storm, unlike anything he had seen in 26 years.

Residents survey the damage at Helensvale caused by wild weather Xmas night. Sonny Kapita stunned by the storm which destroyed his truck. Picture: Glenn Hampson

Helensvale couple Antonia and Leigh Turner said they felt as though they were on the edge of a cyclone when the worst of the storm began, seeing the rain whip into circles in its most destructive minutes.

Left with damage to their roof and garden – with large felled trees narrowly missing their property – the Turners said it felt “weird” to think they were lucky.

A 59-year-old Helensvale woman was tragically killed during the freak storm and dozens others injured. More than 80,000 homes are still without power as of Tuesday afternoon.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said the city was working with the Queensland Reconstruction Authority to accelerate personal hardship payments for residents impacted by the storm.