Cyclone Debbie: How you can help the Gold Coast and Tweed recover

CYCLONE Debbie was a calamity that stretched hundreds of kilometres, impacting the Gold Coast and devastating communities across two states. Now you can help.

CYCLONE DEBBIE was a calamity that stretched hundreds of kilometres, impacting the Gold Coast and devastating communities across two states.

Now the Gold Coast Bulletin is doing its bit for the recovery effort — and we need your help.

Debbie’s devastating winds and consequent floods left eight dead, cost more than $1 billion dollars and will take years to recover and repair.

HOW TO HELP WITH CYCLONE DEBBIE RECOVERY

But amid the carnage have emerged remarkable stories of heroism — from the small but important gestures of people running sausage sizzles to feed people during the clean-up, to the harrowing detail of the drowning mother trying desperately to save her children near Tweed.

Here on the Gold Coast and in Northern NSW the community and its emergency service workers and volunteers have shown “tremendous resilience”, according to SES from both sides of the border.

Northern NSW incident controller Caroline Ortel told the Gold Coast Bulletin 2300 jobs had been attended to from the border down to Woodburn and west to Lismore.

Flood waters enter in the parking lot outside the Robina Hospital on the Gold Coast. Photo: AFP

More than 1600 emergency services workers and volunteers have worked around the clock since the tail end of ex-Tropical Cyclone Debbie hit southeast Queensland.

“A lot of people are pretty tired,” she said.

“(But there has been) a tremendous effort from all our agencies working together.”

Gold Coast SES local controller Jayd Woolard told the Bulletin volunteers had attended 442 jobs across the city in a 60-hour period.

More than 1200 hours were put in by the 90 volunteers.

The tasks undertaken included helping people out of flood waters, sandbagging and fixing leaking rooves.

“I am quite amazed at the job all the volunteers did,” Mr Woolard said.

“We didn’t get any more people, we just got the work done.”

Pro surfer Stephanie Gilmore posted to Instagram this week in the aftermath of the floods and wrote: “thinking of everyone who was hit by the floods”.

“Cyclone Debbie did some devastating damage to the homes and businesses in the beautiful small towns and low lying areas in Northern NSW,” she said.

Flood clean-up around Mount Saint Patricks College at Murwillumbah. Picture Mike Batterham

“I was born in Murwillumbah, one of the worst hit towns, and so I wanna help spread the word for people to get in and donate to the flood relief centres and help out where they can.

“Every little bit helps! Thanks.”

We are honouring those who showed true spirit and heroism with a special glossy book retelling the stories of those fighting back against everything Debbie could throw at them.

Produced by the Gold Coast Bulletin, the book will cover Debbie’s trail from Townsville to Lismore. All profits from the sale of the book will be going to support the recovery effort and it will be sold in your local newsagent next month.

To kick things off we’re asking Gold Coast Bulletin readers to tell us what stories of heroism they encountered during Debbie.

It might be someone you spotted caring for battered wildlife or a local church group helping clean up after flooding. Or perhaps it was a local SES worker plucking someone from a swollen river or even a power worker doing extraordinary things to get the power back on after in wild winds.

Amid the chaos, the community rallied. Picture Glenn Hampson

We need you to help us honour Debbie’s heroes.

Debbie crossed the coastline of Queensland on March 28 but even as it petered out the effects of the tropical cyclone continued to hammer the state and then Northern New South Wales and New Zealand.

“Help us help those still in need by telling these wonderful stories,” Gold Coast Bulletin editor Scott Thompson said. “And then help again by buying a copy of the book so we raise more funding for the recovery fightback.”

We’ll have more information and how you can get the book in coming weeks.

HOW TO HELP WITH CYCLONE DEBBIE RECOVERY

In the meantime, email your story or pictures with the subject, “CYCLONE DEBBIE”, to [e-mail].