Latest updates: flood warnings and more rain for the Gold Coast on Tuesday
The latest on flood and storm impacts, evacuation centres, beach closures, help that’s coming and power reconnection. Read updates and safety info for free here.
Gold Coast
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The New Year’s Day deluge that soaked the Gold Coast is continuing on Tuesday, delivering another blow to households affected by Christmas Day storms and hampering recovery efforts. Read our rolling coverage.
PREMIER MILES AND MAYOR UPDATE: ‘50 ARMY STAFF A GOOD START’, EVAC CENTRE CHANGE, DAMAGE TOUR
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate says the 50 Australian Defence Force personnel delegated to helping clean up the stricken Gold Coast after a double whammy of a cyclonic storm and now flash flooding was “a good start” but he believed it might need to increase.
Mr Tate, in a disaster update on Tuesday afternoon soon after the troops were announced, said: “It’s a good start.
“I’d imagine the number [of ADF personnel] will increase but once they’re on the ground, we’ll make a recovery plan and I know they will be resourced accordingly,” Mr Tate said.
Premier Steven Miles, joining him, added that the request for ADF personnel was agreed to by the Australian Government “pretty much right away”.
Energex has indicated there are still 4813 homes on the Gold Coast without power and Mr Miles said Energex was working tirelessly to get power back to everyone.
“Just because you can’t see them near your house, doesn’t mean they’re not working on your power,” Mr Miles said.
“They are prioritising the actions within the network that will deliver the fastest reconnection of power and for you that might be kilometres away.”
Mr Miles said extra assistance loans for small businesses and primary producers affected by the storms would be made available.
“Disaster relief packages jointly funded between the state and the Australian Government, they’ll provide disaster assistance loans of up to $250,000 for producers and small businesses and $100,000 for not-for-profits,” Mr Miles said.
“[The loans are] designed to assist them to repair or replace damaged assets like plant and equipment to repair premises or to replace stock.”
More information about loans are available at on the Queensland Government website.
Mr Miles also reported the State Government had agreed to the Gold Coast City Council’s request to waive waste levy fees.
“[The fees will be waived] retrospectively back to when the event occurred on Christmas night so that people can clean up without having to pay those waste levy fees,” he said.
Waste and Recycle Centres in Pimpama, Molendinar, Reedy Creek as well a Reedy Creek Landfill and Stapylton Recycling and Landfill Centre have extended opening hours from 6am-6pm.
It was also announced Nerang Evacuation Centre will close and Mr Tate advised residents who need sanctuary to go to the Upper Coomera Evacuation Centre.
Mayor Tate said beaches were closed due to high levels of debris and poor water quality and he hopes they will reopen Wednesday.
“I’ll get our lifeguards to check for debris and the good thing is there is not really significant scarping so it’s really relatively safe to access the beach,” Mr Tate said.
Mr Tate and Mr Miles have also planned to visit communities devastated by the storms and flooding.
Mr Miles added he’s never seen anything like the destruction from the storm left behind on the Gold Coast.
“Households I’ve met with and spoken to, they’ve never seen anything like it before either,” Mr Miles said.
The Gold Coast City Council would like residents to note emergency alerts via text from the following mobile number - +61 444 444 444 - are valid and should be adhered to.
TUESDAY, 2PM - OUTAGES PLAGUE RECOVERY EFFORTS
Several Gold Coast communities remain without phone and NBN services as recovery crews battle heavy rainfall.
Telstra confirmed Oxenford, Mount Tamborine, Wongawallan, Upper Coomera, Tallebudgera, and Gilston were among its sites still without mobile phone coverage as of midday Tuesday.
A spokesman said there were no communities “in isolation”, meaning all could access either mobile or fixed line services in an emergency.
“We are continuing to work with local power authorities to gain an understanding of how their resotration works,” they said.
“We have been fortunate that most of our sites haven’t suffered any major storm damage, so we expect once we get the electricity flowing again, mobile coverage should be restored.”
Close to 18,000 NBN services are also offline. The most heavily impacted areas are Mount Tamborine, Pimpama, Upper Coomera, Helensvale, and Jimboomba.
Telstra is offering a disaster assistance package for impacted customers in southeast Queensland and additional free data for pre- and post-paid customers. They are also operating a disaster assistance line on 1800 888 888.
TUESDAY, 10.20AM - GOV ANNOUNCES ADF SUPPORT FOR GOLD COAST
The Federal Government will send 50 defence force personnel to the Gold Coast to support clean-up efforts.
The team will arrive in the city on Thursday for at least a week.
Gold Coast-based senator Murray Watt said it was clear extra support was needed.
“We expect them to be available for a week with the option to extend it if necessary,” he said.
“This is something which has been a matter of discussion between us and the Queensland Government to work out what was required.”
The federal and state governments also announced a jointly funded small business relief package for those affected in the Gold Coast, Scenic Rim and Logan.
Disaster assistance concession loans of up $250,000 will be available for repairs or to replace damaged items as well as restocking.
Capital loans of up to $100,000 will also be available.
TUESDAY, 10AM – SOUTHPORT POWER OUTAGE
About 800 customers in Southport have lost power due to damages caused by recent severe weather.
Residents in affected areas — near Keebra Park State High School — should have power restored by 10pm tonight.
Division councillor Brooke Patterson said Queensland Fire and Rescue Service crews could be seen removing fallen tree branches from powerlines.
TUESDAY, 9.30AM – BEACHES CLOSED, SES REQUESTS SKYROCKET
All Gold Coast beaches have been closed due to hazardous conditions.
Council has warned residents and visitors to stay out of the water and avoid walking near surf-exposed areas.
It comes as SES recorded more than 700 requests for help throughout southeast Queensland in the past 24 hours.
Of those, more than 500 were on the Gold Coast. SES also have more than 590 tasks open on the Gold Coast.
Crews have completed around 17 water rescues saving more than 50 people since 5am on Monday.
TUESDAY, 7.30AM – DOZENS OF CAMPERS PULLED FROM FLOODWATERS
An isolated campsite has been inundated by floodwater in the Gold Coast Hinterland overnight with dozens of people rescued by emergency services.
Creeks surrounding the site at Natural Bridge, near the state border, burst their banks at around 5pm on Monday, quickly inundating low-lying areas.
Multiple calls were made to triple-0 as the water levels rose, trapping campers off Nerang-Murwullimbah Road.
At least 10 crews, including specialist flood rescue teams from Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, spent more than two hours pulling campers from the water.
44 people were rescued and treated by paramedics before being taken to the Nerang evacuation centre.
One person was transported by ambulance to Robina Hospital with minor injuries.
A number of roads still remain cut off near Natural Bridge with more than 1m of fast moving water across part of Nerang-Murwullimbah Road.
As of 8am Tuesday, 29 roads across the city have been closed due to flooding including Nerang Murwillumbah Rd from Advancetown to Natural Bridge and Jacobs Well Rd at Pimpama and Stapylton.
TUESDAY, 7AM – RELIEF CENTRES, RECOVERY HUBS AND EVACUATION CENTRES
All libraries except for Runaway Bay will be open today for relief from weather and to charge mobile and handheld devices.
Community Recovery Hubs on the Gold Coast will open Tuesday and Wednesday to help residents access and apply for grants as well as emotional and wellbeing support.
Opening Tuesday:
• Upper Coomera Centre, 90 Reserve Road, Upper Coomera from 9am to 4pm
Opening Wednesday:
• Labrador Community Centre, 57 Billington St, Labrador from Wednesday 3 January to Friday 5 January 2024
• Coombabah State School Library, 164-172 Oxley Dr, Coombabah from Wednesday 3 January to Sunday 7 January 9am-4pm
• Mudgeeraba Community Centre, Firth Park, Somerset Drive, Mudgeeraba from Wednesday 3 January 2024
Evacuation centres have been opened at:
• Coomera Indoor Sports Centre, 35 Beattie Rd, Coomera
• Nerang Bicentennial Community Centre, 833 Southport Nerang Rd, Nerang
Caged domestic pets are welcome.
Mayor Tom Tate warned residents on Monday that the wet weather was likely to ease by Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday morning at the latest.
Residents have been warned to monitor the situation and prepare to move to higher ground if necessary.
“Make a decision early. Don’t wait because it can be very difficult for ambulances to get in there for other people,” he said.
TUESDAY, 6AM – DELUGE TO CONTINUE
The Gold Coast has woken up to more intense rainfall, with flood warnings remaining for parts of the city.
Three to six-hourly rainfall totals between 100 and 200mm are likely on Tuesday, with isolated 24-hourly totals exceeding 350mm possible according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
“Since 9am on Monday the focus of the rainfall has definitely been around the Gold Coast and Gold Coast hinterlands region,” Bureau metrologist Daniel Hayes said.
“Today, there is that possibility that we could see isolated rainfall of up to 350mm and that categorises as localised intense rainfall that can lead to dangerous and life threatening flash flooding.”
Since 9am Monday, Nerang and Coomera have recorded rainfall totals of up to 245mm.
Meanwhile, North Tamborine has received 236mm, Mount Tamborine 217mm and Beenleigh 157mm of rain, seeing rapid creek and river level rises.
Life-threatening flash-flooding remains a threat on the Gold Coast.
Flood warnings are active for communities along the Nerang and Coomera rivers with water levels rising:
• Pimpama and Coomera rivers
Major flooding is occurring at Clagiraba Road and minor flooding is occurring at Oxenford Weir.
• Nerang River
River levels along the Nerang River at Clearview and Evandale are likely to remain below the minor flood level.
• Mudgeeraba Creek
Minor flooding is occurring at Mudgeeraba.
• Tallebudgera and Currumbin Creeks
Creek level rises are occurring along the Tallebudgera and Currumbin creeks with rapid rises to continue in periods of intense rainfall.
Gold Coast City Council evacuation centres are open.
Sandbagging stations will also be open on Tuesday from 7am to 6pm at:
• Reedy Creek Waste & Recycling Centre, 61 Hutchinson Street, Burleigh Heads
• 196 Old Pacific Highway, Pimpama
• 42-44 Boyd Street, Bilinga (use the service road, next to the City of Gold Coast Tugun Depot)
Up to half a metre of rain may have hampered Energex’s ongoing efforts to restore power to affected Gold Coast communities, but it hasn’t stopped their crews.
A spokesperson said on Monday night they had continued “chipping away at the mountain of damage” during the deluge.
“It’s been disheartening to see storm-battered trees topple into the network, disrupting power to some pockets of customers we’d just restored, but the day has brought some positives,” they said.
“Crews working in areas not threatened by flooding have made some good gains replacing poles and restringing powerlines, including around Oxenford and Helensvale.
“The wet weather has served as an enforced break for our weary teams.
“Although we closely monitor fatigue levels, a huge week of 12 hour rotating shifts through a heatwave, extreme humidity and working through the nights takes its toll.
“When the rain and flooding eases, our crews will be refreshed and ready tackle the huge job still ahead.”
The spokesperson said hundreds of local crews, Ergon teams and contractors would hit the ground running when the weather eased, focusing on “areas where there are still larger numbers of customers off supply because the damage is just so extreme”.
“We’ll be asking people who live up in the mountains to take extra care – when we can resume the main work up on the ranges, we’ll have several hundred trucks heading up through those narrow winding roads,” they said.
“We’ll be back in the air doing damage assessments and stringing with helicopters and drones (again, as soon as the skies clear).
“And thank you for the incredible kindnesses from so many in our communities – the words of support, the ice blocks and cold drinks, the offers of towels to soaking wet crews, the encouragement, and above all your patience. It really matters.”
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