Christmas Day storm: Before and after images reveal how destruction reshaped Coast streets
New images have revealed the astonishing before and after results of the “mammoth” clean-up efforts from the Christmas Day storm, with Gold Coasters told to hang on. FULL DETAILS
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Mayor Tom Tate is reassuring Gold Coasters they’re not alone as a “mammoth” Christmas storm and New Year’s flood clean-up starts to show results and a site launches revealing who will be visited when.
A website was due to launch overnight on Sunday – its Operation Clean-Up web page – enabling residents in worst-affected areas to see when debris will be removed from their streets.
With power now restored to 99 per cent of homes across the city nearly two weeks after the deadly Christmas night storm, attention is turning to cleaning up the wreckage left behind while many face very long waits for home rebuilds.
The council’s “once in a generation” clean-up of the green waste will clear stacks of broken branches and other detritus left behind across the city.
An estimated 75,000 truck loads of debris will need cleared, Saturday’s Bulletin revealed.
Mr Tate said the size and scale of the operation was already apparent after some of the most devastated streets – Upper Coomera’s Kriedeman St and Coombabah’s Crystal Creek Drive were cleared late last week.
“We want to assure people that no one will be forgotten. We have a plan and we are coming to help,” he said.
“The task ahead of us is mammoth with an unprecedented amount of green waste to be removed
“We are looking at removing a once-in-a-generation sized storm clean up and no one will be left behind.
“Clean up work is underway and as a part of this, the city has removed load limits on green waste for domestic customers and waived commercial green waste fees for storm debris at our disposal facilities.”
The council began kerbside clean-ups over the weekend, with plans for more to be conducted.
“In addition to the City’s immediate and continuing response with tree clearing, we had crews conducting kerbside collection of storm debris over the weekend in the areas that suffered significant damage which will continue over the coming days,” Mr Tate said.
The council overnight launched its Operation Clean-up web page which will allow residents in the worst-affected areas to find out when the debris will be removed from their streets.
Operation Clean-up program director Ainslie Buffett said the removal effort would occur in waves.
She residents who had storm debris and green waste on their property but are not currently on the list will be offered alternate options and support.
“When pick up time comes, crews will first pick up the green waste and then in the following days pick up other storm debris,” she said.
“Residents in storm affected areas should regularly check the website.
“Before the estimated pick up date, they should ensure their green waste and other storm debris is placed on the kerb and separated.”
For more information, visit citygc.au/cleanup
The sheer size of the operation was revealed on Saturday, with around 80 football fields, or 750,000 truckloads of waste will be cleared from the 700 effected streets.
The cost of the effort is yet to be calculated but it is expected to be in the tens of millions.
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