Wongawallan residents, small businesses reveal destruction left behind by Christmas night storm
The state government is being asked to step in to help small businesses facing financial ruin after the horror Christmas Day storm on the Gold Coast. Here’s why help is urgently needed.
Gold Coast
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Small business owners in areas of the Gold Coast worst affected by the Christmas Day storm are nursing massive losses due to wasted stock and days of lost trade.
Cafes have been forced to dump thousands of dollars worth of food, while businesses in areas that remain without power have been unable to open their doors.
Spectrum Plants owner Wesley Trevor said he was down at least $250,000 through lost stock and damage to the Wongawallan nursery. Mr Trevor said his main concern was ensuring he kept his 15 staff employed.
“My wages are ten grand a week,” he said.
“There’s that much value of stock that’s been damaged that I won’t be able to sell. And then there’s the damage to the infrastructure.
“Basically I’d have to work for a year or two without any profit to get back to where we started.”
Mr Trevor said plants which had taken all year to prepare had been destroyed.
“What happens is we pot like crazy all spring, we grow it – and I had some of the best stock I’ve ever grown, beautiful plants – and we start selling it in December and we sell through. I was just about to approach Bunnings. But all of that stock is now ruined.
“My whole year’s work is in this crop which is just wrecked.”
Theodore MP Mark Boothman said the state government needed to step in with financial assistance for small businesses after what was an unprecedented disaster on the Gold Coast.
“I’ve got small businesses that are going to be financially ruined by this. They need assistance, and they need it now,” he said.
‘TERRIFIED’ IN WONGAWALLAN - AND WE WERE ONE OF THE LUCKY ONES
A wall almost blown out, windows shattered, and dirt and debris sprayed across the inside of his home – but Wongawallan resident Craig Walmsley feels he is one of the lucky ones.
Roads through the small Gold Coast suburb still show the path of devastation left behind by the ferocious Christmas night storm, with torn-up trees and fallen powerlines strewn across Wongawallan Drive.
Mr Walmsley’s home – despite the widespread interior damage and tree wreckage – stands out between those on either side as the only one without at least part of its roof torn off.
The boat and caravan he keeps outside on his property were also relatively unscathed.
Mr Walmsley and his family hid in their laundry to ride out the worst of the storm, feeling their house sway beneath them from the force of the winds.
“We were terrified,” he said.
“Everything got sopping wet – we had about an inch of water on the floors.”
Mr Walmsley said they had been cleaning constantly in the days since to make their home liveable again, including patching up the damaged wall and boarding up their own windows.
Scraps of destroyed roofing and even a blown-apart communications tower litter the trees surrounding Mr Walmsley’s and neighbouring properties.
Residents along their street have worked together to clear trees and other debris – including more metal and insulation materials – that were blocking the road in and out.
They reported the Rural Fire Brigade had put in a “huge effort” to help their community in the days since the storm.
Mr Walmsley and many other Wongawallan residents are still relying on generators for power as the Gold Coast bakes through a sweltering heatwave, with temperatures expected to soar well above 30C as the city begins its recovery. Most nearby suburbs are expected to have power restored by Saturday evening.
Another Wongawallan resident reported winds were so strong during the storm that rain water was pushed above window panels – whether open or closed – and into his home.
The small rural community is no stranger to disaster, having been scorched by bushfires several times within the past few years.
But according to Mr Walmsley’s son Jack, the damage caused by the blazes “does not compare” to that left in the wake of Monday’s storm.
Many have compared its ferocity and destruction to a tornado as residents across the northern Gold Coast are left picking up the pieces of their homes and businesses.
Mayor Tom Tate said on Thursday that while damage assessments were still being totalled, he anticipated the city would well exceed the $2.1m threshold for recompense from the state government.
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