Brisbane floods: Schools to reopen as govt launches appeal
All but six southeast state schools will reopen on Monday, as the Queensland Government launches a flood appeal with $2 million from the state and $2 million from BHP.
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All but six state schools in South East Queensland will reopen on Monday following last week’s closure sparked by recent wild weather.
Milton, Rocklea, One Mile, St Helens, Milpera High and Aviation High are the state schools that will remain closed.
Education Minister Grace Grace said plans were in place to support students attending the closed schools.
“They are being supported by the department to find local solutions that suit their school communities,” she said.
“Flood-impacted schools’ individual management plans will vary, but options include remote learning, temporary buildings, and the use of other local schools.
“Those six schools are in direct contact with parents and carers about what the coming weeks will look like for them and their students.”
Ms Grace said she saw the damage at Milton State School and Aviation State High School when she visited both schools earlier this week.
On Monday, more than 600 schools were closed across the southeast – with schools also ordered to be closed on Friday following predictions of wild weather that never materialised.
Meanwhile, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced the Government will start the Queensland floods appeal with a $2.1 million donation.
The money will be directed to a number of charities, including the Australian Red Cross, Lifeline, GIVIT, St Vincent de Paul and the Salvation Army.
Mining giant BHP will donate $2 million as well, while Suncorp is also giving $200,000 to the appeal.
“We know in times of disaster, the Queensland spirit shines brightest,” the Premier said.
“The Queensland spirit also comes from the generosity of Queenslanders who dig deep to help those in times of need.”
Ms Palaszczuk said charities would step in to provide critical services as the recovery from the floods continues.
“So many people have lost their homes or had property damaged, experienced loss of support or work income, and are facing incredible hardship and challenges ahead,” she said.
Charities will use donations from the appeal to provide crucial household items to those affected, such as washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, “whatever they need”, Ms Palaszczuk said.
News Corp Australia, publisher of The Courier-Mail, on Friday committed $1 million to aid the recovery of communities devastated by the floods and to help people rebuild their lives.
The Premier said the government had so far received nearly 26,700 grant applications, with more than 9600 payments made to benefit around 23,000 people.
Major insurer Suncorp says there have so far been about 20,000 claims related to the flooding event, with 15,000 of those in Queensland and the rest across the border in NSW.
The financial group has donated $1 million to help those affected.
The Brisbane suburbs most impacted by the floods were Rocklea, Deagon, Brighton, Windsor and The Gap.
Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said another death had been reported as a result of the flooding, taking the total number killed to 11.
She said the body of a 42-year-old woman had been discovered in a vehicle in the Bay area.
“It is believed that the vehicle was swept away a week ago, and only discovered sadly yesterday as the water started receding,” she told reporters on Sunday morning.
Logan City Mayor Darren Power said the council area had lost about 90 homes and 50 businesses after being inundated with flood water, while thousands of homes lost access to electricity.
But he said the impact could have been more severe if rain had continued in the last few days, declaring “Logan dodged a bullet”.
About 80,000 homes had lost power in the state’s southeast but Energy Minister Mick de Brenni said all homes are on track to have their lights back on by Sunday afternoon.
The famed mud army was stood down on Saturday, which Ms Palaszczuk insisted wasn’t too early given the mammoth task of cleaning up the dozens of suburbs.
She said it was the Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner’s decision, but credited volunteers for the “huge effort”.
“You have to ask the mayor, with all due respect,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“I’m sure he has his own reasons.
“We have a recovery co-ordinator hitting the ground early this week and they will go to different communities.”
Ms Palaszczuk said she was only advised of the volunteers being stood down through a text from a colleague late on Saturday night.
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