Storm-hit Coochiemudlo Island remains in darkness as Energex fix fails

A weekend without power, internet, or cold beer? Not on Redland Mayor Jos Mitchell’s watch. She won a battle to get Energex to go to Coochiemudlo Island to restore power for 800 residents.

Boats in Moreton Bay near Coochiemudlo Island. Picture: JUDITH KERR

More than 800 Redland island residents are hoping to be spared a weekend without power, internet, and cold beer after Mayor Jos Mitchell urged Premier David Crisafulli to send Energex staff to Coochiemudlo Island.

The mayor’s persistence resulted in Energex crews going to the island on Thursday night after a “Seek Shelter” warning was issued and after a day of no power on the island.

Mayor Mitchell was able to get the Energex visit after an initial refusal by Energex to deploy workers to Coochie, off the coast at Victoria Point, due to safety concerns.

The power outage, which left hundreds stranded in darkness since Thursday at 12pm, was a direct result of the severe weather conditions battering the coastal city this week.

An Energex crew arrived on the island late Thursday night and tackled the problem restoring power by 10pm.

Coochiemudlo Island residents were without power on Friday morning.

However, success was short lived with the power blacking out on the island again at 2am.

Energex confirmed that strong winds were preventing crews from restoring power, meaning residents may be without electricity until conditions improved.

“If you’re without power, please be patient. Crews will begin work as soon as it is safe, likely by Saturday or Sunday,” Energex spokesman Danny Donald said.

According to reports early on Friday, there was still no power on Coochie with 30,000 people across the state also in darkness including about 2000 in Redland.

Cyclone Alfred remained a Category Two cyclone, about 195km from Brisbane and 180km northeast of the Gold Coast.

The slow-moving system was expected to make landfall between Noosa and Coolangatta late on Friday night or early Saturday morning.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued severe weather warnings and flood watches across the region, with six-hour rainfall totals of up to 250mm and 24-hour totals of up to 450mm forecasted.

The initial Energex outage finder shows Coochiemudlo Island was without power. Picture: Energex

Affected residents, were initially informed that they would be without electricity until Monday due to logistical challenges in transporting Energex crews to the island.

At 8pm on Thursday night, residents reported phone services failing after the six-hour auxiliary battery life on the island’s phone tower ran down.

All ferry services on the Amity Trader will remain closed to the island on Friday.

Ms Mitchell asked the state government to take immediate action at Thursday afternoon.

The power restoration efforts come as Redland prepares to grapple with ongoing tidal and flood risks associated with Cyclone Alfred, due to cross the coastline near Coochiemudlo Island some time on late Friday or early Saturday.

Foreshore erosion affects many Redland beaches including those at Coochiemudlo Island and Redland Bay. PICTURES: Judith Kerr

A state-of-the-art Redland flood map of the region released on Thursday highlights vulnerable areas and provides residents with crucial information for emergency preparedness.

According to the map, more than 3100 residents will be affected by storm surges from Cyclone Alfred over the weekend.

Ms Mitchell said she would also be pushing the state government to prioritise funding for new community centres that could double up as evacuation centres.

She said the city’s series of community halls were not cyclone rated and further weather activity meant the city would require evacuation havens in times of cyclonic disaster.

“Our evacuation centres are more than 40 years old and not cyclone-rated,” Ms Mitchell said. “This event has reinforced the urgent need for investment in modern, resilient infrastructure to protect our residents in future disasters.

“We need to invest in solutions that prevent these kinds of outages in the first place,” she said.

“But for now, I’m just grateful to Energex for their efforts.”

LOGAN

A major flood warning remained in place for the Logan and Albert rivers on Friday morning, with moderate to major flooding expected on Friday and over the weekend.

Logan mayor Jon Raven advised residents of three refuge centres at the Logan Metro Sports Centre, Beenleigh PCYC, and Flagstone State School.

He said 18 people had taken refuge at the city’s centres including its evacuation centre at the Crestmead Indoor Sports Centre.

“These are safe spaces to shelter, but they are not long-term accommodations. Residents should first seek shelter with friends and family if possible,” he advised.

Logan City Council sandbagging locations have closed after they providing more than 180,000 sandbags and 2500 tonnes of sand.

Mr Raven said the efforts extended beyond Logan, with residents from the Gold Coast and Redlands also using Logan’s self-serve sandbagging stations.

“Boundaries don’t matter during a crisis like this,” Mr Raven said.

Originally published as Storm-hit Coochiemudlo Island remains in darkness as Energex fix fails