Scenic Rim SES volunteers were kept busy in the aftermath of Cyclone Alfred, which was downgraded after making landfall off the Queensland coast on the morning of Saturday, 8 March.
SES local controller Sandy Bell said crews were deployed to Tamborine Mountain on Sunday where there were about 50 calls for assistance after trees fell across roads, with widespread power outages with phone and internet connectivity impacted by the weather event.
Ms Bell said the crews were lucky to follow behind an army truck.
“There were trees down when we came up and the army was able to remove them and get us through,” she said.
“If they hadn’t been there I think that road would still be blocked.”
Some of the SES members, who were soaked to the bone and unable to access overnight accommodation or dry clothes, were sent home on Sunday.
“We’ve sent our members from the Boonah side home because of rising waters and the need to get them back over to the west side,” she said.
“We have flood boat crews on standby in areas including Harrisville, Beaudesert, Boonah and Tamborine. There’s one swiftwater crew at Beaudesert and two at Kooralbyn.”
Ms Bell said callouts to Beaudesert had been minimal and mainly involved assistance with sandbagging.
“People have been very good about getting sandbags and sorting themselves out,” she said.
“But one message we need to get out is that yesterday and the day before I think people got a bit complacent because it looked like it wasn’t going to rain,” she said.
“”We started hearing people say they needed to get rid of their sandbags, calling us up to ask where they should dump the bags.
“We just want people not to be complacent because I found out today there could be a lot more rainfall. So hold onto your sandbags for now.”
Local Government Disaster Management Group chair Steve Moriarty posted an update on the Scenic Rim Council’s website at midday Sunday.
Cr Moriarty said Saturday night had been even worse than Friday for some residents.
“Tamborine Mountain and Beechmont are in our thoughts and we’re working very hard to address the issues that those particular locations are facing,” he said.
“I have been advised … that conditions are expected to slowly improve throughout today and into tomorrow,” he said.
“We are getting towards the end of this event. There have not been any serious injuries or deaths so far … and we would love that to stay until the finish.
“There are major flood warnings still for the Warrill Creek and Logan River and a moderate flood warning for the Albert River. The rain that occurred in the catchments overnight may take some hours to come down the tributaries to those major waterways so water levels may continue to rise throughout the day.”
Cr Moriarty advised motorists to exercise extreme caution on the road.
“Damaging wind gusts could still occur with peak gusts of around 90 kilometres an hour possible in some locations,” he said.
“There are a number of road closures across the region. Council crews are out on the roads and canvassing the damage to our region where it is safe to do so and the Queensland Police Service has urged all drivers to please drive to conditions and remember, if it’s flooded, forget it.”
Other impacts of ex tropical cyclone Alfred included 1,600 power lines knocked over across south-east Queensland and 326,000 homes without power by 9am Sunday.
Cr Moriarty urged locals not to take it upon themselves to remove debris from roads and public places.
“The Australian Defence Force, SES, Queensland Police, RFD and Energex are on the ground and managing the situation,” he said.
