Jimboomba resident Stacey Bennett and her family have been without power for more than 40 days after a Christmas day tornado ripped through parts of Logan leaving homes and streets in disrepair.
Ms Bennett’s 400-metre driveway was blocked by a fallen tree, her roof was damaged, and the power poles on her property destroyed, cutting off electricity.
The family were trapped on the property for 10 days while the family worked to clear the debris.
“We didn’t know what had happened for a few days – we had no reception, or internet and we were stuck in the property,” Ms Bennett said.
Weeks of heavy rain and severe heat have slowed the recovery process.
For the first few weeks of no power, the Bennetts ran a small generator that could barely power the fridge.
After the generator broke the family’s insurance agreed to cover the cost of a new one, but fuel costs have run into the thousands.
“We’re slowly making small improvements on things and upgrading our generator lifted our spirits because we can finally see at night,” Ms Bennett said.
“It’s been tough – you have your ups and downs, I guess.”
But even with their new and improved generator, the Bennetts have resorted to washing clothes at friends’ houses and struggle to run their air-conditioner.
The Bennett children have suffered from the experience with youngest son Jacob sustaining a severe burn on New Years Day while the family was trapped on the property.
Paramedics climbed through almost 400 metres of fallen trees in the rain to reach Jacob and treat him.
“The poor kids, they’ve had it really tough – the storm this year, and the last three years they’ve had Covid lockdowns.
“They’re eight and ten, they haven’t really known anything else other than disaster after disaster.”
The Bennetts aren’t the only Jimboomba family still without power with several others nearby households still relying on generators.
Logan’s recovery hub at Jimboomba, which the Bennetts said was a significant source of help, closed on Friday 2 February.
In the period it was open there were over 2900 visits to the hub from locals seeking support from the state government.
Mayor Darren Power, who serves as the city’s disaster management chair, said the recovery hub played a vital role in returning life to normal for storm-impacted residents.
“The hub has provided important face-to-face support for those seeking financial relief, as well as being a place to access mental health services and insurance claim information,” Cr Power said.
“In times like these, people want a friendly face and an understanding ear, and we’re very thankful for the support provided from various agencies at the hub over the past few weeks.
“It feels like we’ve had a perfect storm of challenges since Christmas Day, but no matter the weather, Council remains focused on supporting our community.”
“Throughout our summer storm season, it is important to be prepared for wilder weather, power outages or flash flooding.
“Taking some time to consider the food, medications and supplies your family might need can make all the difference, as well as staying up to date via Council’s online Disaster Dashboard.
