A devastating tornado, brutal temperatures and intense rain tore apart parts of Logan over the Christmas holidays.
But these intense weather events also brought the best out of the city’s good Samaritans.
Jimboomba mother Stacey Bennett was blocked inside her property for ten days without electricity.
But Ms Bennett’s biggest fear was for her son, Jacob, who suffered a serious burn on New Year’s Day.
“We’ve got a 400-metre-long driveway that was blocked by fallen powerlines and trees – there was no access in or out,” she said.
“The paramedics had to climb through all sorts of obstacles to get to us.”
Ms Bennett said Jacob was recovering well and was taken to his follow-up hospital appointments by Jimboomba police officer Senior Sergeant Peter Waugh who ensured he was “well looked after”.
“The officer rocked up in his police car, which was a delight to my eight-year-old son,” she said.
“Through the grapevine he must have found out that we needed to get to the hospital, and he was more than happy to donate his time.”
Ms Bennett said Senior Sergeant Waugh made the hospital visit “a nice little adventure for Jacob” by turning the police lights on and letting him take a photo with the car.
“These may seem like small acts to others, but it meant the world to me,” Ms Bennett said.
“After 10 days of being stuck, feeling forgotten about and going through the trauma of my son being hurt when paramedics couldn’t reach us, it was what we needed.”
She said local volunteer Sarah Weir, who set up and managed a recovery hotspot in Jimboomba, also proved to be a pillar of support.
“She found me when I needed help the most,” Ms Bennett said.
“She found out that my son got a serious burn while stuck and without power and knew I couldn’t make it to my follow up appointment at the Queensland Children’s Hospital.
“Within minutes she had organised a lift for me and my son.”
Ms Bennett wasn’t the only person Ms Weir helped.
Over a two-week period, Ms Weir and a team of volunteers helped serve over 7000 meals to hundreds of struggling locals, as well as organised showers, electricity and internet for those without power.
They operated the recovery hub out of the Jimboomba District and Community Hall.
“I’m associated with the Jimboomba Rotary Club that runs out of the Jimboomba Community Hall, which shares the same power grid as the emergency services,” Ms Weir said.
“So, I knew we were going to get power back before everyone else.”
Ms Weir said her original plan was for locals to use the facility as an escape from the scorching heat.
“From there it just escalated,” she said.
The hub then ran from 9am to 9.30pm every day for 12 days, providing breakfast, lunch and dinner to locals.
“Every night we kicked off dinner service from 6pm, we all gathered and sat together and ate a meal of real food off real plates,” she said.
“This made a huge difference to people’s mental health as they felt like they were at home eating with their families.
“With the help of local and state government we sourced showers that were delivered to us for community use, and Orange Sky Laundry visited every other day to provide laundry services.”
Ms Weir thanked local councillor Scott Bannan and state MP Linus Power, who visited the hub every day it was open.
Hundreds of Logan residents continue to feel the impacts of the recent storms and floods, with power outages and water interruptions ongoing.
