Jimboomba residents were left with another nervous night of rolling thunder storms last night following the Christmas night storm which tore through the suburb, lifting rooves from homes and leaving families with nowhere to live.
SES crews had covered a number of homes in Logan’s western suburbs yesterday, some totally wiped out by winds which reached levels suspected by storm watchers to be in excess of 200km/hr.
Trees were uprooted, closing roads, destroying cars and breaking holes in rooves and walls.
Weather forecasts from the Bureau of Meteorology have today predicted the possibility of more severe storms, albeit unlikely to reach the proportions of Christmas night which one Energex worker said were the worst in 20 years.
Never before had winds snapped concrete power poles, he said.
As of Wednesday morning, there remained 53 power sources cut as crews continued to work around the clock – not just in Logan, but surrounding areas including the Scenic Rim and the Gold Coast which were also savaged.
Most suburbs, according to Energex, can expect to regain power today.
As of 7am, more than 3000 homes in Cedar Grove, Cedar Vale and Jimboomba were still without power. There were also more than 1000 homes without connection at Yarrabilba.
Despite initial fears yesterday that some lines would not be restored until the weekend, Energex has updated forecasts with a promise of power connections in all those impacted suburbs today.
Adding insult to injury, the entire state of Queensland was yesterday afternoon declared a heatwave zone until Friday.
Further thunderstorms are possible this afternoon or this evening.
Temperatures are expected to hit at least 36 degrees tomorrow (Thursday) and 34 degrees Friday in Logan Central.
These can rise 2-3 degrees higher in areas further west.
“The QLD Department of Health advises everyone in the affected areas to take the following actions: Extreme heatwaves can be dangerous for everyone,” the warning said.
“Severe heatwaves can be dangerous for many people, especially older people, babies, children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, people with medical conditions and people who are unwell.
“Seek a place to keep cool, such as your home, a library, community centre or shopping centre.Close your windows and draw blinds, curtains or awnings early in the day to keep the heat out of your home.
“If available, use fans or air-conditioners to keep cool.”
Of the Christmas night storm, Higgins Storm Chasing said it was a tornado.
“It started at Flagstone/Cedar Vale near Jimboomba and very quickly tracked east across Mt Tamborine, through Upper Coomera, Oxenford, Helensvale and Paradise Point,” they said.
“A confirmed wind gust of 160km/hr was recorded at Mt Tamborine however damage indicates potential gusts over 200km/hr. The tornado was on the ground for 30 minutes.”
Logan City Council has provided the following information:
Residents are urged to take caution while the clean-up is underway.
Key information includes:
- Fallen power lines can be reported to Energex on 13 19 62.
- Road debris and road closures can be reported to Council on 3412 3412. All non-urgent requests can be reported at logan.qld.gov.au.
- Logan City Council waste contractor Cleanaway has advised that some bins may not be collected as scheduled today due to storm damage blocking access to some streets. If safe to do so, please leave your bin kerbside and it will be collected as soon as possible.
- To assist with clean up, residents are able to dispose of storm related waste at Council’s transfer stations at no cost. This includes green waste (i.e. branches, leaves, etc), spoilt food, storm damaged household items, and uncollected wheelie bin waste. Council’s waste facilities are expected to be very busy, and it is recommended residents arrive before 9am or after 3pm.
- Flooding is reported in the Logan River upstream of Yarrahappini. Only minor flooding has been reported downstream.
- For the latest information, go to Council’s Disaster Dashboard – disaster.logan.qld.gov.au
Ahead of forecast storm activity today, the community is encouraged to keep these numbers handy in case of an emergency.
- Life-threatening emergencies – 000
- SES – 13 25 00
- Energex (to report fallen powerlines or power outages) – 13 62 62
- Logan City Council (to report debris or road closures) – 3412 3412
To prepare for any future storm activity, residents are encouraged to take steps to protect themselves and their properties.
This includes:
- Prepare an emergency kit and have an emergency plan.
- Identify loose objects in their yards or on decks or balconies which may need to be secured or put away.
- Trim trees and branches and clear garden debris.
- Check/secure roofing.
- Clean gutters and downpipes.
Photo: Facebook
