In the wake of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred, communities across South East Queensland and northern New South Whales are actively engaging in extensive clean-ups. The storm brought unprecedented rainfall and severe flooding, leading to widespread property damage and significant disruptions to essential services.

Home owners, builders, and suppliers are diligently assessing damage and beginning the recovery processes. In Brisbane, Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has emphasised the importance of community solidarity during this challenging period, urging neighbours to support one another. Similarly, the Toowoomba Region experienced heavy rainfall and strong winds, resulting in fallen trees, localised flooding, and power outages. Mayor Geoff McDonald has encouraged patience as the region undertakes clean-up efforts.

The storm’s impact has led to significant disruptions in infrastructure. Over 290,000 homes and businesses were left without power, with restoration efforts prioritised towards critical infrastructure, including suppliers for major builders on the northern end of the Gold Coast.

Suppliers are also grappling with delays and power issues, affecting their ability to respond promptly, so don’t be offended if some of your calls go to voicemail this week! Email response times may also be slower than usual this week and next.

Complete restoration is anticipated to take over a week, and telecommunications companies are working hard to restore services amid numerous site disruptions across mobile and landline networks.

Government Support and Assistance

The Queensland Government has activated personal hardship assistance for residents in affected areas, including Redland, Gold Coast, and Logan City Councils. This support includes grants to cover emergency costs, the replacement of damaged household goods, and the reconnection of essential services.

Premier David Crisafulli stated,

“Our Emergency Services have been swift in their response to the events of the past week.”

“With this funding, we’re giving Queenslanders impacted by Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred immediate support to get back on their feet.” 

Personal Hardship Assistance Scheme 

• Emergency Hardship Assistance Grants – $180 per person, up to $900 for a family of five or more to purchase immediate essentials like food, clothing and medicine.
• Essential Services Hardship Assistance – $150 per person, up to $750 for a family of five or more to assist with immediate needs following the loss of essential services at home for more than five consecutive days.
• Essential Household Contents Grants – up to $1,765 for individuals and up to $5,300 for couples or families to replace destroyed essential household contents such as bed linen and white goods.
• Structural Assistance Grants – up to $80,000 for uninsured, income-tested owner-occupiers towards the repair or replacement of a disaster damaged dwelling to return it to a safe and habitable condition. 

Essential Services Safety and Reconnection Scheme  

• Income-tested grants to help uninsured residents reconnect damaged services like electricity, gas, water or sewerage. Up to $5,000 per household. 

Looking Ahead: Stories of Resilience and Innovation

In the coming weeks, we will spotlight stories that showcase the resilience of our good builder community, insights from insurance builders, and innovative products enhancing storm preparedness and recovery. The construction industry is increasingly focusing on using fit-for-purpose, weather-resistant materials to ensure safety and create durable structures that survive these climactic events. Additionally, technologies exist today to retrofit older buildings to become more cyclone-resistant, which is a topic we will explore here on The Good Builder in the coming months.

As South East Queensland and northern New South Wales start what is becoming an all too familiar journey of post-flood recovery, the communities’ collective spirit stands as a testament to their strength in the face of adversity.

If you’ve got a story to share, please get in touch.

Author: Jonathan Tibbits

Starting his career as a lawyer, Jonathan transitioned into project management, compliance, and certification for companies throughout the industry supply chain in Australia and New Zealand. With international experience in green building, sustainability and stakeholder communication, he is passionate about innovation and building transparency and trust.