Crews from Redland City Council and other frontline agencies continue to work around the clock to help the city’s island communities recover from the impacts of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah), the Southern Moreton Bay Islands and Coochiemudlo Island were the first to bear the brunt of the cyclone as it made landfall.
Redland City Mayor and Local Disaster Management Group Chair Jos Mitchell visited bay islands earlier this week, where she met with residents and crews from Energex, SES and other response groups, and dropped in on local businesses.
You may also like these stories
Thousands of island residents were impacted by power outages due to the cyclone, but by 2pm today, Thursday 13 March, that figure was down to just 43 customers. Energex was reporting only one outage left to fix on Russell Island.
Several boats were damaged across the bay, including one that sunk after striking the Macleay Island ferry terminal.
“Many of the residents and business owners I spoke with on the islands were in good spirits, but we know there is still a way to go in this recovery process,” the Mayor said.
“There are still trees and other debris to be cleared from roadways and verges, restoring damaged infrastructure, and, ultimately, helping all our residents get back to a semblance of normality.
“While there has been significant erosion to some of our spectacular beaches on Minjerribah and we know that will take time to recover, it is important that we don’t let this affect our tourism sector.
“There are a lot of tourism operators on our bay islands, many of whom are small business owners, and it would be great as a community to support them at this time.”
The Mayor thanked crews from Energex, Queensland Police, State Emergency Services, Council, the Australian Defence Force, Community Champions and all other agencies for their continued efforts on both the islands and the mainland.
“It takes an army to get a community back on its feet after a severe weather event of this scale and that is exactly what we have had right across the city,” the Mayor said.
“My heartfelt thanks go out to the many different organisations and groups attached to the Redland Local Disaster Management Group who have been working around the clock from the moment TC Alfred began its move towards the coast.
“I’d also like to say a very special thanks to our Council crews, particularly those who have been working on the ground throughout the cyclone while also managing impacts to their own properties.
“One of the challenges of responding to a disaster event in Redland City is the distance between the islands and mainland, but all frontline workers have done a wonderful job providing support in all of these communities.”
For further updates on the recovery process, please follow the Redlands Coast Disaster Dashboard at disaster.redland.qld.gov.au.
