ADF joins debris clean-up

Weather plays nice as recovery gets into full swing

Ten days after Mother Nature turned nasty, the City of Logan today finally got the upper-hand.

The post-Christmas period produced a tornado, storms, a heatwave and flooding that tested the resolve of thousands of local residents, business owners and primary producers.

But under sunny skies today, Logan City Council clean-up crews and community support officers steered an expanded multi-agency phase to the recovery operation.

In addition to providing ongoing support and assistance to hundreds of residents through two Community Recovery Hubs, further inroads were made in removing fallen vegetation, clearing roads and opening other access points in the hardest-hit suburbs including Cedar Grove, Mundoolun, Cedar Vale, Jimboomba and Greenbank.

On the ground with Council today as part of the multi-agency recovery were:

• A contingent from the Australian Defence Force (ADF) tasked with assisting in the restoration of critical infrastructure.
• Energex crews working towards having power restored to most local properties by Sunday (January 7). As of noon today (Thursday, January 4), 1575 properties in Logan were still without power.
• Chainsaw experts processing tree trunks and branches into pieces that can be easily removed.
• The State Emergency Service responded to 10 callouts in the last 24 hours, down from more than 100 the previous day. Anyone needing SES assistance should call 132 500. If the situation is life-threatening, call 000.
• A team from not-for-profit Disaster Relief Australia (DRA) will arrive tomorrow (Friday, January 5). The crew will initially assist in the roads clean-up. DRA staff include veterans, retired first responders and other volunteers.

The Mayor visited Cedar Grove today to observe the work being done by the ADF.

“There’s a lot of support for the ADF in the community – it’s a morale boost because residents out this way have been through so much over the holiday period when many others were celebrating,” he said.

“They can see there are a lot more hands working on getting things done which is terrific.”

From tomorrow (Friday, January 5), Council’s Local Recovery Group (LRG) will take the Logan lead following on from the disaster response effort of the last 10 days.

In addition to driving the ongoing clean-up, the LRG will also aim to ensure impacted residents, businesses and farmers are aware of all available hardship funding and support and Council infrastructure and services are fully restored as soon as possible.

As at noon on Thursday, January 4, key information for the community included:

• More than 600 meals were served at the Community Recovery Hub at Jimboomba yesterday, up from around 400 the previous day. Hot showers and free laundry services ran all day. The hub, located in the Jimboomba Library and Community Centre on Honora St, provides a place for residents to engage with Community Recovery staff, receive referrals for community and government agencies, apply for hardship grants and receive insurance information. Support for residents impacted by storms, blackouts or flooding is available through the Community Recovery Hotline – 1800 173 349 – or online
• More than 70 people attended the first morning of a new pop-up Community Recovery Hub at Cedar Grove, with a number accessing the free hot showers. The support service, operating out of the Landcare Environmental Centre, 441 Cedar Grove Rd, from 9am-4pm will operate through to Sunday, January 7.
• Kerbside clean-up will begin on Monday (January 8) as planned for six suburbs in the southwest. But collections will be done in a sequence that leaves the hardest-hit suburbs until last. This will allow Council crews to clear vegetation from footpaths and will ensure Cleanaway trucks do not hinder the current clean-up. The latter suburbs may not be serviced until the week beginning January 15. The order is: Park Ridge South, New Beith, North McLean, South McLean, Greenbank, Munruben.
• Assistance is available for primary producers, small businesses and not-for-profit organisations in the City of Logan impacted by the storms. For more details contact the Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority on 1800 623 946 or  go online.  For freight subsidies, contact DAF on 13 25 23 or go online.
• The Queensland Small Business Commissioner’s office will waive mediation fees for eligible small business tenants and landlords located in Logan at the time of the storms. For more information on this and other support provided by the QSBC, go online.
• Road debris and road closures can be reported to Council on 3412 3412. All non-urgent requests can be reported online
• Restoring roads is Council’s priority. Some Council parks are closed and will remain so until the ground dries and more resources become available to remove fallen vegetation and complete safety inspections. Signs indicate if a park is closed.
• To assist with the clean-up, residents can dispose of storm-related waste at Council’s transfer stations at no cost. The Browns Plains transfer station is the preferred location and loads greater than two cubic metres must be taken there. Council’s waste contractor Cleanaway continues to collect general, recycling and green waste wheelie bins where possible. If a bin is missed, residents are advised to leave the bin out, if it is safe to do so, and it will be collected as soon as possible. To report a missed bin go online or call 3412 3412.