Storms hit S.E Queensland

On Sunday 16th Nov suburbs of the Brisbane were ravished by what can only be described as a cyclonic thunderstorm. Some of the better footage of the event can be seen here

The resulting damage was devastating and widespread. It wasn’t long before the NSWSES was asked to assist with the recovery phase. I got my opportunity to help as part of the ‘Charlie Task Force’. 8 members and one vehicle from Wollongong headed north for a 48-hour deployment.

After our initial briefing, where I was made a ‘Strike Team T/L’ responsible for 6 teams we were tasked to an area of Brisbane called “The Gap”. Arriving on site it was quickly apparent how much damage had been sustained. Trees were broken off halfway up, sheets of iron were wrapped around trees, houses were unroofed, trees that weren’t fallen were shredded of their leaves. It looked like a war zone and this was day 6 of the event.

After a long day in the field we were stood-down and accommodated in motels at Ipswich. Many of us were too tired for socialising and all had an early night.


Sunday morning saw us across town for our morning briefing. Things were looking good for an early completion. NSWSES crews had completed approx’ 700 jobs the previous day. That only left some 300 jobs to do. Back out at “The Gap” we were faced with more of the same. Nearly every house had sustained some form of damage, with wind gusts recorded at 180km/h it was amazing that no one lost their life as a direct result of the storm.

Towards the end of Sunday we entered one particular street that sat high on the side of a hill, it had obviously taken the brunt of the winds as they ripped through the gully below. Multiple houses had been de-roofed, massive trees had fallen. One house in particular had had their 2 front rooms crushed by a fallen tree. A box trailer had been lifted and blown onto a 3’ fence. A roof laid some 3 houses away from its original location and a telegraph pole had been snapped in half. It was a true war zone, but residents’ spirits remained high and everyone was pitching in to help others. We did what we could but regrettably we had to withdraw as our time in the field was drawing to an end.

Our evening was spent relaxing and reflecting on the carnage that we’d seen. After a good nights sleep we all headed for home, some driving unit vehicles, others flying.