Tens of thousands of Queenslanders will remain without power for even longer after the state’s energy provider provided a ‘sobering’ update to customers.
The majority of the homes and business that were in the firing line of ex-Cyclone Alfred have been without power since last Thursday.
The cyclone brought wind gusts of over 100km/hour, heavy rain and damaging thunderstorms to southeast Queensland and northern NSW last week.
On Wednesday night, Energex said 410,000 of the 450,000 homes affected by the cyclone were still offline after some repair works were completed.
After a closer inspection of the damage in the Gold Coast, the Gold Coast hinterland and the Scenic Rim, Energex said parts of the network would need to be replaced.
‘We’ve also been out en masse for days across the Gold Coast, hinterland and Scenic Rim, and what we’re seeing in areas such as the Tallebudgera Valley is sobering,’ the energy provider said in an update at 9pm on Wednesday.
‘”Repairing” the network there doesn’t begin to describe the severity of damage in some sections – it’ll essentially be network replacement.
‘Being able to get the heavy specialist machinery into some areas we previously couldn’t readily take our big rigs is making a difference; helping with debris removal, pole replacements and getting wires back up where they belong.
Tens of thousands of Queenslanders will remain without power for days after the state’s energy provider provided a ‘sobering’ update (Energex crews are seen doing repairs)
On Wednesday night, Energex said 410,000 of the 450,000 homes affected by the cyclone were still offline after some repair works were completed (a fallen tree branch is pictured)
The cyclone brought wind gusts of over 100km/hour, heavy rain and damaging thunderstorms to southeast Queensland and northern NSW last week (fallen tree branches are pictured)
‘Hundreds of staff are out on the night shift right now, and we’ll be back in the thousands again bright and early tomorrow.’
In the last 24 hours, 35,000 homes north and south of Brisbane and on the Moreton Islands were reconnected in a single day.
Energex said crews were ‘working around the clock’ to restore power to homes as clean-up efforts in flood-affected areas continue.
Rainfall totals in southeast Queensland since ex-cyclone Alfred’s weekend arrival reached almost 1,200mm in some areas.
Brisbane was inundated by almost 280mm on Monday alone – the city’s biggest 24-hour total in more than 50 years.
Damage assessments have begun with residents forced to evacuate starting to return to their homes after a wet week that featured scores of rescues and record rainfall.
“Rivers are receding and the threat of heavy rainfall is disappearing… with that comes the step towards recovery,” Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said.
Flood warnings remain across the region with many roads and some towns impacted as the full extent of Alfred’s damage began to be assessed this week.
