Storm Fear Grips Suburb
Sun Herald
Sunday January 4, 2009
RESIDENTS of The Gap in Brisbane's west live in fear of storm warnings, with tarpaulins over dozens of roofs and some homes still waiting for electricity to be reconnected after devastating spring storms.
An elderly woman has told of using a camp stove for weeks to heat tinned meals after losing power when the storms tore through the western suburbs on November 16.The 72-year-old resident, now in temporary accommodation that her insurer provided, said the storms had damaged the roof of the Payne Road fibro house where she had lived for 47 years.She said power company Energex could not restore electricity until the roof was fixed, so she had used a camp stove for tinned food and "borrowed" power from a neighbour to run a lamp. "My neighbours let me use their washing machines sometimes and they brought me a hot meal here and there," the woman, who asked not to be identified, said."It's unsettling but I'm well and there are a lot of people in a lot worse trouble. People have been immensely kind and thoughtful."The woman said that, after her family approached her insurer about her situation, the company agreed to provide temporary accommodation in Toowong while she waited for repairs.The woman is among many residents of the affluent western suburbs still waiting for roof repairs.On Friday morning, The Sun-Herald counted dozens of homes at The Gap with tarpaulins still over their roofs.Two tarpaulins covered holes in the roof of Karen Bridge's rented house.Ms Bridge, who has lived in the area for 15 years, expected the roof to be fixed within a few weeks.She said she was now terrified every time she heard a storm warning."It's quite nerve-racking because [there are] tarps on the roof," she said. "I just listen to the SES advice and move all the outdoor stuff inside."For the first week or two I was pretty fearful but I realised there's not much you can do."In nearby Woorama Road, Maria Kimruska said she was still waiting for her insurance company to obtain the second quote that was required before her roof could be fixed."[The delay] is because of the holidays - all the tradesmen stop work over new year," she said.Brenton Ammann, of Glenbrae Street, has a silver tarpaulin covering a hole in his roof."My frangipani tree just got picked up [during the storms] and thrown onto the roof ... I've got a big hole up there now," he said."I keep getting water in when it rains. I just put towels down on the floor to soak it up."But he praised insurance company Suncorp for its assistance."I'm getting the roof repaired on January 22," Mr Ammann said."There's asbestos in [the roof] so I need to get the whole thing replaced."Energex could not say how many affected homes were still without power but a spokeswoman said power could not be reconnected to a home until it was deemed "electrically safe". Roofs must be adequately secured to stop water from seeping into powerpoints and appliance fittings, she said.Ms Bridge said she experienced some inconvenience from the storms but they were minor compared with the suffering of others."It's going to take months and months to get the whole suburb back to normal," she said.Applications for funding from the Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal will close on Friday.The funds are available to any South-East Queensland residents whose homes or possessions were damaged during the storms.For information phone the Red Cross on 1800 733 111 or see www.redcross.org.au/qld.
© 2009 Sun Herald