Re-open for business
ALL Gold Coast beaches are expected to be opened today as council works quickly to repair the damage inflicted by ex-Tropical Cyclone Oma.
Workers will today turn their attention to fixing scarping at Narrowneck in the hope the city’s coastline will be back to normal by the weekend.
The cleanup bill is expected to cost $300,000.
“We will be taking advantage of reduced swells and winds to quickly restore the beaches to their best,” Mayor Tom Tate said yesterday.
Beaches from north Surfers Paradise to The Spit were the most affected by the high winds and king tide that battered the Coast late last week and at the weekend, with scarps of up to five metres in sections. Minor scarping from Miami to Mermaid has already been fixed.
Cr Tate said sand had been transported from a council stockpile on The Spit to required areas.
“Good news is that as we’re using our sand that has been stockpiled. It appears we have plenty of sand to bring our beaches up to their wonderful pristine standard.”
With swells calming, all beaches from Surfers Paradise south to Rainbow Bay were open yesterday.
Acting Chief Lifeguard Chris Maynard expected the remaining beaches to be opened today.
Two-metre walls of sandbags had replaced bifold doors to protect the Rick Shores restaurant on the lower floor of the Burleigh Pavilion, which is built on the rocky shoreline of the headland.
Burleigh Pavilion manager John Forest said temporarily removing the doors and using sandbags had been the right decision, with some interesting objects found in the cleanup of the restaurant and the unused indoor pool at the complex.
“With the amount of debris that came through, the glass would have been damaged,” he said. “Some of the peaking waves went over the sandbags and they had a bit of water in the front section.
“We probably had a good foot-deep of water in the bottom of pools. It brought in sand, shells, and we found a bicycle washed in the bottom of the pool.” Burleigh Pavilion and Rick Shores had stayed open for the weekend.