FLOOD OF FUNDING ACTIVATED FOR COAST
DISASTER assistance funding has been activated on the Gold Coast after extreme weather smashed through the region earlier this month.
Businesses and homes were left flooded after hundreds of millimetres fell for days from December 10.
Recovery funds are now being funnelled to the city via jointly-funded Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
Fire and Emergency Services Minister Mark Ryan said the assistance would go to general clean-up and repairing roads, including on Tamborine Mountain where severe rock falls closed a major thoroughfare.
“This heavy rain reminds us of the unpredictable nature of severe weather in Queensland that can strike anywhere at any time and we need to be prepared,” he said.
“More than 750mm of rain was recorded in some areas of southeast Queensland over a 48-hour period. The impacts of this wild weather are similar to a Category 1 cyclone and has seen a number of landslips and fallen trees in affected areas.”
Meanwhile, meteorologist Matt Marshall warned there may be more to come, revealing there was a chance of severe thunderstorms on the Gold Coast on Tuesday.
Mr Marshall said a storm was set to hit after temperatures with a top of 31C.
Post-Tuesday, the Gold Coast was tipped for a drop in temperatures in the lead-up to Christmas Day. “The general trend is we will see cooler temperatures,” he said. “It is dry on Wednesday, and later on Thursday and Christmas Day we will see a chance of showers.”