Helensvale hell as roof flies off

Couple feel lucky to be alive after blast

A Helensvale couple who had the roof ripped off their home of 42 years in a freak Christmas Day storm are feeling lucky to be alive - they were staying at their son’s at the time.

Trish and Bob Avery spent Christmas night away from their Parkes Drive home and did not realise it had been caught in the carnage until a text from a neighbour on Tuesday morning.

They arrived home to find most of their roof ripped off or collapsed in – with debris covering their bed and its surrounds – and widespread destruction in their patio and backyard.

Mrs Avery said they feared the bedroom damage might have killed them had they been there during the storm.

“I’m so thankful we were not here,” she said. “We were all more worried about the storms (further north), so this was a big surprise.”

Fellow Helensvale resident Ime King found his shed and fence had been blown apart by the storm’s force with winds clocking more than 100km/h.

He survived a perilous drive home through torrential rain – swerving around a tree that crashed to the road only metres in front of him – before making the discovery, he said, adding: “God saved my life last night.”

Mr King said he hardly dared travel above 30km/h on his way home due to the heavy rain and low visibility, and passed several crashes and fallen trees during the dangerous trip.

He and many other residents were battling widespread service and power outages, making the clean-up effort - a huge task he would likely take on alone - all the more difficult. Helensvale was among the worst impacted Gold Coast suburbs, with residents comparing the intensity and devastation to a tornado.

Trees crashed through buildings at both Helensvale Primary School and St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School in Runaway Bay. Hundreds

more trees have been torn from the ground across the northern Gold Coast. Discovery Drive resident Sonny Kapita said he was left with extensive roof damage after the storm, unlike anything he had seen in 26 years.

Helensvale’s Antonia and Leigh Turner said they felt as though they were on the edge of a cyclone when the worst of the storm began, seeing the rain whip into circles in its most destructive minutes. Left with damage to their roof and garden – with large felled trees narrowly missing their property – the Turners said it felt “weird” to think they were lucky.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said the city was working with the Queensland Reconstruction Authority to accelerate personal hardship payments for residents impacted.