Big effort by region’s SES crews

Published 11:42am 24 March 2021

Moreton Bay SES volunteers have responded to almost 200 calls for help across the region in the past few days. Their efforts have been praised by the man leading them and a grateful mayor.

Of those jobs, 110 were at heights (leaking roofs) and 79 were in relation to sandbagging/flooding.

Moreton Bay SES Acting Controller Trevor Smith says only two jobs were outstanding and he expects they will be completed by tomorrow.

He says teams responded to about 60 jobs at Deception Bay, 37 at Caboolture and more than 20 in the Petrie area.

“It was a massive effort for a limited number of people. At one stage, we had nine teams in the field which equates to 36 people. We went down to four teams at one stage, and 16 people. The numbers fluctuated because of people’s availability and work commitments,” he says.

Moreton Bay SES has 13 members helping their colleagues deal with the flood crisis in New South Wales and three vehicles. They will return on Friday.

Call to be alert

Moreton Bay Region Mayor Peter Flannery says while the region dodged the worse of the week’ wet weather, it is a timely reminder to be prepared and remain alert.

“Don’t be fooled by today’s sunshine; our dams are spilling, creeks are up, the ground is saturated and storms are still hanging around the east coast,” Mayor Flannery says.

“We’ve seen localised flooding in parts of our region like Kobble Creek, Beachmere, Caboolture and Deception Bay, where the deluge was so intense, and the water rose so quickly, that property and livestock were impacted.

“Storms are very unpredictable but one of the best ways you can stay ahead of potential threats is by signing up to Council’s MoretonAlert system.”

It’s a free service that provides flood warnings and storm alerts via SMS, email, or text-to-voice direct to you based on Bureau of Meteorology forecasts and includes links to the latest weather radar imagery or flood information.

“Council crews are out around the region inspecting roads and damage to start repairs and clean up,” Mayor Flannery says.

“Moreton Bay SES has tackled nearly 200 jobs in the last 72 hours and has also deployed SES crews to New South Wales, which is in the grips of a real flood crisis, to help in their recovery effort.

“I want to thank everyone who’s done the right thing through this event, staying at home and away from flood waters until the threat passed.”

Heartfelt thanks to crews

Mr Smith says crews love the work they do and helping the community.

“A lot of them are pretty worn out, they’ve put in some big days and those that work are back at work today,” he says.

“For them it’s about utilising those skills, they learn in training, in the real world and helping the community.

“It’s hard to express in words to thank them for the work they do. They’ve been taken away from their families to help the community. It’s a big ask.”