Local volunteers cut holidays short to help storm-ravaged Queensland

Manilla's Luke Sing was one of three NSW State Emergency Service (SES) volunteers from the northern zone who put their hand up to help bolster the emergency effort on the Gold Coast during the festive period.

Mr Sing, who was deployed to Pimpama on December 27, 2023, wasn't expecting to spend his holidays up north.

"Being a volunteer you do get a choice, but a lot of us in the SES have the nature of just helping out whenever we can," Mr Sing told the Leader.

The Manilla volunteer was tasked with clean-up and recovery efforts after damaging storms ripped through the Gold Coast during Christmas.

He said homes in Pimpama, Coomera, and the Tambourine Mountains were left the worst off.

"There were some people who had completely lost power to their house, or had their whole roof ripped apart," Mr Sing said.

"There were houses that were pretty well on the ground."

Tragically, several people have died during the severe storms due to intense rainfall and lightning.

South-east Queensland continues to be hit with heavy downpours, with up to 200 millimetres predicted to soak the state on Tuesday, January 2.

Holiday traffic, and people away visiting family for the festive season, also posed a number of challenges for emergency crews.

"The average household normally has about four or five people, but with all their other family, there's been double the people left without power," Mr Sing said.

The volunteer said some people hadn't even been able to visit their damaged homes, and others who he'd spoken to were devastated by the news.

"The people we did speak to were pretty well upset, but were understanding as Mother Nature does her own thing," he said.

Volunteers from the NSW SES Glen Innes and Moree units also assisted, along with about a dozen other emergency crew members from across NSW.

Queensland crews are continuing to be assisted by external volunteers, with about 80 arriving from Victoria to relieve their NSW counterparts on January 1, 2024.

"I know the Qld SES was very appreciative of us going up there and taking time out of our holiday season to give them a helping hand," Mr Sing said.