Paul (our resident expert in First Aid and Security), as some of you may know, is an officer with St John ambulance. Paul will be assisting the disaster relief effort in this capacity.
Read more about the recent storms below:
PM likens Brisbane's storm areas to war zone
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd visited the worst hit north-western suburb of The Gap at first light yesterday and despite more than 24 hours of mopping up, he was shocked by the evidence of the storm's fury.
''It looks like a war zone and feels like a war zone,'' Mr Rudd said after diverting to Brisbane on his way home from Washington where he had attended a G20 summit on the global financial crisis.
''What is good about it is the people pulling together and neighbours looking after each other.''
The Prime Minister announced extra Centrelink help for families and named Human Services Minister Joe Ludwig as cabinet's point-man for the clean-up operation.
Brisbane City Council said the State Emergency Service had cleared 923 calls for help in the past 24 hours, bringing the number of outstanding jobs to about 200.
Overall, 4000 homes were damaged, with about 240 seriously damaged and at least 85 deemed unlivable.
SES members, whose hotline received 17,000 calls, were again out in force yesterday, with 310 volunteers from Queensland and NSW putting tarpaulins on roofs and clearing debris in The Gap, Upper Kedron, Arana Hills and Keperra. Another 190 SES volunteers were to arrive in Brisbane by this morning.
Seventy Queensland police recruits and more than 750 personnel from the Australian Defence Force were also helping to clear trees and debris.
RACQ Insurance chief executive Bradley Heath estimated claims worth at least $25 million would be lodged. A spokesman for the Insurance Council of Australia said 6000 claims had been made by yesterday morning, with numbers likely to double later in the week.
The Queensland Government has donated $500,000 to kick-start a new disaster fund to help those affected.
The Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal, announced by Premier Anna Bligh yesterday, will supplement other government support packages. Ms Bligh said times would be tough for families leading up to Christmas and encouraged others to donate money at any Commonwealth Bank branch.
Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman said the disaster was unparalleled and defended the time it took to respond after angry calls from residents to talkback radio.
''If you go back to Sunday night, the power was out, streets were dark, there were 560 cables down across the greater Brisbane area, the mobile phone network was affected and landlines were also out in this area,'' he said. ''Could we have done things better? Well, if we all had cell phone implants in our ears or something like that and could have got the message out, maybe.''
Queensland's Gold Coast hinterland, hit hard by Sunday's storm, was in the path of another severe weather event last night, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
The weather bureau issued a severe weather warning for heavy rain and flash flooding for coastal areas south of Brisbane. More storms were expected to lash south-east Queensland tomorrow.(Source: Canberra Times)
