Toowoomba Region Mayor, Geoff McDonald, is asking local residents for patience as the region cleans up following severe weather over the past week.
The region experienced heavy rainfall and strong winds as ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred moved inland, causing fallen trees, localised flooding and lengthy power outages.
Mayor McDonald has thanked crews from emergency services, the State Emergency Service (SES), Ergon Energy and members of the Local Disaster Management Group for working tirelessly the past week helping ensure public safety and for responding to numerous calls for assistance.
“I want to sincerely thank emergency services personnel, SES volunteers, Ergon Energy crews, Toowoomba Regional Council staff and members of our community for your efforts in dealing with the severe weather over the past week,” Mayor McDonald said.
“Our Region has been lucky that we haven’t experienced the same impacts as other regions across South-East Queensland and northern New South Wales, and I want to express that our thoughts are with those in areas hit hard as they recover.
“We didn’t emerge unscathed though as we have experienced some localised flooding, trees and branches down and some lengthy power outages. As the worst of the inclement weather is behind us, our focus now moves to recovery and clean-up efforts.”
He said Council staff are diligently working through service requests to clear fallen trees, debris and other tasks to help clean up the region following the severe weather.
Tasks are being prioritised based on needs, which means some requests and routine maintenance such as mowing at parks and tree pruning may be delayed, he said.
“Council teams are working through clean-up tasks as quickly and safely as they can. This means some usual maintenance works may be delayed and may not occur at their usual frequency as we prioritise tasks,” said Mayor McDonald.
“I can assure you that we’re working as efficiently as possible and ask for your patience as we work through recovery efforts.”
The Council applied earlier this week to the Queensland State Government to have the whole region activated for the State’s Disaster Relief arrangements, which has now been formally approved.
Mayor McDonald said this was good news in the recovery effort and would help impacted residents get back on their feet.
“We are grateful to Federal Minister for Emergency Management Jenny McAllister and Queensland Minister for Disaster Recovery Ann Leahy for their announcement that the Toowoomba Region has been activated for Disaster Recovery payments to assist eligible residents impacted by ex-TC Alfred,” he said.
“It’s good news for our residents and businesses that these payments have now been made available for eligible people across our region.
“The impacts to residents and businesses because of this weather event have been varied, ranging from physical damage like trees impacting dwellings, water damage to dwellings, extended power outages and financial impacts to businesses.
“A range of other support and recovery mechanisms are also being explored which could include Community Recovery hubs which are expected to be announced soon,” he said.
For information on the range of support available, to check eligibility, and to apply for a Disaster Relief payment visit – https://www.qld.gov.au/community/disasters-emergencies/disasters/money-finance/eligibility-apply/tc-alfred-march-2025.
To log a request for service visit Council’s web site here https://www.tr.qld.gov.au/payments-self-service-laws/request-a-service-subscribe/online-service-request.
