Australia Weather News

Survival is something that was very much on Dave's mind when he and his family prepared for the worst.

The Redland Bay resident recently had brain surgery, then found himself in the path of one of Queensland's most significant weather events in decades.

Like many who hunkered down as Cyclone Alfred approached, he's now reflecting on the near miss they experienced.

"We're just grateful that everyone survived," he said.

At the height of the storm, a gigantic gum tree crashed down across their fence onto the carport where he'd parked his brand-new ute.

Not only was their house spared, but his ute was only slightly clipped by the buckled carport.

The family was sheltering under their stairs when the tree fell.

They said the storm sounded like the roar of a jet engine, then they heard a loud bang.

They immediately knew what had happened.

"We've been asking Redland City Council to move these trees for 10 years," he said.

"We knew one would come down eventually and potentially kill somebody."

Across south-east Queensland, trees were felled by gusty winds, taking out powerlines and leaving thousands of homes without power.

In Wishart, in Brisbane's south, another family is grateful the direction of the wind meant a nearby tree missed their house.

The uprooted tree was so tall it dragged down the powerlines on the other side of the road.

Street signs on the opposite corner gave way under its weight.

James McAfee lives with his partner and baby boy one house away.

"It went in completely the opposite direction," he said.

"We might go out and buy a Lotto ticket this week."

Also counting their luck are the brothers who own the only servo with power in Redland Bay.

Their business became an unlikely port in the storm as people woke up to the prospect of many hours — perhaps days — without power.

Cars, utes and people on foot crowded the forecourt for several hours after word got out the place had power, fuel and ice.

And that it was serving coffee.

Co-owner Trent Turner said they had a generator ready to go so they'd be sure emergency services could fuel up.

With everything else nearby closed, he had to call in extra hands.

"We didn't quite expect the traffic flow we've got," he said.

"We've got family in here helping out. I just rang everybody."

As Mr Turner served a long line of customers, his brother-in-law made coffees and his kids restocked shelves.

"We're just trying to provide people with a hot coffee and a smile," Mr Turner said.

When they realised so many people were without power, they had a pallet of ice delivered for those who couldn't run a fridge.

Bags went faster than they were able to melt in the steamy Queensland air.

Moving around the area has become difficult with so many roads cut by fallen trees.

The main drag between Redland Bay and Victoria Point was closed in both directions as debris was cleared from the road.

Emergency services were out in full force, removing obstacles where they could and closing off roads where they couldn't yet.

As the day wore on (or the games at home wore thin) the roads became busier, kids scouted the neighbourhood on bikes and dogs with cabin fever were taken out to survey the damage.

With the beach off limits, 15-year-old cousins Jeremyah and Hudson Dales found another way to spend their energy.

They took their skim board down to a nearby flooded field.

"Rain brings puddles and puddles bring joy," Hudson said.