‘I had no idea’: Brisbane man sleeps as Alfred rips roof off house
A man whose home incurred the wrath of ex-tropical cyclone Alfred says he slept through the entire arrival of the storm.
Daniel Goullet has been in his Redcliffe house for five years and was at home when the cyclone finally reached land at about 9pm local time on Saturday.
The Redcliffe area — in Moreton Bay, about 30km north of the Brisbane CBD — recorded wind gusts in excess of 100km/h, and a severe weather alert was issued at 8.45pm.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“It’s pretty crazy, you could hear the front awning banging and all the water was coming through,” Goullet told The Courier Mail.
“We were asleep when the roof came off. I had no idea, the wind was so loud so we didn’t notice the roof came up.
“I’m just in shock. This is crazy. You see this stuff on the news but you never think it’s going to happen to you.
“I had my doubts because it’s the oldest house on the [Moreton Bay] Peninsula, I thought if anything’s going to happen it’s going to happen to this house.”
About 3000 insurance claims have already been lodged as Alfred continues to bring torrential rain and heavy winds.
An “insurance catastrophe” has been declared for southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales, triggering priority treatment for affected policyholders and triaging to ensure those hit hardest receive urgent assistance.
Insured losses of $2 billion were pencilled in by S&P Global Ratings late last week but fears of a category 2 system making landfall did not come to pass, with Alfred downgraded to a tropical low before hitting the coast between Brisbane and Maroochydore on Saturday night.
Despite the downgrade, Alfred has caused power outages, flooding and falling debris and more rainfall and wild weather is expected.
- with AAP
Originally published on 7NEWS
