A Queensland man has told of his narrow escape as the state’s southeast was smashed by a series of severe storms earlier this week, leaving seven people dead and homes, businesses and infrastructure damaged across the region.
Samuel Bray was celebrating Christmas with family in Surfers Paradise when he noticed the severe storm heading towards his home in Wongawallan at the foothills of Mt Tamborine.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Samuel Bray assesses the damage after his home was destroyed by a severe storm on Christmas Day.
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“We saw the lightning show and were kinda just looking at it, thinking it was quite beautiful,” Bray told Sunrise on Thursday morning.
“Then we realised we had to go that way.”
About 10 minutes after he arrived home, Bray heard a “loud, terrible wind”.
“I grabbed my phone and headed toward the door in case something was about to happen,” Bray said.
“I was staring up, and before I knew it, the roof started peeling off, the ceiling started caving in around me and the lights went out — it was just rain and dirt and thunder.”
Bray made his way through the front door before heading outside and diving under his car, hiding there until the worst was over.
What he saw when he crawled back out was utter destruction.
The State Emergency Service said it was working through hundreds of jobs as a result of fallen trees and power lines, while 450 energy workers were trying to restore power to the affected areas.
“I’ve spent the last seven years of my life chasing my dreams and building my home studio,” Bray said of the home built by his father and uncle 25 years ago.
“I managed to escape along with my cat … and am now without a home and space to jam. A lot of my equipment that I’ve spent years saving for has perished in the storm, and I’m left with next to nothing.
A GoFundMe set up by Bray and his family to help rebuild his Wongawallan home.
“A percentage of the proceeds will be going to SES to help other families that have been affected by this unprecedented weather event,” he said.
