Storm-hit residents warned recovery may take months

It may take months for one of Queensland's worst-hit areas to recover from damaging storms.

The clean-up has begun after wild weather lashed the state's southeast for more than a week.

The Gold Coast experienced a tornado on Christmas Day while Logan and the Scenic Rim regions were also hit hard after storms were followed by heavy rain and flash flooding.

Storm damage is seen  outside Movie World.
Movie World on the Gold Coast also suffered damage to its surroundings.

The recovery effort began in earnest with rain clearing on Wednesday but Logan residents south of Brisbane have been warned it will be a "massive task".

"The recovery is expected to take weeks rather than days. In some of the worst-impacted areas of the city’s southwest, it could take months," Logan City Council said.

Logan Mayor Darren Power has asked locals to be patient during the rebuild.

"It's going to take time and I urge anyone who is doing it tough, either financially or mentally as a result of the events of the last fortnight, please reach out as assistance and support is available," he said.

More than 400 people impacted by the wild weather since Christmas visited Logan's Community Recovery Hub on Tuesday alone.

Another recovery centre will open at nearby Cedar Grove on Thursday.

More than 8000 homes in the southeast were still without power on Wednesday including 3900 in the Scenic Rim, 2700 on the Gold Coast and 1800 in Logan.

More than 1000 crews were working on restoring power on Wednesday.

Storm damage at a home in Helensvale on the Gold Coast.
Storm damage at a home in Helensvale on the Gold Coast.

To date in the southeast, there have been more than 3000 assessments completed, with 10 homes totally destroyed while 145 have suffered moderate and another 386 minor damage.

"It's not just a restoration effort in many instances, it's a rebuild effort," state Disaster Recovery Minister Nikki Boyd said.

Since Christmas Day the SES has responded to more than 5000 calls for help. 

Most beaches on the Gold Coast were closed on Wednesday due to poor water quality and high levels of debris from heavy rainfall and storms.

Fifty Australian Defence Force personnel are expected to arrive on Thursday to help with the recovery effort. 

"I know that there's still a lot of recovery work to do from the very far north of Queensland right down to the border and we are not going to stop for a second in that recovery work," Ms Boyd said.

"We will be making sure that every available set of boots ... is on the ground."

The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting clear conditions as the clean-up begins. 

"Some of the areas which have been hit really hard with rain and flooding since New Year's Eve have now got a brighter, drier, more settled stretch of weather as the clean-up gets underway," meteorologist Angus Hines said.

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