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Storm relief appeal up to $1.5m

Posted December 2, 2008 14:30:00
Updated December 2, 2008 14:40:00

The Queensland Government's storm relief appeal has reached more than $1.5 million.

The Government kick-started the appeal with $500,000 after the storms which struck south-east Queensland last month.

Premier Anna Bligh has told Parliament more than 2,600 people and businesses have contributed.

"The Australian Red Cross Queensland has again kindly agreed to manage the disbursement of the donated funds on behalf of Government," she said.

"The Red Cross will have application forms available soon and will ensure that funds are directed to those in most need."

The damage bill from the storms is still rising.

The wild weather left a trail of destruction through some of Brisbane's northern suburbs, especially The Gap.

Brisbane's Deputy Mayor Graham Quirk is leading a Council reconstruction committee dealing with public infrastructure repairs.

He says it will take months to deal with around 1,000 jobs.

"We've got a situation where you've got 256 homes that are completely unliveable at the moment," he said.

"We've got another 1,300 homes where we believe temporary accommodation is likely to be required at the moment for people to see their houses repaired and then you've got a whole host of infrastructure issues."

Tags: disasters-and-accidents, relief-and-aid-organisations, storm, government-and-politics, local-government, australia, qld, brisbane-4000, maroochydore-4558, southport-4215, toowoomba-4350