⛈️ Storm season on the Sunshine Coast runs roughly from October to March. Most years bring a run of big afternoon storms, and every one of them finds the dead palm frond, the overgrown shrub and the pile of clippings you meant to deal with last month. A bit of work before the season means a lot less to clean up after it.
🧹 Before the season: a 30-minute yard check
Walk the yard with the wind in mind. Anything loose, dead or hanging is what ends up on the roof, the car or the neighbour's lawn.
Palms and fronds
Dead and hanging fronds are the first thing to come down in a gust. Get them off before they land on the pool fence or the car.
Shrubs against the house
Cut back growth that rubs on walls, windows and fences. Anything high or near power lines is a job for an arborist.
Loose green waste
A pile of branches behind the shed turns into flying debris. Get it off the property, not just stacked out of sight.
Loose items
Outdoor furniture, pots, trampolines and bins. Know where they'll go when a storm warning comes through.
Overdue hedges and shrubs are worth sorting too. Long, untrimmed growth snaps off easily and ends up across the lawn. A trim before the season leaves less for the wind to grab.
🚨 Straight after a storm: safety first
If a tree is on your home, a power line is down or anyone is hurt, don't wait. Call 000 in a life-threatening emergency, the SES on 132 500 for storm damage to your home, and Energex on 13 19 62 for fallen power lines.
Stay at least 8 metres away from fallen lines and anything touching them, including fences and branches.
Once it's safe, take photos before anything gets moved. If you're making an insurance claim, your insurer will usually want to see the damage as it was.
🚛 The clean-up: what can wait and what can't
Not everything needs doing on day one. An order that works:
- Clear the way in and out. Paths, the driveway and doors first.
- Get branches off the lawn within a few days. Grass smothered under debris yellows fast in summer heat.
- Rake up fronds and leaf litter from garden beds, paths and around the pool.
- Mow and edge once the ground has dried enough not to rut.
- Get the green waste off site, so it isn't sitting there waiting for the next storm.
Raked into a corner isn't cleaned up. The yard is done when the green waste has left the property.
🤝 When to call in help
Fallen branches, palm fronds and a yard full of debris are exactly what our storm clean-ups are for. We cut it up, load it and take it all away, then mow and edge so the yard looks finished. If you're claiming on insurance, we can give you before and after photos and an itemised invoice.
Large trees, anything resting on a roof or near power lines, and climbing work need an arborist or the SES. If a job is outside what we do safely from the ground, we'll tell you straight.