AS the sun emerged on Friday morning after Thursday night’s storms, 20 community-minded Redlanders headed north to help the recovery efforts after Cyclone Debbie.
The SES volunteers boarded a bus in Cleveland, before flying to Townsville, from where they expected to be dispatched to Bowen or Proserpine depending on need.
Redland City mayor Karen Williams said two volunteers were from Russell and Macleay islands and had slept at the SES depot in Cleveland on Thursday night to ensure they were on the mainland in time for their journey up north.
She said the island volunteers were no stranger to emergencies, with Russell Island having faced a fire in December and both communities having suffered damage during storms.
Cr Williams said sending 20 SES volunteers was a great achievement and tribute to volunteers in a small council area of 150,000 people.
More than 8100 calls for SES and community recovery assistance had been received in about two days after the destructive cyclone made landfall last week Tuesday.
Science Minister Leeanne Enoch, responsible for Queensland Government call centre operations, said it was expected that calls for assistance would increase as telecommunication services were restored in the area affected by Cyclone Debbie and the heavy rainfall that followed.
“It is all hands on deck to ensure all necessary help is given,” she said.
