If water is rising, or has been inside
If you can reach it while standing somewhere safe and dry, switch off at the main switch before water gets to power points or the switchboard. Never touch the board while standing in water. Once the water has gone, leave everything off until a licensed electrician has tested it. Fallen lines go to Energex on 13 19 62, and the SES handles storm damage on 132 500.
What's different in Maroochydore
River plus tide
The Bureau of Meteorology says storm surge is another major flood risk in the lower Maroochy and Mooloolah catchments, and river peaks at Picnic Point usually coincide with high tide.
Floods on record
In February 1992 about 225 homes in the lower Maroochy flooded to depths of up to 80 centimetres, worst at Pacific Paradise. In the 2022 floods, 154 properties were damaged across the Sunshine Coast Council area.
Canal homes from three eras
Maroochy Waters went up in stages in the late 1970s, mid 1980s and early 1990s. Its first homes were built while black switchboard backing boards that can contain asbestos were still being made.
A city centre being rebuilt
The new Maroochydore city centre is rising on the old Horton Park golf course, which moved to Bli Bli in May 2015. In 2021, 36.6% of homes were already flats or apartments and 42.1% were rented.
Storms as well
Maroochydore was one of the suburbs hit in May 2021 when a storm cut power to more than 5,000 Sunshine Coast homes.
After the water goes down
Floodwater leaves silt and moisture inside power points, light fittings and the switchboard, even when they look dry. A licensed electrician tests each circuit's insulation before anything is switched back on, and replaces what won't pass.
Expect them to start with the lowest circuits: the garage, ground-floor power points and anything outdoors. In a unit block, the main switch room may have taken water too, and that's for the body corporate to arrange.
Ask for a certificate of testing and compliance for any repair. In Queensland, the electrical contractor who connects the work must give you one as soon as practicable afterwards.
Flooded: your part and the electrician's
You can
- Switch off at the main switch before the water arrives, only if you can reach it safely and dry
- Unplug appliances on lower floors and lift them up while it's still dry
Leave to a licensed electrician
- Testing every circuit that got wet
- Replacing water-damaged power points, fittings and switchgear
What we'd do before the next big tide
We'd find the main switch now, while it's dry, and make sure everyone in the house knows where it is. If the home is low-set or has a room downstairs, we'd ask an electrician whether those circuits sit on their own safety switch, so a wet power point downstairs doesn't black out the whole house.
Want a specialist to sort it?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match the licence-checked local electrician who does this kind of work, and they call you. No ring-around, and your number goes to them alone.