Why it’s Now Critical to Get your Trees Checked
- Written by: Andrea Edwards
After recent wild weather there’s no doubt Queensland is well and truly in storm season with strong winds and heavy rain increasing the risk of trees becoming a danger to vulnerable assets.
Arbor Operations’ Peter Mumford said as well as endangering lives falling trees have the potential to cost home owners, councils and insurance companies thousands of dollars.
“The warmer than usual winter followed by the large amounts of rain from the recent broad band of severe storm cells that lashed South East Queensland has made trees particularly susceptible to damage and failure,” Mr Mumford said.
“We went from a period of dry weather during Winter to our soil becoming sodden with rain, which means a tree’s root system becomes more vulnerable and structurally compromised during high winds,” he said.
“Tragically in the last storm one man was killed when a tree fell on his house near Byron Bay and another young boy was seriously injured by a fallen tree during storm clean-up work near Kingaroy.”
“If trees around childcare centres, schools, aged care facilities and homes and apartments aren’t checked after these sort of weather conditions then the consequences can be devastating.”
“Large, mature trees that are close to high-value targets such as houses, cars and wherever people congregate are particularly susceptible to creating chaos if they come down during a big storm, especially at this time of year.”
“Property managers including home and land owners ought to be having older, larger trees checked for signs of structural flaws or damage now before more major storm weather hits.”
“Checking the structure of the tree canopy and the root system may save lives and thousands in property damage.”
“There’s also an alarming number of people who are killed when they try to chop down or prune trees on their own without getting professional help.”
Mr Mumford urges property owners to safely prepare for more storms by:
- Getting trees professionally checked for movement and shifts in root plates, structural flaws or damage, particularly if they are older and a larger stature or close to buildings
- Remove dying or dead trees, including dense understorey
- Cut back low-lying and overhanging tree branches around two metres from all property rooflines
- Clear the gutters and roofs of leaves, fallen branches and other debris
“We know this is just the start of storm season and there will be more wild weather on the way, which is why it’s now crucially important to check mature trees and vegetation, particularly where it’s near vulnerable assets.”
“A simple tree check can potentially save lives, save the tree and avoid costly clean up bills.”
For more information or to seek professional assistance go to: http://www.arboroperations.com.au/
About Arbor Operations:
Peter Mumford is the owner of Arbor Operations in Brisbane and has been involved in the Queensland agriculture, horticulture and arboriculture industries for more than 40 years. He is a qualified arboriculturalist and provides gardening consultancy services to a range of clients, including schools and government.
