Storm damage and fallen trees in the Redlands
Council says Alfred crossed the coast on Moreton Island and Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) as a Category 1 cyclone at about 11.30pm on 7 March 2025. It downed multiple trees on the mainland, and many came down on Russell Island.
A year later, in March 2026, council said the clean-up of damaged vegetation was still going. You can report fallen trees or stumps on public land to council.
For a damaged tree on your own block, photograph it before anything moves and talk to your insurer before paying for work. Then get an arborist to say whether it can be saved. After a storm runs through the order.
Tree removal in the Redlands: what's local
Koalas in the backyard
Council says the Redlands' significant koala population lives all over, especially in urban areas, in street trees and backyards. Koalas are listed as endangered in Queensland and federally. Residents can get five koala food trees from council, and council asks people to keep and plant trees.
Cleveland's bayside giants
Cleveland's notable trees include a Moreton Bay fig on Middle Street, a massive banyan on North Street and Norfolk Island pines on Shore Street North. Raby Bay was mangroves and mudflats before it became canal estates. Big figs near houses and seawalls are pruning-and-roots jobs. See fig trees.
Redland Bay's rural edge
Redland Bay's red soil comes from ancient volcanic lava, and houses replaced most of the farms around 2000. Council rates large parts of the south and west high to very high for bushfire, mostly rural land or bushland. The Moreton Bay figs on Moores Road are heritage-listed.
Low ground by the water
Storm tide reaches low-lying land around Cleveland Point, Raby Bay and Toondah Harbour, and the Weinam Creek Marina precinct at Redland Bay. After a storm tide, check trees on that ground for a lean or lifted roots.
The islands
Ferries run from Redland Bay to the Southern Moreton Bay Islands and from Toondah Harbour to Minjerribah. Island work means getting the gear across the water, which changes the job.
Questions to ask an arborist in the Redlands
- Who checked with council, and what council said about overlays, covenants and envelopes.
- How the tree comes down, and where the truck and chipper will sit.
- What happens to the stump and the green waste.
- That pruning follows AS 4373-2007, which council recommends.
- The arborist's qualification level and proof of insurance.
- For a koala food tree, what council's answer was.
Hiring an arborist in the Redlands
We'd ring council before getting quotes, because a covenant or building envelope can protect a tree that looks like an ordinary garden gum. If it's a koala food tree and healthy, we'd look hard at pruning instead. And we'd keep photos of the tree from before any work starts.