Summary
We will be closing the live blog for the evening here. This is what made the news today:
Heavy rain is expected as a result of ex-Cyclone Alfred in northern NSW and south-east Queensland heading into Monday.
Flood warnings remain in place for eight locations in south-east Queensland, after flash flooding hit Brisbane and the Fraser coast on Sunday. Flood warnings are in place for 11 rivers in northern NSW.
The NSW State Emergency Service has responded to more than 6,000 calls for help. There have been more than a dozen rescues in Queensland and NSW of people trapped by rising waters on properties or in cars.
Evacuation orders have lifted for central Lismore, with residents advised to return home cautiously.
The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, said some schools that were damaged or without power would remain closed tomorrow and advised parents and carers to check tonight for the latest information.
Naplan tests in affected schools will not run on Wednesday but will be held on Monday, 17 March.
Bus services in Brisbane were paused today. A number of public transport services in south-east Queensland will run to a Sunday timetable tomorrow, except services on the Gold Coast which will not run.
Almost 300,000 properties in northern NSW and south-east Queensland remain without power after the storms, with 272,905 in Queensland, 16,000 in NSW.
In Queensland, full restoration of power could take a week, with more than 1,000 power lines down.
164 Telstra mobile sites remain down, 268 Optus mobile sites are down, and more than 250,000 NBN services are offline.
Twelve ADF officers are in hospital after a crash near Lismore on Saturday. The defence minister, Richard Marles, has defended the government using the ADF in its response to the cyclone.
WA premier Roger Cook has welcomed Labor’s “emphatic victory” in the state election, with the party returned to government for a third term.
Until tomorrow, stay safe.
Updated
Here is a run-through from BoM on the weather in Queensland until tomorrow morning. Lots of rain.
As the remnants of ex-Tropical #CycloneAlfred move over inland southern #Qld, heavy rain and damaging winds continue to be a risk.
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) March 9, 2025
Heavy rainfall is also a possibility for parts of northern #NSW.
Latest: https://t.co/4W35o8i7wJ pic.twitter.com/FNcBYaZJM1
Updated
My colleague, Royce Kurmelovs, has this piece on a northern NSW resident’s experience evacuating her home:
Updated
PM visits Gold Coast disaster management centre
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is back in Queensland. We haven’t had a press conference from him up there yet as was scheduled, but he has posted on X that he visited the Gold Coast disaster and emergency management centre this afternoon, thanking to everyone who has worked to get people through it.
To everyone who has come together and worked day and night to get us through Ex Tropical Cyclone Alfred, thank you.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) March 9, 2025
I visited the Gold Coast Disaster and Emergency Management Centre this afternoon to offer the thanks of all Australians. pic.twitter.com/TRetg2ZH8e
Updated
People rescued from flood waters near Bellingen
Fire and Rescue NSW has continued to support the SES emergency response to ex-Cyclone Alfred in far north NSW.
Fire and Rescue NSW said water rescues had been conducted near Bellingen, with residents saved from areas and vehicles isolated by flood waters.
Drones are on standby in Coraki and are capable of carrying loads of up to 40kg. Firefighters have been using them to test dropping lifejackets.
Updated
A number of homes in Stones Corner have become inundated as a result of flash and overland flooding, with water still rising.
Gabba Councillor Trina Massey said Norman Creek had burst its banks.
It was causing major flooding in a number of Woolloongabba streets including Flowers Street and Churchill Street.
There’s been no apparent flooding from the Brisbane river thus far she said. All flooding has been the result of inflows.
“There’s a lot of creek flooding at the moment, and overland flow because of the amount of water that’s coming through ... there are some trees that are falling now because the ground is so wet and it can’t hold them,” she said.
Major parts of Deshon Street and Flower Street are underwater - “houses are half under,” Massey said. The back end of the Narbethong Special School is also flooded, as is Hanlon park in Stones Corner.
Nobody in West End has yet been affected, she said. The suburb is typically among the hardest hit in a natural disaster, because it’s a flood plain. It has flooded in all five previous Brisbane floods.
It’s just a tense moment and a lot of anxiety for a lot of residents in the ward, particularly those that got hit so hard, especially in West End, in the southern tip, in a lot of the residential buildings and on Montague road, you know this is this brings a lot of anxiety and stress upon them, especially after 2022.
Hundreds of mobile towers offline and NBN down
Telstra has reported 164 mobile sites in Queensland and NSW remain down as a result of ex-Cyclone Alfred. There are 7,268 landline phone services down, and 1,849 ADSL services disrupted.
A spokesperson for Telstra said the company was working with the ADF to get in and restore services but backup power to some sites may run out and cut out services.
An Optus local general manager, Nick Channell, says 268 mobile sites remain offline due to power issues and the telco is working to restore services. Channell says power has been fluctuating in some sites. He says 46 sites have been brought back online today, with 132 restored since the storm hit.
Generators, satellite services and additional personnel are being moved to strategically significant sites.
The NBN says as of 4.30pm AEDT, there were 252,000 fixed-line and fixed wireless NBN services out across south-east Queensland and northern NSW, with 239,000 of these in Queensland.
Updated
Thousands of insurance claims lodged
Insurance customers have lodged 3,000 claims in two days as ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred wreaks havoc on homes and businesses, AAP reports.
Insurance Council of Australia chief executive officer Andrew Hall said it was too early to estimate the total insurance bill:
“However insurers have received around 3,000 claims in the past two days and expect many more thousands of claims as residents return to their homes and understand the full extent of the damage.
An “insurance catastrophe” has been declared for south-east Queensland and northern NSW, triggering priority treatment for affected policyholders and triaging to ensure those hardest hit receive urgent assistance:
We encourage impacted policyholders to contact their insurer to begin the claims process.
Insured losses of $2bn were pencilled in by S&P Global Ratings late last week but fears of a category-two system making landfall did not come to pass, with Alfred downgraded to a tropical low before hitting the coast between Brisbane and Maroochydore on Saturday night.
Updated
Where we're at
Here’s where the news is at as of this afternoon:
Heavy rainfall is expected to ease from tomorrow afternoon in Queensland, with up to 250mm of rainfall possible in 24 hours. Flood watches remain current, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
There have been warnings of flash flooding for parts of far north NSW, with rain expected to ease tomorrow morning.
Police rescued more than a dozen people from homes and cars in flood-hit Hervey Bay.
The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, said some schools that were damaged or without power will remain closed tomorrow and advised parents and carers to check tonight for the latest information.
Naplan tests in affected schools will not run on Wednesday but will be held on Monday, 17 March.
Bus services in Brisbane were paused on Sunday. A number of public transport services in south-east Queensland will run to a Sunday timetable on Monday, except services on the Gold Coast which will remain shut down.
Almost 300,000 properties in northern NSW and south-east Queensland remain without power after the storms, with 272,905 in Queensland, 16,000 in NSW.
In Queensland, full restoration of power could take a week, with more than 1,000 power lines down.
164 Telstra mobile sites remain down, 268 Optus mobile sites are down, and more than 250,000 NBN services are offline.
Twelve ADF officers are in hospital after a crash in Lismore on Saturday. The defence minister, Richard Marles, has defended the government using the ADF in its response to the cyclone.
WA premier Roger Cook has welcomed Labor’s “emphatic victory” in the state election, with the party returned to government for a third term.
Updated
Torrential rain and winds batter the Gold Coast
At midday yesterday torrential rain and winds gusting up to 60kmh were still battering the Gold Coast.
We were woken by violent squalls at about 4.30 this morning, and barring some brief lulls, it basically hasn’t let up since.
A drive to Southport and Labrador for welfare checks on relatives revealed street after street of debris: what were once towering Norfolk Pines lying sideways across paths, powerlines and parks. Glass from shattered windows is strewn around here and there, and those cars braving the downpour are sending up giant plumes of spray even on major arterials like the Gold Coast Highway.
What must be thousands of metres of police tape can be seen across the coast, trying to cordon off streets flooding or choked with debris, or to keep those few pedestrians out in this clear of trees starting to yaw over in waterlogged ground, looking like one nudge will be enough for wind and gravity to take over.
Traffic lights are out, and police have more pressing matters to attend to than traffic control, so driving – even in a reasonably solid little AWD vehicle - can be on the stressful side of adventurous.
Three days ago we were all sick of waiting for this weather event to arrive. Now we’re sick of waiting for it to just piss off so we can start cleaning up the mess.
War of words over idea of sending Australian peacekeepers to Ukraine
Earlier today, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, announced that an Australian representative would attend a meeting in Paris on Tuesday to discuss a potential peacekeeping force in Ukraine.
Albanese spoke to UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, on Saturday night.
He said he discussed Ukraine with Starmer and the UK’s mooted “coalition of the willing” providing peacekeepers to uphold a negotiated ceasefire:
There will be a meeting of chiefs of defence and [representatives] of the chiefs of defence in Paris on Tuesday. Australia will send a senior representative to that meeting to discuss going forward. Both of our nations are very clear about our support for Ukraine, and it of course is too early – you can’t have peacekeeping forces without having peace.
Moving forward, though, it is important that planning be put in place, and Australia will participate in that meeting on Tuesday.
But the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, said Albanese needed to put Australian security ahead of international commitments and distant conflicts:
It’s unbelievable the PM is talking about moving troops from Australia to station them or to base in Ukraine when Italy, Germany, France has made no decision yet to base troops there, and there is no peace to share, no peace to keep.
So what I would say is that the prime minister, instead of shooting from the hip, should make informed judgments on what is in our country’s best interest. We know, as the prime minister says, we live in the most precarious period since the second world war and, if that is the case, then we should be doing everything we can to bolster our security and our defences and to make sure that we’re investing in, not taking away from, the capacity of the Australian defence force. And my judgment is that basing troops in Europe at the moment is the wrong decision for our country.
Dutton said it appeared the prime minister had failed to take advice from the chief of the defence force and had not consulted his national security committee, because other senior ministers in the defence portfolio had tried to “walk back” his earlier comments on an Australian peacekeeping force.
Updated
South-east Queensland water supplies
Emma Thomas, chief executive of SEQwater in Queensland, said there were two water treatment plants out of action – one in Dayboro and one in Canungra – but both had full reservoirs, so they would be able to provide water to those communities while work went on to get the plants back online.
Canungra’s plant has been switched off because there is a lot of water coming in that has runoff and sediment in it.
On Wivenhoe dam releases, Thomas said none were planned at the moment but if one did happen, people would be given as much notice as possible:
The catchments have had relatively little rainfall in them. So we haven’t had a lot of rainfall running into those catchment areas. But as we’ve seen up in Hervey Bay, where there have been significant rainfalls today in small pockets, those situations and circumstances can change very quickly, which is why our flood operations engineers are monitoring those weather cells and patterns very, very carefully to see what is actually coming and being able to adjust and adapt as we need to.
Updated
Queensland school closures
If you’re looking for the Queensland school closures website it is here.
As of 10 minutes ago, it was reporting 481 state school closures, 201 independent school closures and 167 Catholic school closures.
Updated
ABC 612AM radio is back up after going down for a few hours. Brisbane residents can tune in for emergency updates.
Updated
‘People who were expecting nothing got pummelled’
Frank Vaarwerk was looking after a 40-hectare property on the Orara River outside Grafton when it was cut off by flood waters.
Over the last few days, Grafton has had some high winds, with the worst on Friday, but as an inland area he says it was hard to tell what was going to happen:
It seems the people who were expecting everything got nothing and people who were expecting nothing got pummeled.
The Orara River is a tributary of the Clarence River, and has swollen with the rainfall falling in the catchment area behind Coffs Harbour.
Now Vaarwerk says the question is how much water will work its way south from south-east Queensland and areas of NSW near the border.
In the meantime, there isn’t much to do except keep the animals fed, keep an eye on the water and watch the river go by until the weather clears.
Updated
WA election result a ‘mixed bag’, Dutton says
Peter Dutton says a second term of an Albanese government would be like the Victorian government and would just be taxing and spending, driving up inflation and leading to the government’s credit rating being downgraded, meaning taxpayers would have to pay more.
Of the WA election result, he said it was a “mixed bag” but pointed to the Liberals having a 20% swing towards them in the seat of Collie-Preston, where the federal Coalition has announced there will be a nuclear reactor – the ABC now projects Labor will retain this seat:
And it’s a mixed bag across the rest of the seats but what we know is that of the back of Mark McGowan’s tidal wave of success and now Roger Cook lives of that success and Roger Cook has made a number of decisions that were in WA’s best interest, whereas Anthony Albanese and Tanya Plibersek make decisions that will hurt WA and that’s why Roger Cook has spoken out against some of the decisions around nature, which is anti- mining bill and also a number of other issues which have plagued the Labor party federally.”
My colleague Ben Doherty will provide a post on Dutton’s response on Ukraine shortly. The press conference has ended.
Updated
Peter Dutton press conference
The federal opposition leader, Peter Dutton, is giving a press conference in Moreton Bay.
After paying tribute to the councils’ and state government response to Ex-Cyclone Alfred, Dutton is asked whether he would support tax cuts in the March budget.
He says he would welcome them because families are “under enormous pressure” due to prices going up, but says he wants income tax cuts “responsibly delivered” so inflation doesn’t continue to be a problem, causing the RBA to raise interest rates:
The government energy policy is driving up the cost of electricity and gas bills and the government is pretending that by giving back a couple of hundred dollars of that is compensation for a bad decision and a bad policy the Labor government has made. It’s not, and Australians are smarter than that.
Updated
ABC 612AM’s transmitters in Brisbane are down – people can tune to 106.1FM or digital radio for emergency updates in that area.
Updated
Queensland police defend alert system
On whether a seek-shelter warning should have been issued yesterday before the heavy rainfall overnight, Queensland police deputy commissioner Shane Chelepy said at that point in time it would not have been the right advice for those areas.
He said the emergency alert system worked in tandem with the bureau’s early warning system and the local council system.
Updated
‘Do all you can to get life back to normal,’ Crisafulli says
David Crisafulli says parents and carers will be given as much advance notice as possible before the next school day whether their child’s school will be opening.
He said some schools had suffered significant damage, and some were without power, and those would stay closed until they’re safe, but where there was an option to bring pupils back they would open:
Education matters, and it’s important we give kids every chance. The other thing is – those parents of those kids are important Queenslanders. Some of them will be the nurse at the hospital that means the difference between someone having their emergency surgery or not. Some of them will be that supermarket worker who’s stacking the shelf to enable someone to feed their family after not being able to go to shops for a few days. So it’s important, wherever possible, we give every chance to return things to normal. It’s got to be safe. It’s got to have common sense. But, wherever possible, you do all you can to get life back to normal.
Updated
‘I can’t fault Queenslanders for the way they’ve prepared’
The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, is asked whether the government was caught off guard by the strength of the winds overnight.
He said cyclones presented a risk and authorities always had to be ready for all of it – winds, waves, rain and flooding:
A system like a cyclone will continue to provide a challenge even once it crosses land. I’ll make the point that, last night in Toowoomba, there was wind gusts recorded of nearly 100km/h. They are challenges that will always be presented. But that’s why you’ve got to do the preparation. I can’t fault Queenslanders for the way they’ve prepared. I think, if you look objectively, this – you’ve got such a large, populated area of people who’ve never been to a cyclone before, and the way the community responded, I think, was first-class.
Updated
About 120,000 Queensland dwellings reconnected to power
Energex and Ergon have now reconnected 120,000 Queensland properties to power, including 40,000 today, including in Toowoomba, Hervey Bay and south-east Queensland.
There are still 320,000 properties without power, which the more than 2,000 workers in the field will reconnect in the coming days. There are 1,500 live lines on the ground, and residents are advised to stay away from them and report them when they see them.
Updated
No lives lost or missing persons recorded from Alfred in Queensland so far
The Queensland police deputy commissioner, Shane Chelepy, says there has been no loss of life or missing persons in Queensland as a result of the weather event.
He said a public safety declaration was issued this morning for Hervey Bay, giving police additional emergency powers to carry out evacuations and to support the community due to the flash flooding.
An emergency alert was also issued for the Fraser Coast coastal areas due to heavy, intense rainfall. People are being asked to take shelter.
In Hervey Bay, police were deployed to rescue people from their houses, cars, and businesses. There have been seven rescues from vehicles, and nine from dwellings.
The Hervey Bay watch house has been evacuated to Maryborough, and a temporary police station was established at the St James school in Hervey Bay.
There have been 35 callouts for police, including 14 people who were in danger of losing their life.
Updated
‘This event is still not over’, BoM meteorologist says
The Bureau of Meteorology’s Sue Oates gives a run-through of some of the weather in the past day, which we have covered earlier. On the forecast for the next 24 hours, she said coastal conditions were starting to ease, but there was still the odd 4m wave coming through.
She said those are reducing and will continue to reduce, but that Queensland is through the worst of coastal hazards.
Severe weather warnings remain current, and that’s for heavy to locally intense rainfall and damaging winds.
The gusts will continue to ease into the night period, but rainfall will continue to be heavy, and flash flooding is a high risk.
It is expected there will be six-hourly rainfall totals of 80 to 130mm today, with 24-hour totals of 120-200mm, but up to 250mm is possible.
Oates said:
A flood watch remains current, and the flood watch continues to extend from the Mary River in the north to the Queensland border, including the South Coast creeks, the Logan and Albert River and westward to include the Condamine River and the Macintyre River. There are also a series of flood warnings out, with major flooding for the Bremer River, Laurel Creek and the Logan River, and a series of minor to moderate flood warnings also across that flood watch area. And we’ll continue to monitor that rainfall throughout the day. And the flood warnings will be updated as we observe heavy rainfall and run-off into those river systems.
So, in summary, this event is still not over. We are starting to see an easing of the coastal conditions and an easing in the damaging wind gusts that were observed in the last 24 hours. However, the rainfall will continue and the risk of intense rainfall with localised flash flooding is real.
Updated
‘Our resolve will be unwavering’
David Crisafulli ends his remarks on the health system, stating the health networks will be liaising directly with patients. The Tugun and Redlands satellite health centres will remain closed.
He said cleanup has begun today. Some supermarkets have reopened and will continue to do so on a case-by-case basis.
Crisafulli said:
Finally, I want to finish with a message to Queenslanders. It’s firstly one of great gratitude, great gratitude for the way that neighbours have helped neighbours. Strangers have helped strangers and throughout this I’ve spoken about those four challenges and things like the wind and the waves and the rain and then the flooding. And we’ve seen different parts of a broad area and a populated area experience different ones of these at different times. But one thing’s remained consistent, and that is the community spirit and the resolve.
And I want the community to know that there won’t be daylight between the response and the recovery, because that’s what makes communities. And we’ve seen throughout this event the goodwill of this community. And I have every confidence because of that, that it will be a strong recovery. And I want to assure Queenslanders that our resolve from one end of the state to the other, who in the last month have been hit with a series of challenges, our resolve to see that job through and to make sure that this great state gets back on its feet, will be unwavering. And we’ll be here for the long haul.
Updated
On hardship payments, David Crisafulli says the Queensland government is working with the federal government, and they’ll be outlining eligibility and what it covers soon, and ensuring funds flow quickly.
There will also be a number of Queensland community recovery hubs, with the first to open very shortly. He said there are 800 staff prepared and ready to go with a 24/7 hotline on 1800 173 349.
Updated
Crisafulli says limited bus and train services will resume tomorrow
On public transport, David Crisafulli, says bus services will be back operating tomorrow, but in a limited capacity, across Brisbane, Moreton Bay, Sunshine Coast, Ipswich, Toowoomba, Lockyer Valley, Logan and Redland.
There will be an update on Hervey Bay later, and there will be no bus services on the Gold Coast tomorrow.
School buses will operate for the schools that open.
Trains will operate to a Sunday timetable. The Gold Coast light rail will not run tomorrow.
Updated
Naplan tests in affected areas delayed
David Crisafulli says Naplan testing will go ahead on Wednesday in schools outside the impacted region. For those schools in affected areas, it will be delayed to Monday 17 March.
It’s important that important testing goes ahead. So it will proceed on Wednesday, if you’re not impacted, if you have been impacted, there is that window. So kids can still have their Naplan testing. And I understand that’s very important for parents.
Updated
Most schools in south-east Queensland will reopen tomorrow
David Crisafulli says schools will open tomorrow where it is safe to do so, except on the Gold Coast.
He says parents and carers can Google, by 5pm today, “school closures Queensland” to find a website that will outline which schools are open and closed.
Gold Coast schools will remain closed due to significant damage, power loss and issues with transport.
The premier said parents who make a decision not to send their children to school tomorrow will be supported by the government in that decision.
Updated
About 300,000 homes remain without power in south-east Queensland
David Crisafulli says the message remains the same to the public: look at the maps of rainfall and know your situation, go to disaster.qld.gov.au and have a plan in place.
He said there had been over 1,000 callouts for the state emergency services today, a third of those for buildings, and a third of those for trees.
There have been 100 extra police on, with 850 fire and rescue troops on the ground to respond to calls.
He said the number of homes and businesses without power was sitting at 450,000, but is now over 300,000.
Updated
Queensland premier speaking to media
The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, is speaking in Brisbane now. He begins by addressing the flooding in Hervey Bay:
There was 230mm of rainfall in just a few hours in Hervey Bay. We’ve seen that culminate in reports of flash flooding in homes and in businesses. There has been a number of swift water rescues, and I just want to say a huge debt of gratitude to those emergency services personnel.
They were there and pre-positioned, and the work that they did. Is the matter of saving lives. And that’s why we’re incredibly grateful to the people of that community. And I know it’s a tight knit community. We’ll certainly be there to see things through for, for the Hervey Bay community. But we want to thank everyone as we continue to respond to that unfolding situation.
Updated
NSW state emergency service crews are clearing trees and debris after the storms.
#RFS crews are assisting NSW SES where required in communities affected by Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred, undertaking taskings such as clearing trees down and removing debris. For assistance in flood or storms call the NSW SES on 132 500. For life-threatening situations, call 000. pic.twitter.com/cdXhjaGeDe
— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) March 9, 2025
Updated
Bus services in Brisbane paused again
Bus services had been restarted in Brisbane this morning.
But with expanding flash flooding across the city, they’ve been suspended again this afternoon.
“Translink has advised Brisbane bus services have been suspended until further notice due to severe weather,” a spokesperson for Brisbane city council said.
According to Translink’s website, regular Sunday bus services are operating in Moreton Bay, Ipswich and Logan. All train, tram and ferry services remain suspended until further notice.
Updated
Thank you for following along the live blog with me this morning. Handing over now to Josh Taylor who will keep you updated into the evening.
WA premier credits manufacturing and health policies for ‘emphatic’ election win
The freshly re-elected Western Australia premier, Roger Cook, has credited his manufacturing and health policies as helping Labor record an “emphatic victory” in Saturday’s election.
Cook vowed to take WA forward over the next four years, and credited policies on expanding the local manufacturing sector and expansion of hospitals as helping Labor win a third consecutive term.
Cook said:
We are excited about the next four years but obviously we now have to get down back to work … We are humbled by last night’s result.”
Cook acknowledged counting was ongoing but that an “overwhelming majority” for Labor was clear.
He said WA residents had given him a clear mandate to govern, and that he would make decisions for all residents regardless of their location.
“We will be providing the services that people need to continue to make WA a great place to live,” Cook said.
Updated
Anxious wait for residents along Brisbane’s creeks
After a wild and windy night, Brisbane looks quite different today.
I drove around the inner western suburbs where I live this morning and it feels like the run-up to a fairly substantial flooding event.
I checked in with my parents, who live at Ashgrove and have lost power. (Oddly their Woolworths was open and doing huge business even as the streets were empty).
They live on Enoggera Creek, which flooded in 2022 and 1974 and in 2010 – but not 2011. People on the street have started to drive their vehicles to the highest part of the street to be out of the way as the stream keeps rising. The creek is running with a strong current through several back yards already, and there’ll soon be the bottoms of homes threatened if it continues to rise.
It’s been raining steadily all day and the city’s storm water system and creeks and streams are all backing up. That’s forecast to continue all day.
There are a lot of crossed fingers in Brisbane today.
Updated
Some transport services resume around south-east Queensland
Limited public transport services have resumed operating across south-east Queensland on Sunday.
Translink bus services have been gradually restarted across Brisbane after days where all routes were shuttered. Most bus routes were operating on Sunday, except for on the Gold Coast, Redlands, Logan, Moreton Bay and Toowoomba and Lockyer Valley.
All train services in south-east Queensland remained suspended on Sunday as crews worked to clear debris from tracks.
Gold Coast’s light rail also remained suspended as repair teams fixed electrical damage along the network.
Ferries remain suspended, with some to resume on Monday.
Updated
Flood emergency warning issued for Fraser Coast
A flood emergency warning has been issued for Queensland’s Fraser Coast, urging residents to “shelter indoors now”.
Intense rainfall has fallen across the Fraser Coast regional council area leading to flash flooding. Do not drive unless necessary. Remember, if it is flooded, forget it.
Updated
Clarence River towns told to prepare to evacuate
Prepare to evacuate notices have been issued for low-lying communities along the Clarence River, Minns said earlier.
Prepare to evacuate warnings have been issued for:
Brushgrove, Coldstream and Cowper
Palmers Island, Micalo Island, Thorny Island & Romiaka Island
Parts of Maclean
Harwood, Chatsworth, Warregah & Goodwood Island
Ulmarra and surrounds
Southgate and surrounds, Great Marlow and Alumy Creek
Low-lying areas between Lawrence and Grafton
“We are experiencing in that northern rivers western section a heightened level of rainfall,” he said.
“This is a fluid situation, the rain is falling unevenly across the catchment and as a result, [there is different] advice for different valleys and different communities.”
He urges residents in affected areas to check for updates on the Hazards Near Me app.
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‘Very hectic scene’ at site of ADF vehicle crash
Scott Tanner, NSW Police superintendent, has given some detail on the ADF trucks that crashed in Tregeagle yesterday. He said four people were “trapped” when he arrived at the scene.
One vehicle had left the roadway and it overturned in a paddock, had rolled a number of times and one was blocking the entire road.
Tregeagle Road is a small country road, not very wide.
It was a very hectic scene when we arrived. We had patients of varying injuries up and down the roadway and four persons trapped.
But the response as I said, within two hours of arriving on scene we had every person off that location into hospital. When you think about having 32 people conveyed to hospital in such as short space of time is a credit to all emergency services.
All personnel were wearing seatbelts, he confirmed.
Updated
Recovery assistance points established in northern NSW
Four recovery assistance points will be opened in northern NSW from Thursday, the Reconstruction Authority’s Mal Lanyon says.
They we will be at Southern Cross University in room V1.19 in East Lismore, Ballina Surf Club, Tweed South Community Hall in Tweed Heads, and Coffs Ex Services Hub in Coffs Harbour.
“Those recovery assistance points will provide valuable information and services to the community,” he says. “They are basically a one-stop shop where the community can access information and support.”
Updated
Warnings downgraded for Lismore CBD
Emergency warnings for Lismore CBD have been reduced from evacuate to “return with caution,” Stuart Fisher, the NSW SES operational commander says. He is giving a live update with the NSW premier, Chris Minns, and other authorities.
As rivers start to recede, warnings will be adjusted respectively, he says.
Rainfall totals of the last six hours are at 50 to 100mm, indicating a decrease. However overnight rainfall was in excess of 200mm.
There were six flood rescues overnight.
“Do not drive through flood waters,” Fisher urges. “It absolutely astounds me that this still occurs.”
Updated
Minns says 12 ADF personnel still being treated in hospital
There are still 12 Australian defence force personnel being treated in hospitals after an incident with two trucks on Saturday evening.
On Saturday two military trucks, each carrying 16 ADF personnel who were helping road-clearing efforts, crashed near Lismore.
The first truck rolled, then the second did the same as it swerved in an attempt to avoid the first, officials said.
Of the 32 Brisbane-based ADF soldiers onboard the vehicles, 13 were injured , six seriously.
At a press conference shortly after midday on Sunday, NSW premier Chris Minns said 12 of those ADF soldiers are still in hospital.
Updated
Creeks flooding in Brisbane city
Guardian Australia’s Queensland correspondent, Ben Smee, captured these images of Enoggera Creek this morning in inner Brisbane.
Updated
BoM warns northern rivers residents of potential flash-flooding
The Bureau of Meteorology has warned residents of the northern rivers in northern NSW of heavy rainfall that may lead to flash-flooding on Sunday.
Residents in locations including Lismore, Armidale, Tenterfield, Tamworth, Gunnedah, Moree, Narrabri, Casino and Kyogle have been warned that heavy rainfall is expected today into Monday morning that could lead to flash flooding. Six-hourly rainfall totals of between 50 and 100mm, with a 24-hour total of between 100 and 150mm possible.
The rain is expected to ease during Monday afternoon.
The risk of damaging wind gusts has eased in those areas, the bureau said.
The SES has advised residents to not drive, ride or walk through flood water, and keep clear of creeks and storm drains.
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Air traffic returns to cyclone-hit region
Air traffic is slowly returning to south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales after flights ground to a halt and airports shut as the region braced for ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
While airports across the region are still operating well below traditional capacities, airlines have begun resuming a handful of services and repositioning aircraft to serve the area.
At Brisbane airport, both inbound and outbound flights resumed on Sunday morning, including a handful of international services. The airport had remained open in recent days for emergency operations, but passenger services had stopped as carriers abandoned the city.
Airlines had in some cases moved aircraft out of Brisbane airport to prevent planes getting damaged by the inclement weather. Qantas on Sunday said that while it had resumed Brisbane flights, issues with relocating aircraft back to the airport will result in further schedule disruptions for it and budget carrier Jetstar.
Meanwhile Gold Coast airport, which had been closed in recent days on predictions the city would bear the brunt of the cyclone, has resumed operation. Some domestic services have already begun to take off and land from the airport, but many have been cancelled.
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Latest rainfall map
Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred is continuing to drive heavy rain in northern NSW and southern Queensland. We’ve just updated our maps and charts tracking the rainfall and floods, and some areas are nearing 700mm for the total weekly rainfall to 9am Sunday morning:
Mapping the flood and storm warnings from the NSW SES and Queensland government show large areas of both states continue to be affected by, or at risk from storm conditions and flooding:
You can read more, and see more charts here.
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Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred has been “a really long duration event,” meteorologist Jonathan How said:
The Tropical Cyclone Alfred did form in the late part of February in the northern part of the Coral Sea. It has travelled a long way down … curved back towards the south-east coast early last week and was very, very slow moving across Moreton Bay and then eventually making landfall as an ex-tropical cyclone yesterday morning.
It does continue to track towards the west, still very slow moving, but importantly still dragging a lot of tropical moisture down across that part of the country.
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North-east NSW could see another 24 hour rainfall totals of 100 to 200mm.
“That rainfall will start to build across the north-west slopes into tonight and Monday morning,” Jonathan How said.
You will see heavy rainfall extend as far inland as places like Narrabri … extending really far inland to the northern inland parts of New South Wales.
For Queensland, there is a risk of rainfall totals of 200 to 400mm in the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane metro and the Gold Coast.
That will really depend on where we see these winds converging near the surface. We could see really dangerous flash flooding develop.
A number of flood warnings are also current across south-east Queensland.
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Alfred moving west but still producing heavy rain and flash-flooding in Brisbane
Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred is still producing heavy rainfall across south-east Queensland and north-east NSW, despite moving over to the west of Kingaroy, Jonathan How from the Bureau of Meteorology spokesperson said on ABC TV a short time ago.
Hervey Bay recorded 260mm in the last 24 hours, while Brisbane metro has seen flash-flooding.
A severe weather warning extends from Gympie down towards Maryborough and covering large parts of north-east New South Wales including out to the tablelands, How said.
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WA election results positive but federal Labor can’t be complacent, Perth MP says
Jumping in with some non-cyclone news, the assistant minister to the prime minister, Pat Gorman, is feeling confident after Labor’s historic third win in Western Australia’s election on Saturday.
Labor is on track to win 40 seats, with the Liberals trailing well behind on five and the Nationals expected to take four as of Sunday morning, per ABC.
While the victory is another huge win for Labor’s state branch, the results represent a swing against Labor of about 11% on a two-party preferred margin so far.
The member for Perth told Sky News this morning that while the result was positive, he didn’t want any of his federal colleagues to “think that they can take their foot off the gas”.
Gorman said:
When you look at where did that swing come from in some of those other outer suburban seats, those communities still chose to send a Labor MP back into the state parliament with still some pretty significant margins.
Federal Labor is looking to hold on to four seats – Swan, Hasluck, Pearce and Tangney – it won with swings of more than 10% each at the 2022 federal election.
Gorman said Labor MPs needed to hit the ground until polling day.
I know that, like even [Tangney MP] Sam Lim, one of the best door knockers, not just in Western Australia, Sam Lim is out there door knocking – one of the best door knockers in the country. More of that please, because I know that’s what makes a difference.
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61-year-old dies in ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred flood waters, Albanese confirms – video
The prime minister says flash flooding and heavy winds caused by ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred remain “very serious”, confirming a man has died in flood waters near Dorrigo in northern New South Wales.
You can watch his full address here:
Telstra issues update on mobile and landline outages
Telstra is also working to restore services in south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales in the wake of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
More than 170 mobile sites, 6,700 landline services and 1,900 ADSL services have been disrupted.
The network said in a statement:
Our teams on the ground are working closely with authorities to ensure we can get in and restore affected services ASAP when it is safe to do so, and some customers have come back online in the past 24 hours.
Our network sites have backup systems that keep services running for as long as possible, but customers should be prepared for disruptions if power’s out for a long time in their area, or if access is cut to a site.
We’ve activated our assistance package for affected customers, which includes extra mobile data and free call diversions
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NBN outages across south-east Queensland and northern NSW
There are 243,000 outages across NBN services in south-east Queensland and northern NSW in the wake of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
That is 12,000 in NSW, and 231,000 in Queensland.
“Equipment connected to the nbn network will not work during a power outage,” the national network said in an update.
Many of our sites remain operating on backup power sources and where possible we are deploying generators to support connectivity.
Generators are to be deployed to Kingscliff, Hayters Hill, Murwillumbah Hill, Myocum, Duranbah, Buccan, Crows Nest, Black Mountain, Esk Highland St and Maleny East today.
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Tweed residents urged to boil drinking water
Tweed shire residents are being warned that tap water may not be safe to drink, and are urged to boil their tap water. Johnston said:
There are still boil-water [alerts] for the Bilambil Heights, Terranora, and Banora Point. We’re moving to try to get those lifted as soon as possible but there has been impacted power outages and some infrastructure damage as the stormfront moved through, and it’s really important that residents know that there are still boil-water alerts on for some particular areas.
We’ll keep up to date as quickly as we can as to whether it’s safe to access drinking water without boiling it. But at the moment, please just be careful. This is a complex situation. It’s rapidly evolving.
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More than 1,300 people have registered at NSW evacuation centres
About 14,600 people are under emergency warnings throughout NSW, while hundreds are sheltering at evacuation centres, Damien Johnston, NSW SES deputy commissioner said. He joined Sharpe with an update a short while ago:
We saw flooding continuing and rainfall throughout the night and will continue today.
In terms of the evacuations, we have 21 centres open. There are 768 people who are staying at those evacuation centres. 289 people are in other forms of emergency accommodation across the region. Over 1,300 people have registered for assistance at evacuation centres.
It is worth noting that if people, particularly in local communities, are having a lot of trouble with telecommunication connections and it is safe for you to access an evacuation centre, you may be able to have some telecommunication connection there.
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Sharpe acknowledged the death of the man who was swept into flood waters near Dorrigo on Friday, as well as the ADF personnel injured after two trucks tipped and rolled when in transit to assist those affected in Tregeagle.
I want to particularly acknowledge that our thoughts are with the family of the man whose body was recovered yesterday. He was able to be found but it is a very sad thing to lose someone in these circumstances and we’re thinking of his family.
We are also concerned about the ADF staff. We know they came to help and they are heroic in the efforts they are undertaking to support the community … On behalf of New South Wales we want to particularly acknowledge the efforts made.
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NSW energy minister warns people to stay home until given all-clear
“You may think that it is OK to go back home, but until you are told to do so, please don’t,” the NSW energy minister Penny Sharpe warned in an update a short time ago:
There are safety issues in a whole range of ways that is not just about the level of the water. There are issues like live electricity wires, debris, rotten and dangerous areas.
While we’re starting and working through the recovery actions that will be in place as soon as possible, please follow all of the warnings, do not take it upon yourself. If you do so, you risk not just yourself but you also risk the very good staff, the volunteers, many thousands who were there to help, so I really asked people to follow that advice.
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Can report that with the highway open in Byron industrial estate, deliveries are starting to come through to the northern rivers. Pulled up at a service station right at the same time as a delivery truck carrying ice.
With loads of people without power, some since Wednesday, ice has become a precious resource.
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Cleanup begins in Moreton Bay
Some images are coming in of the damage around Redcliffe in the city of Moreton Bay, north of Brisbane, after wild winds lashed the coast overnight.
Australian representative to attend meeting of defence chiefs in Europe
Moving away from ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred for a moment, Albanese was asked about his discussions with the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, and the prospect of sending Australian troops to Ukraine.
He confirmed an Australian representative will attend a key meeting of defence chiefs in Europe to discuss security strategies for Ukraine:
I had a very constructive discussion with the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, last night.
We discussed three prime issues – the first was the prime minister expressed his solidarity with Australians at this difficult time in dealing with Alfred, and he offered any support that could be given by the UK. Secondly, he reaffirmed his commitment and our joint commitment to Aukus going forward, and we had a discussion about that.
Thirdly, we did discuss the issue of Ukraine and the coalition of the willing, as he has put it, going forward. There will be a meeting of chiefs of defence and [representatives] of the chiefs of defence in Paris on Tuesday. Australia will send a senior representative to that meeting to discuss going forward. Both of our nations are very clear about our support for Ukraine, and it of course is too early – you can’t have peacekeeping forces without having peace.
Moving forward, though, it is important that planning be put in place, and Australia will participate in that meeting on Tuesday.
Updated
Continuing on the same topic of the ADF’s role in natural disaster response, Marles said government is working with National Emergency Management Australia, the emergency minister Jenny McAllister, and state emergency services, about “how - going forward - we structure our responses to natural disasters,”.
He continued:
That is an important conversation to be had, and the relative resources that are there from the various agencies. That’s what the Defence Strategic Review was referring to. But, in a given disaster right now, Defence will always be there to present.
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Marles has been asked about reliance on the ADF during natural disasters after authors of the Defence Strategic Review were “quite adamant that the ADF wasn’t structured or equipped to be a disaster recovery, disaster response agency, alongside all of its other responsibilities,” as put by the reporter.
The deputy prime minister said the ADF vehicles and personnel deployed were “enormously useful in respect of route clearance”:
The Defence Strategic Review referred to the fact that an increasing number of climate events was giving rise to an increasing use of the Defence Force in terms of natural disasters. In a macro sense, we needed to be thinking about how we supported all of our governmental efforts in terms of responding to natural disasters and ensuring that Defence was the last port of call.
That said, in respect of any particular incident right now, it is obviously going to be the case, and will always be the case while we are here, that Defence will be there ready to provide support when they have unique assets that can be provided. In this instance, the vehicles that defence had - the personnel that they had - were enormously useful in respect of route clearance.
But, as we look forward in this natural disaster, airlift capability, personnel fundamentally doing doorknocking, everyone stepping in and helping, is something that, in the here and now, we will obviously be providing.
PM confirms man swept off bridge near Dorrigo has died
The 61-year-old man swept off a bridge by fast-moving flood waters near Dorrigo on Friday has died, Albanese confirms.
Our thoughts are with his loved ones and the community at this heartbreaking time.
The prime minister warns of “very dangerous” flash-flooding and heavy winds in Queensland and northern NSW:
Heavy rainfall, damaging wind gusts, and coastal surf impacts are expected to continue over coming days. I urge everyone to continue to listen carefully to the emergency authorities.
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Injured ADF personnel in Lismore ‘to help fellow Australians’, Marles says
Marles acknowledged the personnel ventured to assist residents in areas affected by ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred in treacherous weather conditions:
They are there to help our fellow Australians. That’s what each of these 32 people were doing yesterday in support of those who were feeling the brunt of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred in northern New South Wales. They did so without question. They wanted to make a difference. This is why they had signed up.
But they also knew that they were in a difficult circumstance where the weather was obviously making conditions treacherous and, in that sense, they were putting themselves voluntarily in danger. And we very much thank them for their service, and our thoughts are very much with those who have been injured.
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Richard Marles speaking about ADF vehicle crash near Lismore
The two military trucks, carrying 16 personnel each, were in transit from one task to another in Tregeagle when the rollovers occurred, the defence minister, Richard Marles says. He joins the prime minister in giving a live address:
The trucks were configured to carry military personnel. There were 16 on each truck. This team of 32 had been engaged in route clearance work and were in transit from one task to another when the incident occurred.
13 were injured, some of them seriously. All are expected to recover.
The 32 came from the 2nd Combat Engineer Regiment, the 7th Service Support Battalion, all being part of 7 Brigade based at Gallipoli Barracks in Enoggera in Brisbane.
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Albanese addressing media in Canberra
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is giving an address after 13 ADF personnel were hospitalised when two military vehicles deployed to Lismore to help with ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred recovery tipped and rolled over.
These men and women are heroes who were on their way to help people in need. They were doing this at a time when some of their own families were bearing the brunt of Alfred. We will never take for granted the enormous sacrifice our soldiers make for us, and we will do all we can to support those injured and their families. We thank them for their service yesterday, today, and every day.
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Over 1,000 workers will be trying to reconnect power for hundreds of thousands of people in Queensland with outages in the aftermath of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred, Crisafulli says:
We still have some big challenges. Electricity’s one of them. I’ve just finished addressing some teams who are about to head out in the rain to try to reconnect power for hundreds of thousands of Queenslanders. We had pre-positioned them – 1,200 staff – from the Energex network in the south-east of the state. There’s 800 from the Ergon network who are coming here to help many of the people who have been helping them over recent months.
It just shows you that real collegiality. But they are going to be working in some really difficult conditions today … It’s a really, really big challenge, but it’s a challenge we prepared for and it’s a challenge that they will rise to.
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Toowoomba hit by nearly 100km/h winds overnight, Queensland premier says
Toowoomba was hit by wind gusts of nearly 100km/h overnight, the Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, told the ABC a short time ago.
There was definitely, overnight, some more of those wind gusts – including even inland to a place, a beautiful city called Toowoomba, where there were wind gusts of nearly 100km/h. It gives you an indication that the system has continued to pack a punch.
Rainfall leading to flooding is today’s risk, he says:
Whether that’s localised flooding through a creek or river flooding, there is that challenge there. But it’s a challenge that Queenslanders deal with, and we’ll continue to put that information out. And I have every faith that people will be able to handle that.
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Coastal erosion ‘quite extreme’, Tweed mayor says
“There are massive, massive numbers of trees down right along the coastline” says Chris Cherry, mayor of Tweed shire council.
It is quite amazing how many trees are down.
The coastal erosion, she says, is “quite extreme, we’ve got 3m cliffs in quite a few places along the coast, so the dunes have come right back.”
On Sunday morning, she says, the focus is on Couchy Creek and water systems on the Queensland-NSW border.
It is inland in our shire, but they’ve had 330mm and that water has got to make its way down the Tweed River. They are expecting Tumbulgum could reach major [flooding] by this afternoon. Couchy Creek has had 25mm in the last hour, so it is not letting up there at the moment.
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Brisbane suburban creeks spilling over after night of wild weather
Brisbane’s suburban creeks have begun to spill over, after a night of heavy wind and rain in the city.
Saturday night brought far more severe weather than the previous one, when the city was subject to a tropical cyclone warning with Alfred nearing landfall.
Swollen waterways are common in Brisbane during heavy rain. Part of the city’s design is that tributaries of the Brisbane River – Breakfast/Enoggera Creek, Kedron Brook, Ithaca Creek, Oxley Creek and Norman Creek – act as floodways, providing a buffer to homes and buildings.
That works until it doesn’t – major floods have resulted when the creeks could no longer hold the volume of water sent into the system. In 2017 and 2022, flooding was the result of huge rainfall in a relatively short period.
This morning, Enoggera Creek on the north side had already spilled over, swallowing bridges and walkways.
This does happen regularly in heavy rain. But it also illustrates that parts of Brisbane are now seriously vulnerable if the rainfall continues or worsens.
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Emergency warnings for 14,600 people, NSW SES says
The NSW state emergency service has received more than 10,309 calls and responded to almost 6000 incidents, it said in an update this morning.
It urged affected communities to “remain vigilant and not become complacent” after Alfred weakened to a tropical low.
About 14,600 people are under emergency warnings as of 5am AEDT this morning, and about 31,200 dwellings are subject to warnings as a result of flooding, the update said.
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ADF vehicle crash was a rollover, not a collision, police say
The two Australian Defence Force vehicles that crashed south-west of Lismore yesterday did not collide with each other, NSW police have said in an updated statement.
The ADF was deployed to Lismore to help with preparations for the effects of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
Emergency services were called to Tregeagle Road about 5pm after one ADF military vehicle left the roadway and rolled several times into a paddock, and a second tipped on to its side attempting to avoid the first vehicle, NSW police said. The vehicles did not collide with each other.
Each vehicle was carrying a driver and 15 passengers.
All 32 occupants were removed and treated at the scene, then taken to hospitals in Lismore, Tweed Heads, Ballina and Byron Bay for assessment.
Thirteen people required treatment. Their injuries appear to be non-life threatening, police say.
Investigations are continuing into the circumstances surrounding the crash.
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Lismore bracing for ‘a couple more days’ without power
Hall anticipates it will be “a couple more days” without power in Lismore.
She says Essential Energy have been communicating “to let us know they know we are without power, but not sending any crews out until the imminent risk is over”.
“I’m assuming it will be a couple more days.”
She says connectivity has been a struggle as well, making it difficult to monitor updates:
It’s not just power, during the last few days we have struggled with internet, we have struggled with phone reception, so, you know, you’re trying to check and monitor flood levels in your area, and river heights, but BoM is not working because the internet is not working, and you don’t have power so you got to try to keep your charge up on the phone.
All this – it doesn’t help with the trauma this the community is feeling because [they] can’t get information, got no power, won’t stop raining, can’t see BoM.
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Lismore still recovering from 2022 floods, deputy mayor says
As water recedes, Lismore’s streets are left with debris, fallen trees and power lines. It is “very dangerous,” Hall says:
There’s still a lot of debris, lots of big trees down, lots of big trees crossing roads and falling on to cars and power lines and, so, yeah, very dangerous. As the water recedes, it does bring out more debris as well. So you’ve got to be really careful.
And the roads are already in pretty poor condition following 2022. So doesn’t take much for them to be waterlogged and have their own structural issues as well.
The Lismore deputy mayor says the region is “still in recovery” after the 2022 floods:
There’s still businesses that haven’t been able to come back or have just come back and are just starting to trade again. Trade is down obviously with the cost of living and everybody doing it a little bit tough, but people manage to come back and then this happens again and it really breaks your spirit.
So, yeah, the recovery has been long since 2022, let’s hope because it hasn’t overtopped the levee at this point that it won’t be as big a recovery – but, yeah, we still have heaps of work to do from 2022. So we just have to bite down and get it done.
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‘If you can get to sleep during all of the rain, you’re having nightmares about it’: Lismore deputy mayor
More than 250 people are in the Lismore evacuation centre at Southern Cross University as of last night, Jeri Hall says. Including Kyogle and Casino, that number grows to 350.
The Lismore deputy mayor says:
It’s been pretty traumatic for the community. If you can get to sleep during all of the rain you’re having nightmares about it.
We were downtown on Wednesday helping business owners pack up, you know, better to be safe than sorry, but everyone is just very, very traumatised.
I’ve got young kids and they’re struggling to sleep. We have all been sleeping in the lounge room on mattresses because they’re too scared they’re going to wake up in the morning and the house is going to be inundated with water. The communities, we’re strong and resilient, which everyone loves telling us, but, you know, it is hitting us hard and it was only the flood anniversary a couple of weeks ago, so everybody is feeling it.
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Hall says the majority of Lismore’s CBD and low-lying villages will be inundated if river water overtops the flood levee:
Lismore is built around the river with the big cedar farms from 100 years ago. The majority of the CBD, and there’s a lot of villages [in] low-lying areas which we call our basin, they have actually had evacuate now, move to higher ground orders issued yesterday. So obviously if it overtops the wall, the flood levee, then it will be inundating all of those communities and they’ll all be cut off.
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Lismore residents without power and access to water for 72 hours, deputy mayor says
Speaking on the ABC, Lismore deputy mayor, Jeri Hall, says Lismore residents have been without power, and consequently unable to access water, for 72 hours:
We have been a couple of days now without power. We haven’t had power for 72 hours and when we don’t have power, we don’t have water either. Even though there’s a lot of water around, there’s no toilets or showers where we are. We have been cut off since Thursday morning. So the water is dropping but it is dropping slowly. We just hope that we don’t get this rain that looks like it’s hanging off the coast again.
She urged residents stay up to date via the Hazards Near Me app, and to stay out of flood waters.
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Water levels at Lismore levee falling, deputy mayor says
Deputy mayor of Lismore, Jeri Hall, says the height of water at the flood levee is falling – a positive sign.
Hall is speaking to the ABC:
It’s still very overcast, we had a little bit of rain overnight, but looking a bit more positive in terms of the height of the water at the flood levee. The last report I received [said] that it is 8.91m and falling.
But, you know, only takes one big storm and one big downpour and we’re back up near, you know, hanging on tenterhooks where we were yesterday.
It’s windy and it’s still a bit wet, but it’s much better than it has been for the last few days.
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How does ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred compare to past storms?
Over the years, at least 20 cyclones have approached within 300km of south-east Queensland and northern NSW, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
Only a few have made landfall, but history shows that cyclones, and even ex-cyclones, have the potential to wreak havoc in this corner of the country.
An unnamed cyclone that crossed the coast at Coolangatta on 20 February 1954 brought such devastation it was dubbed “the Great Gold Coast Cyclone”. At least 26 people died and the storm caused widespread flooding and structural damage.
And a series of cyclones hit a strip of coastline in 1974, beginning with Wanda, a category 1 cyclone that caused the “second biggest recorded floods since colonisation”.
Petra Stock walks us through what has happened with cyclones in the past – and how Alfred compares:
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Alfred expected to move inland today
Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred is moving further inland today, travelling west at 10km/h.
Alfred, now classified a tropical low system, is 55km south-west of Maroochydore and 50km west of Bribie Island, according to the Bureau of Meteorology’s latest update as of 1am this morning. It is expected to move inland more rapidly today while weakening.
Sustained winds near the centre are at 55km/h and wind gusts up to 95km/h.
Updated
More than 330,000 buildings without power
The latest number of dwellings without power is at more than 330,000 as of this morning.
315,406 are affected by power outages in south-east Queensland, according to the latest Energex numbers from 6am AEST. More than 112,300 of those are in the Gold Coast, and nearly 50,000 in Brisbane city.
In NSW, just over 16,000 properties across Tweed Heads south to Grafton are without power, according to the latest Essential Energy update.
Updated
Services beginning to resume in south-east Queensland
South-east Queensland is slowly recovering after halting services for Alfred’s arrival.
Public transport, excluding trains and Gold Coast buses, will resume today, while shops, supermarkets and service stations will begin opening on a case-by-case basis
Ferries to Moreton Bay will resume today for residents stuck on the mainland or the island.
David Crisafulli promised support to individuals and small businesses affected by the weather event once the government has assessed the damage:
If mother nature deals a tough hand, we have to be there to support individuals … small family businesses and farmers.
Brisbane and Gold Coast airports are hoping to resume flights today if it is safe to do so.
A major clean-up effort remains across the south-east, particularly for the Gold Coast.
Energex crews will be working to restore power and assisting telcos to restore communications.
– Australian Associated Press
Updated
Queensland premier pledges support to NSW as body found in search for missing man
Meanwhile, thousands of residents have been evacuated and many cannot yet return home as the river levels rise.
The weather event turned deadly when a body, believed to be a 61-year-old man, was found after a daylong search. The man’s ute was swept into flood waters at Megan, about 25 km north of Dorrigo.
He was able to get out of the ute and climb into a tree about 30 metres from the riverbank but was swept away before emergency personnel could reach him.
David Crisafulli vowed to provide any assistance to NSW neighbours as the flood emergency worsened. He told reporters:
Whilst there’s a border that separates our responsibility, it doesn’t separate our compassion for a fellow human.
If those communities cop it again and we can assist them, we’ll be there.
– Australian Associated Press
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NSW northern rivers bracing for major flooding across region
Northern NSW is facing a flooding crisis with multiple major flood warnings in place for the Tweed, Richmond, Wilsons, Brunswick, Orara, Clarence and Bellinger rivers.
Major flooding is also expected at the Wilsons River, which runs through Lismore, where the water height is predicted to reach about 10.6m, touching the top of the levee.
The emergency has also affected those sent to help flood victims, with two army trucks crashing south of Lismore on Saturday, injuring more than 30 people.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, said he was concerned to hear of the injuries and that the state’s emergency services would provide all necessary support:
They came to the northern rivers to help keep this community safe.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and defence minister, Richard Marles said in a statement the focus was on the personnel and their families:
Our ADF heroes were on their way to help Australians in need.
– Australian Associated Press
Updated
Brisbane region battered by heavy winds as storm crosses the coast
Our first few posts will be an overview of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred’s movement and impact in the last 24 hours, and a look at what is to come, courtesy of Australian Associated Press:
More than 200,000 homes remain without power and the threat of a tropical cyclone is not yet over despite the system being downgraded.
Ex-cyclone Alfred began moving as a tropical low from Queensland’s Bribie Island, across the coast, and inland towards the state’s south-west on Sunday.
The weakened storm still packs a punch, with the Brisbane region being battered by rain and strong wind gusts on Saturday night, including 100km/h recorded in Redcliffe and more than 70km/h at Brisbane airport.
And there is more to come, as forecasters expect up to 700mm of rain and destructive gusts continuing through to Monday.
“We don’t know what the weather will bring, the system remains active,” the Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, said.
Updated
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
Alfred crossed Moreton Island as a category 1 tropical cyclone just after midnight on Saturday morning. It weakened below tropical cyclone intensity at 6am that day.
The centre of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred made landfall around 8pm AEST Saturday over Bribie Island, then on to the mainland around 9pm.
BoM forecasts Alfred to move inland more rapidly today while weakening.
But the effects of the storm are already being felt over a large area.
We will be bringing you updates throughout the day.
Updated
