Summary
Here is a wrap of the day’s Cyclone Alfred news.
Alfred’s track to the coast slowed down today, with the Bureau of Meteorology warning it is possible the cyclone won’t reach land until Saturday. It remains a Category 2 system.
Waves of 12.3m were recorded off Gold Coast, while the outer Moreton Bay area has received gusts above 90km/h. The BoM warned of “significant storm surge” risk as well as “life threatening flooding” as Alfred nears the coast. Total rainfalls are expected to reach more than 800mm.
QLD SES deployed more than a million sandbags, essential for flooding predicted to occur immediately following the cyclone. SES, police, firefighters and water rescue crews have been “prepositioned,” premier David Crisafulli said.
5,000 people in the state were without power, with those numbers expected to rise.
Airlines continued to cancel flights en masse ahead of Cyclone Alfred reaching land. Qantas and Jetstar have announced they will halt all international and domestic flights in and out of Brisbane from this afternoon.
More than 1,000 schools were closed in QLD, and more than 240 closed in NSW.
NSW SES issued emergency warnings for 11 locations to evacuate before 9pm tonight.
There was a possible missing jetskier off northern NSW, police said, with witnesses seeing possible “debris from a jetski hitting the rock wall”.
Authorities repeatedly urged residents in affected areas avoid the beach as Alfred nears.
Thanks for following along the blog today. You can find us back here tomorrow for the latest cyclone updates. Stay safe.
Updated
‘No safe space’: racist acts toward Indigenous Australians called out in report
Hate mail, graffiti, property damage and public abuse are among the racist acts Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experienced in 2023-24 - with many linked to the Voice debate.
The most common types of racism reported in the 12 months to March 2024 were negative attitudes or stereotyping (23%) and discrimination (15%), according to the second annual Call It Out report on racism targeting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Physical violence, verbal abuse, hate speech, threats, intimidation, bullying and property damage combined made up more than a third of responses.
The report is based on more than 400 instances of racism against First Nations people reported to the Call It Out register.
The register is run by the University of Technology Sydney’s Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research, and the National Justice Project.
The reported instances could be the “tip of the iceberg”, report guest author and Jumbunna Institute director Lindon Coombes said:
It’s not just that thing that’s happened that day or an incident that happened that week, it’s a repeated pattern of behaviour; its a repeated assault on Indigenous people where people get to a point that they no longer wish to tolerate that.
As Indigenous people we have a very high tolerance for racism. If we were reporting every incident, as people sometimes allege, we would be very, very busy people.
- Australian Associated Press
Updated
Passengers 'overpowered' teen with gun as he boarded flight after breaching security fence, police allege
Victoria police allege a teenager with a shotgun and ammunition boarded a Jetstar flight after breaching Avalon airport’s security fence.
The 17-year-old boy was dressed in hi viz clothing and thought to be a maintenance worker when he allegedly entered the airport, in Geelong, about 55 kilometers southwest of central Melbourne, through a hole in its fence on Thursday afternoon.
It is alleged that the Victorian teen walked up the boarding staircase and into the plane, which had 160 passengers onboard.
Victoria police superintendent Michael Reid said the teen was detained by three passengers in a citizens’ arrest before police arrived.
“As he’s approached the plane, he’s mounted or climbed the front stairs to the front of the plane. At that point, passengers have identified the male was carrying a firearm,” Reid said.
The male was overpowered by three of the passengers at least. And shortly afterwards, police have arrived and taken that male into custody.
No doubt this would have been a very terrifying incident for the passengers of that plane and Victorian police really commend the bravery of those passengers who were able to overpower that male.
Updated
Lismore residents warned ‘do not underestimate this storm’
NSW SES acting chief superintendent Stuart Fisher says an incoming storm brought by Cyclone Alfred will hit in a “three-pronged attack”, and more locations may be ordered to evacuate tomorrow.
Fisher is speaking live from Lismore:
The weather is deteriorating rapidly for us. Whilst it may look like the rivers aren’t flooding, there is high concern that they will start to flood overnight and continue tomorrow. We do expect a number of other areas to be under evacuation orders tomorrow and going forward over the next couple of days.
Our main concern at the moment is when that wind comes through, the wind will bring down the power lines and bring down the trees, which may stop emergency services getting to you when that flooding occurs. So again, we’ve taken that decision to leave or ask you to leave early.
Do not underestimate this storm. The prediction is that it will hit us and the three pronged attack … The coastal erosion, followed by those strong winds, will bring down the power lines and trees, and then, of course, the torrential rain that will come over the next day or two or three … four or five.
Updated
‘I want you safe’: Lismore MP pleads with community to evacuate as cyclone approaches
Janelle Saffin, MP for Lismore, tells her constituents that while she understands it is difficult to leave behind homes, “if you get an evacuation order, please do it, because I want you safe”. She is speaking from a live press conference as Cyclone Alfred nears:
Your family wants you safe. Your neighbours want you safe. We all do. I know it’s hard. You can take your pets, so don’t worry, you can take your pets to your family and friends or the evacuation centre, and just make sure that you do it in daylight, because it’s much easier. That’s why it’s before 9pm. I know it’ll get a little bit dark, but we just want you to be safe.
Updated
Chris Minns urges Lismore residents to evacuate or risk becoming trapped
NSW premier Chris Minns is updating the media on evacuation orders in Lismore. He is with the minister for emergency services, Jihad Dib, member for Lismore Janelle Saffin, and the SES acting chief superintendent.
Minns listed the locations told to evacuate before 9pm, and warned that people who stayed could become trapped:
Those communities, if they remain in the area, they become trapped. They may be without power, water and other essential services for [an] extended period of time. We’re forecasting very heavy rain, and in the event of that very heavy rain, evacuation routes may be closed.
If you’re able to leave and stay with family and friends over the next period of time before nine o’clock, we urge you to do so, and if you don’t have a safe place to go, the SES … have established evacuation centres across the Northern Rivers.
Updated
Evacuation warnings in 11 northern NSW areas
NSW SES has emergency warnings for 11 locations to evacuate before 9pm tonight. They are:
Tweed catchment: Uki, Fingal Heads and Tumbulgum
Lismore catchment: North Lismore, South Lismore, Lismore CBD and East Lismore
Brunswick catchment: Billinudgel
Richmond catchment: Low lying parts of Kyogle and Coraki, Bungawalbin
Meanwhile, 248 public schools across New South Wale’s north coast will be closed again on Friday “to safeguard students and staff as Tropical Cyclone Alfred approaches,” the NSW Department of Education said.
Updated
South Lismore residents told to evacuate before 9pm tonight
Northern Rivers NSW SES have issued an emergency warning for South Lismore residents to evacuate before 9pm tonight due to flooding from Cyclone Alfred.
The evacuation notice applies to South Lismore, a suburb in the Lismore region, and surrounds, including all properties along Kyogle Road between Casino Street and Leycester Road, low-lying areas near Ostrom Street, parts to the north of Hollingsworth Creek, the industrial area, all properties around Casino and Union streets, and the airport.
“You must evacuate before [9pm] because forecasted heavy rainfall will close evacuation routes,” the warning says.
If you remain in the area, you may become trapped without power, water, and other essential services. It may be too dangerous for NSW SES to rescue you, and buildings may not be able to withstand the impact of flood water.
Rainfall associated with Tropical Cyclone Alfred may cause rapid river rises and extensive flooding, the warning continued.
Heavy and locally intense rainfall is forecast from Thursday into the weekend over Northern NSW. Flash flooding is possible. High tides and large waves are expected to increase the flood risk and impacts in low lying coastal areas.
An evacuation centre has been erected at Southern Cross University on Military Road, East Lismore.
Updated
Automated Centrelink debt collection erodes public trust, says Economic Justice Australia
While we are on income apportionment, the peak organisation for community legal centres, Economic Justice Australia, has called for the government to waive all current debts calculated via the controversial method. It also wants the government to implement a six-year debt recovery limitation, as the Robodebt Royal Commission recommended, and increase funding for specialist social security legal services.
CEO Kate Allingham said in a statement:
The fact we’re here again is shocking. The legality of a Government measure that determines people’s social security is being called into question, which should be a huge scandal by any metric – but it is coming off the back of Robodebt, of countless ‘IT glitches’, of any number of issues with Government systems that have been proven to be insufficient at best and, in some cases, outright illegal.
It is impossible for the public to have any trust in the Government if, not only are systems put in place to protect people found to be deficient, but they continue to be used for years unlawfully without any apparent checks and balances.
These are not simple mistakes someone made at their job. Centrelink debts can significantly reduce people’s already meagre payment. The fact an unlawful system has been allowed to continue unchecked for decades underpins what was found in the Robodebt Royal Commission, which is that the Government needs to adequately fund social security legal services that assist people in navigating these issues. Millions of people have already been affected by successive Governments’ proven inability to do so themselves.
Updated
Services Australia defends controversial debt recovery method at federal court
The income apportionment case is in the federal court today. This could potentially have huge implications for hundreds and thousands of jobseekers - and billions of dollars of debt.
Income apportionment was the complex system used by Services Australia when it could not determine whether payslips, used to calculate welfare debts, aligned with the fortnightly income reporting periods, such as when a payslip did not show hours or days worked.
In August last year, a tribunal found Matthew Chaplin, who had been on youth allowance, had had his debt in 2014 incorrectly calculated.
Here, academic and welfare expert Chris Rudge explains the case:
Chaplin argues that the alleged debt should be a nullity (zero) at least until the secretary’s strong evidence gathering powers are exercised to collect more evidence to prove the existence of a debt.
Chaplin’s argument is based on the mechanics of the debt calculator rules, which put very specific guard rails around when income is aid to be earned, derived or received. Chaplin argues that these guardrails are being too casually followed by the secretary, resulting in significant errors.
[He] also says that the secretary has vey strong evidence gathering powers that they did not use in this case. They say the department should not be able to simply use interpretation of the law to raise a debt and choose not to seek more evidence. By contrast, the secretary/commonwealth says that the social security system is designed to reduce entitlements in a cost effective manner and that, therefore, the secretary is permitted to draw inferences of fact about when a debt exists.
The commonwealth argues that those powers were exercised appropriately and that the guardrails put in place are all facilitative of the secretary’s broad debt recovery functions and should not impede the secretary’s work of debt recovery.
Updated
Photo: ‘Catching air’
Photographer Amber J Cowley captured the moment a surfer flipped over a huge wave caused by the approaching Cyclone Alfred – “Catching air,” Cowley put it – while ripping at The Bluff at Alexandra Headland on the Sunshine Coast yesterday.
Here is the photo:
Updated
Victorian anti-vilification legislation stalls
The Victorian government’s anti-vilification legislation won’t be voted on at parliament this week, with Labor yet to reach an agreement with the crossbench to secure enough support for it to pass.
The justice legislation amendment (anti-vilification and social cohesion) bill, if passed, will expand Victoria’s existing legal protections against vilification, which currently only cover race and religion, to cover disability, gender identity, sex and sexual orientation.
It would also make serious vilification - such as incitement of hatred or physical threats - offences punishable by up to five years’ jail.
But the Coalition opposition said they would not support the bill in its current form, meaning the government is trying to negotiate with the crossbench to get it over the line.
While the Greens say the negotiations are going well, they are yet to form a position on the bill. Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell said she was hopeful for an outcome soon:
I’ve made it clear that I support new anti-vilification laws and it’s really important that we get this legislation passed. There are a range of communities that aren’t protected now that would be under the new attributes. My office has been consulting with stakeholders and community legal centres, and if the government accepts some sensible amendments, hopefully we will see an outcome soon.
Updated
Avalon airport incident: man attempted to board flight with firearm, police say
More on that reported security incident at Avalon airport.
Victoria police have confirmed they were called to the airport outside Melbourne at 2.50pm after reports a man with a firearm attempted to board a commercial flight.
The man was detained before getting on the plane.
The man is in custody and no injuries have been reported.
Updated
Twelve councils ready to begin cleanup, reconstruction authority says
Jake Ellwood from the Queensland reconstruction authority says 12 councils have been activated in preparation for cleanup after Cyclone Alfred crosses. He talked through the recovery process a short while ago:
In terms of recovery … first is the cleanup. It is vital because families and individuals, they cannot move on until things are cleaned up. We saw wonderful efforts by the SES and the Queensland Fire Department to get that cleanup done so well in the north, and again it will happen and we know we have already activated 12 councils from the Fraser Coast to the Gold Coast to make sure that we are ready for that cleanup.
We then undertake damage assessments to fully understand the damage of how many homes have moderate, severe or minor damage so that we can support community through the recovery process.
Then there is the emergency work to make sure that roads and other things that have been damaged are functional and safe to use so that communities can move on and then we get into the deeper reconstruction.
Of course, as always, we make sure we emerge from these stronger than we went in.
Updated
Firefighters from across Queensland redeployed to south-east
The Queensland fire service commissioner, Stephen Smith, said additional personnel from across the state have been deployed in the south-east in preparation for the crossing of Cyclone Alfred.
He said 23 hubs with specialist firefighter and swift-water rescue teams have been established “to provide immediate response and capacity across those impacted communities”.
We have hundreds of RFS Queensland and Fire and Rescue staff and volunteers ready to respond when it is safe to do so to support that recovery. So they are in place and ready to respond as and when conditions are needed.
Updated
The acting police commissioner, Shane Chelepy, warned residents in affected areas to prepare for the storm surge, flash flooding and riverine flooding as Cyclone Alfred nears the coast. He spoke live a short while ago.
This is significant rainfall that won’t only cause flash flooding in … the most impacted areas, but prolonged riverine flooding, and it’s important we are now preparing for this potential rainfall.
Our riverines, our creeks are very wet and will respond very quickly to intense rainfall as it falls. The emergency services are prepared. They are prepositioned and they are able to respond, but it is now important that communities understand their risk and start to put plans in place not only for the cyclone approaching, the winds, the storm surge, but also for flash flooding and riverine flooding over the next few days, should they be impacted by these events.
Chelepy urges residents to begin lifting furniture from low-lying areas in houses to higher ground, putting valuables such as passports, driver licences and credit cards in a waterproof container, and making sure residents have a plan in place to leave if required.
He also urges people do not drive through floodwaters:
This risky behaviour puts yourself, your family, but also our emergency service workers at severe risk when we have to come and rescue you.
Updated
Up to 800mm of rain possible across coming days, BoM says
Heavy rainfall is pushing across the Gold Coast and stretching up through the Scenic Rim, along the Bay Islands and into Brisbane, the Bureau of Meteorology’s Matthew Collopy said a short while ago.
Daily rainfall totals of 300 to 400mm are expected to stretch through Friday and into Saturday. “This could mean the event totals up to 800mm,” Collopy said.
“This heavy to intense rainfall is expected to produce both flash and riverine flooding,” he said.
Flood watches are current for minor to major flooding across the Mary River, the creeks and rivers of the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast, the upper and lower Brisbane River catchments, as well as the Logan, Albert, Condamine and Macintyre rivers.
Updated
Waves of 12.3m recorded off Gold Coast
Back to Cyclone Alfred, and authorities are addressing the media live in Queensland.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s Matthew Collopy warned of damaging winds in exposed coastal locations a short while ago.
The outer Moreton Bay area has received gusts above 90km/h – “which is the damaging wind threshold that we use,” Collopy said. He says gusts up to 150km/h are expected late on Friday through Saturday:
Those winds are expected to continue, increasing as we move through today, and then continue increasing through Friday as well. Potential for destructive winds, so those gusts up to 150km/h, are expected on those exposed coastal locations as tropical cyclone Alfred approaches and crosses those bay islands late on Friday and through Saturday.
Large swells and powerful waves have also been observed along the Queensland coast for several days, Collopy said:
We are seeing inundation and extreme wave heights. We recorded waves of 12.3m off the Gold Coast, so those extreme waves are causing hazards to the coastal areas.
TC Alfred is also expected to produce a significant storm surge around the southern side of the system. This means as the system crosses, sea levels may be [50cm] to 1m above the normal highest tide.
At some exposed locations around the Gold Coast and southern Redlands, it was possible to see storm surges up to 1.5m, Collopy said.
Updated
Security incident at Avalon airport in Melbourne
Turning away from the live press conference on Cyclone Alfred for a short moment:
Authorities are investigating a security incident at Melbourne’s Avalon airport on Thursday afternoon.
The incident at the city’s secondary airport, from which only Jetstar operates commercial flights, was understood to have occurred onboard a passenger plane used for a Sydney service.
In a statement, a Jetstar spokesperson said:
We’re aware of a security incident at Avalon airport this afternoon and are working with police and the airport to urgently understand what has occurred. The safety of our passengers and crew is our number-one priority and we can confirm there are no reported injuries.
Updated
Matthew Collopy from Bureau of Meteorology is now speaking. He says Cyclone Alfred remains a Category 2 system.
It is currently 240km east of Brisbane, moving west at around 7km/h toward the south-east Queensland coast, he says.
We are still expecting the centre of the system to cross the bay islands very late on [Friday] or early hours of Saturday morning, and push across the bay into the mainland areas during Saturday. With the most likely track for the system moving between the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast. The system is expected to impact the outer edge of the bay islands as a Category 2 system, with average winds near the centre of around 95km/h and gusts possibly reaching up to as much as 150km/h. And again these will be concentrated around the southern flank of the system. A tropical cyclone warning remains in place from Double Island Point to south of the Queensland-New South Wales border.
Updated
Rescue crews “prepositioned”, Crisafulli says
SES, police, firefighters and water rescue crews have been “prepositioned,” Crisafulli says. He is speaking live with updates as Cyclone Alfred approaches the coast:
Once the system gets closer to the coast and those winds and rain become more intense, those crews will be waiting prepositioned to get out the moment they can, and they have those people to work with to make sure vegetation is cleared because often that’s the greatest impediment.
There are waves, there is wind, there is rainfall and there will be flooding. But none of those challenges are insurmountable.
Updated
Queensland premier says SES has received 700 requests for assistance
The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, is now speaking live. He says there have been 700 requests for SES assistance, and urges residents in affected areas make an evacuation plan:
I have to say overwhelmingly the response has been remarkable. Particularly in the last 24 hours there’s been a real awareness, and I do want to thank Queenslanders for the way they’ve responded, and I know as a result of many people who have done our work for us in going to reach out to vulnerable people, to colleagues at work and speak to neighbours, that’s made all the difference.
Have an evacuation plan. The best one is, can you go and stay with friends or family? That’s the most comfortable place, the safest place.
For those who can’t I stress you continue to see the councils gear up to provide refuge centres. There are currently 26 that have been identified across the area.
Crisafulli says the local government websites have a disaster dashboard available, with more information.
Updated
Police say witnesses saw possible ‘debris from a jetski hitting the rock wall’
More on the potential missing person from acting Ch Supt Peter Miles speaking on the Gold Coast a short while ago.
At 11.09 this morning, an Epirb activation was received from Canberra, and police from northern NSW as well as marine rescue were activated.
Officers identified there was a jetski trailer in a car park, with “no one around that”. Inquiries were made, and officers learned a man had gone jetskiing today and has not been accounted for.
Miles said:
We haven’t located the jetski yet, but there was witness information that they saw what looked like debris from a jetski hitting the rock wall there. So we’re putting two and two together and coming up with the fact that we may be looking for at least one person that is unaccounted for at this stage. So it’s still early days and we really hope for the best, that that gentleman is somewhere safe. But as time goes on, it gets more and more concerning for us.
Updated
Possible missing jetskier off northern NSW, police say
A search is under way for a potential missing person as Cyclone Alfred approaches the coast, Acting Ch Supt Peter Miles said in an update on the Gold Coast a short while ago.
He again warned people to “please just stay away” from the beach:
You’re dealing with Mother Nature at her wildest. You do not have control over what you’re stepping on to when you’re on a beach at the moment. We’ve had situations where the beach has given away while people are walking on it. You’ve all seen the footage. It is dangerous!
As we speak, we’ve got people looking for a potential missing person. We have an Epirb activation from northern New South Wales. We have a trailer with a jetski missing. We are unsure if we are now looking for a person who was on a jetski. What is paramount for us is that person’s safety, but to know that there was someone out on a jetski in this type of weather is quite concerning in the first place. So please, just stay away.
Updated
Stay away from beaches, Gold Coast mayor warns
The Gold Coast acting mayor, Donna Gates, strongly urges people away from the beach as Cyclone Alfred approaches the coast:
For all those people who are going down to the beach and standing on the rock walls or on the sand, please stay away. We have been in touch with police today. There has been some really foolish behaviour and it is so important that people stay away from the beach. We have been declared a disaster zone … That enables the police to take action, and anyone performing a reckless action and actually be fined up to $16,100.
It is really in an effort to keep people who are a bit stupid safe. We need to tell them over and over again, stay out of the water. It is dangerous.
A few trees have fallen down, and a wall has collapsed, Gates says. Some untethered tinnies, boats and jetskis have also gotten lost, “so people need to again check that they are appropriately moored if they have left a vessel in the water”.
Gates also advises residents to fill their bath tubs, to ensure they have access to fresh water:
It might sound a little simple, but if there is an interruption to the water supply, it is going to be important that you have fresh water. So that is something that you can do. It is simple, but should the water become contaminated, it is important that you have a water source.
Updated
More than 2,900 homes have lost power on Gold Coast
There are 2,909 homes currently without power, Donna Gates says.
Energex will work to restore power “until it is unsafe for their workers to be out”, she says.
There are 399 rooms available for vulnerable citizens, and Pimpama Sports Hub has now been opened as an evacuation centre. Evacuation centres at Runaway Bay and Burleigh Waters are also open.
Updated
Gold Coast may see worst effects before Alfred makes landfall, acting mayor says
The acting Gold Coast mayor, Donna Gates, is speaking live, giving the latest updates in the region.
She anticipates “the worst impact for the Gold Coast” will be before Cyclone Alfred crosses on Friday evening or Saturday morning:
Cyclone Alfred is extremely erratic. It is now moving towards the coast but more slowly, likely now to cross on Saturday morning. But given it is so erratic, we have been warned that there is still a possibility that it might be Friday evening.
So, the worst impact for the Gold Coast is likely to be before the cyclone crosses.
Gates says winds could get up to 100km/h tomorrow, and there still remains a risk of significant storm surge. Sea levels for Redlands and the Gold Coast could reach 1.5m above the highest astronomical tide. Heavy to intense rainfall is expected late today until at least Saturday, with the cumulative rain total to reach 800mm.
Gates also warned of flash and riverine flooding:
People need to know both of those outcomes can be life-threatening.
Updated
This is where I say goodbye and hand you over to Rafqa Touma, who will keep you updated through the evening. To those readers coming to us from south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales, hoping you are staying safe.
Updated
SES volunteers respond to more than 1500 calls for help in NSW’s north east
Jen King, a volunteer with NSW SES in Mullumbimby, says winds have picked up, and trees are starting to fall in the area. She joined her local unit after the devastating 2022 floods.
She said the SES had deployed specialist rescue and storm teams from Marrickville to the Northern Rivers.
Units in the north-eastern zone have already responded to more than 1500 calls for help in three days.
Today, her team is busy fulfilling sandbag requirements. Stations around Byron Shire facing a “huge rush” from the public. Volunteers are also reaching vulnerable community members who cannot fill their own.
As Cyclone Alfred approaches the coast on Friday, King warned of “dangerous, life-threatening flash flooding” and abnormally high tides.
She emphasised that residents must have an emergency plan and that they should leave today if they want to evacuate.
Do not drive through flooded creeks or flooded causeways.
She also urged the community to be wary of misinformation on social media. She pointed to the Bureau of Meteorology and NSW SES websites, which would be regularly updated as the best “source of truth”.
Updated
Cyclone Alfred cancels hundreds of flights as parked aircraft weighed down with concrete
Airlines are continuing to cancel flights en masse ahead of Cyclone Alfred reaching land. Qantas and Jetstar have announced they will halt all international and domestic flights in and out of Brisbane from Thursday afternoon.
Hundreds of flights have already been cancelled in recent days, with Gold Coast and Ballina airports in northern New South Wales shut since Wednesday. Other airports, including Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, remain open for limited services.
While Brisbane airport will remain open for now to host emergency flights and other remaining services, Qantas has announced it will suspend all operations, including those of its budget carrier Jetstar.
Multiple international carriers have also suspended services into Brisbane ahead of the cyclone.
The Qantas suspensions will take effect mid-afternoon on Thursday. International operations will be suspended until at least midday Saturday, and domestic operations will be suspended until at least Sunday morning. Qantas services at Gold Coast and Ballina airports will remain suspended until the same time.
Airlines are understood to be bracing for Alfred's impact. Some are relocating aircraft normally parked at Brisbane to avoid damage, while remaining aircraft will be weighed down with concrete blocks.
Updated
Qantas and Jetstar cancel flights
Cyclone Alfred has caused the suspension Qantas and Jetstar flights out of Brisbane, Gold Coast, Ballina and Coffs Harbour airports. Qantas Group has given us these details below:
Brisbane: Qantas and Jetstar flights will be suspended from mid-afternoon. International flights are paused until at least midday Saturday local time, and domestic ones are suspended until at least Sunday morning.
Gold Coast: Qantas and Jetstar operations are currently suspended. Domestic flights are paused until at least Sunday morning local time, while Jetstar international flights are suspended until at least midday Saturday local time.
Ballina: Qantas and Jetstar operations are suspended until at least Sunday morning local time.
Coffs Harbour: Qantas flights are expected to resume on Friday.
Qantas Group said that flights to and from Sunshine Coast and Hervey Bay continued to operate.
Updated
Neuron takes e-scooters off the streets
Brisbane’s fleet of Neuron e-scooters will be out of service “until further notice” due to Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
A spokesperson for Neuron said the company was “currently removing e-scooters back to the warehouse”. “Due to the large number of vehicles, this process will take some time to complete,” the spokesperson said.
Guardian journalists spied a number of vehicles around town yesterday.
Brisbane City Council has warned residents that any object that could be a projectile should be tied down or brought inside for the duration of the cyclone.
Updated
If you want to understand why Alfred slowed down, Graham Readfern gives you the answers here:
NSW SES says up to 700mm of flooding predicted
Stuart Fisher from the NSW SES said with the storm stalling, they are predicting up to 700mm of rain could cause significant flooding:
I cannot stress enough this is a significant weather event, not like 2022 where we had a single event. We’ve had beach erosion which is occurring now, the very strong too dangerous and destructive winds over the next 24 to 48 hours followed by the torrential rain.
Should that stall over the inland, we are predicting anywhere between 300-400mm of rain but if it stalls it will see an increase in the rainfall from around 600-700mm of rain which will cause again significant flooding on many of the river systems up and down the coast.
We have currently issued over 300,000 sandbags and there are still more to come.
Updated
Cyclone’s ‘window for destruction’ expected to be longer, says NSW premier in Lismore
Before that Queensland press conference, a press conference was held in Lismore with an update from NSW representatives.
The member for Lismore, Janelle Saffin, said her community was very well prepared.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, said:
Alfred is behaving at the moment like a completely unwanted houseguest. It’s told us it’s going to be late but linger even longer. Unfortunately that means the window for destruction in our community, heavy rains, winds, powerful surface is longer than we would have otherwise like.
Updated
Matthew Collopy from the Bureau of Meteorology giving a bit more detail about what the slow movement of the cyclone means:
It is a category two system, confident about that analysis right now. There was some concern yesterday that [it] may further develop into a category three. The chances of that have reduced. As it approaches the coast, that slow movement is a concern in terms of the rainfall and the potential flooding from that. Although the latest guidance has similar rainfall around the southern side of the system as it impacts the coast. So there’s not a prerequisitable change in the expected rainfall, just that little bit later for the onset of the really heavy rain as the system moves across the road.
Updated
5,000 people in Queensland already without power
Peter Scott the CEO of Energy Queensland says there are now 5,000 people in the state without power with those numbers expected to rise:
Currently in the Energex area, particularly Redland and Gold Coast, we have 5,000 outages of customers, that has increased only in the last couple hours it was 1,500 at 8am.
We expect it to increase as the wind comes on more. We have staff in the field repairing as we speak but they only will be able to do so while it’s safe.
…There has been a bit of social media around Energex turning off power. It is just completely false, it is fake news, we don’t turn off power in the sort of outages, Mother Nature does enough of that.
Updated
Queensland SES deploys more than a million sandbags
The Queensland SES are giving an update on the numbers of sandbags which will be especially important for the flooding they predict will occur immediately following the cyclone:
The SES has over 350,000 sandbags currently in their position ready to be deployed. A separate 403,000 sandbags were distributed yesterday to a local government areas and another 300,000 sandbags have arrived this morning.
This is not only to ensure the community can prepare for that storm surge flooding they have been preparing for and the onset of the cyclone but also for that flash flooding and riverine flooding that may occur over the next few days from the rainfall that is predicted.
… Have a plan not only for the cyclone but the rainfall we are going to see following that cyclone, because there won’t be a huge gap in between. We see the cyclone come through and we will see the rainfall immediately follow.
Updated
NSW areas to receive disaster assistance
A federal government spokesperson is giving details on which local government areas will receive disaster assistance in NSW:
Ballina, Bellingen, Byron, Clarence Valley, Coffs Harbour, Dungog, Kempsey, Kyogle, Lismore, Lord Howe Island, mid coast, Nambucca Valley, Port Macquarie, Hastings, Richmond Valley and my hometown of Tweed.
Here in Queensland we have obviously indicated we are making similar kinds of support available for councils to undertake counted disaster operations and very early works to clean up. Those are for councils located between Gympie and the Gold Coast.
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‘This is an evolving situation’
Who else needs a summary? Luckily Collopy gives us one:
In summary Tropical Cyclone Alfred remains a category system two. Its movement did slow overnight but as I said earlier it is currently moving, and has continued that movement back towards the south-east Queensland coast.
So the hazards, including the wind, rainfall, storm surge and flooding remain, and we expect them to develop through the day today and the system approaches the coast.
What we’ve seen overnight, in terms of the erratic movement of the system reiterates the fact this is an evolving situation, and the bureau will update our warning products is the system evolves, particularly as it approaches the coast. So I urge the community to stay up-to-date with those warnings on the app and web page and the messaging from emergency services.
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BoM warns of ‘life-threatening’ flooding
In terms of rainfall, Collopy says:
Tropical Cyclone Alfred is expected to produce heavy to locally intense rainfall from south-east Queensland from late today to at least Saturday. With daily rainfall totals of 200 to 400mm, this could mean totals of over 800mm for this event. In terms of flooding, that rainfall is expected to produce both flash and riverine flooding, and both of these types of flooding can be life-threatening. Flood watches are current across the Mary, the rivers of the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast, as well as the upper and lower Brisbane, the Logan and Albert rivers and also the Condamine and Macintyre rivers. Those flood watches are likely to be upgraded to warnings as the system approaches.
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BoM warns of ‘significant storm surge’ risk as cyclone nears coast
As for the huge swells, Collopy says:
Large swells and powerful waves have been observed along the Queensland coast for several days now, and the wave recorded off the Gold Coast recorded a 12.3 metre maximum wave height late yesterday. That is a record for that site.
Coastal hazard warnings for damaging surf and abnormally high tides continue to the south of Sandy Cape. Tropical Cyclone Alfred continues to produce the risk of a significant storm surge, and again that is most likely around the southern side of the system.
This means as the system crosses the coast, we may see sea levels half one metre above the normal highest astronomical tides, and if the system crosses at exactly high tide, there is the risk of seeing storm surges up to 1.5 metres, particularly around the Redlands Bay area and the Gold Coast.
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Coastal wind gusts already 80-90km/h, BoM says
Collopy goes on “let’s talk about the impacts from the system because it’s not right to get hung up on the coastal crossing”.
The wind impacts we’re already seeing those start to develop on the exposed locations along our coast with gusts reaching 80-90km/h already. We are expecting those to continue to develop into this evening, and then increasing to those destructive wind gusts up to 150 km/h, as Alfred approaches the coast.
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Cyclone’s ‘erratic movement’ caused delay, BoM says
Now for an update from Matthew Collopy from the Queensland Bureau of Meteorology:
Tropical Cyclone Alfred remains a category two system and is currently 280km east of Brisbane. It is moving west at 10km/h towards the south-east Queensland coast.
Overnight Tropical Cyclone Alfred… briefly doubled back on its path. Its current movement has resumed that westward track towards the coast. This erratic movement has resulted in a delay to the forecast crossing.
It approaches the outer islands very late on Friday and then is expected to cross the coast in early hours of Saturday. The most likely track still between the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast near Brisbane as a category two system.
A category two system means winds near the centre of 95km/h and gusts possibly up to 150km/h, particularly for those exposed locations around the southern flank of the system.
A tropical cyclone warning remains in place from Double Island Point to south of the Queensland/New South Wales border, and coastal hazard warnings for large waves and abnormally high tides and severe weather as well as flood watches remain in place.
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‘Full assessment done’ on aged care homes in vulnerable areas, Qld premier says
As for vulnerable people, Crisafulli says:
There’s been a full assessment done on any of the aged care homes that are in vulnerable areas that are potentially subject to that storm tide or those river flooding, and things have been put in place, plans have been put in place to make sure those Queenslanders are kept safe. As we have with the homeless and work continues with the department offering accommodation for those people on a short-term basis, that will continue to be offered to them and that work continues today.
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Thirty-four water treatment plants in place, says premier
Crisafulli goes on:
34 water treatment plants are in place across the area. They have all been fortified, back-up generators are there, every capacity has been put in place to try to keep them online. In disasters, it’s those things that we take for granted everyday that will make the difference. Things like power and water. And the ability to get around roads and we have to do everything we can to make sure we get a fighting chance to get them back up and running as quick as we can.
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Crisafulli says supermarkets are opening on a case by case basis:
We continue to give the information to supermarkets about the weather system and they are making their decision to open on a case-by-case basis based on a raft of things including access to their staff. We thank those workers who are going in today to pack shelves, man checkouts, ensure that Queenslanders can get that last-minute goods are, and we want to thank them very, very much for that.
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Queensland hospitals to remain open for emergency procedures
When it comes to matters of health, Crisafulli says:
Elective surgery will not be in place today or tomorrow but the hospitals remain open for emergency procedures. We have actually rostered to make sure that can occur and I do want to thank the health staff, many of whom will be, in fact, spending their time at those hospitals and overnighting in their cases to be able to then serve the community the day after.
We have also got extra ambulance officers who are now in shift ready to go to help you. The best thing you can do for them is stay home if you’re out of those flooding zones, stay safe, and I assure you they’ll be there to serve you if need it.
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Don’t drive if you don’t need to, Crisafulli says
Crisafulli gives an update on transport and roads:
We are endeavouring on the roads and bridges that we control to keep them open for as long as possible. That is absolutely essential for those key workers. As the system continues to move in, my message to Queenslanders is if you don’t have to be on the road, the best place is at home but it’s important that we keep roads and bridges open for as long as we can so that those heroes who serve you are able to get to you and we’ll continue to discuss that.
Public transport is closed today and tomorrow, and, again, we’ll keep people posted on.
Regarding aviation – the airlines are talking directly to their passengers. We thank them for that and those closures and reopenings is done between the airports, the airlines with the information they get from the Bureau of Meteorology.
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More than 1,000 schools close in Queensland
Crisafulli says:
There are 1,030 schools closed today and there will be that same amount closed tomorrow.
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Queensland power outages expected to increase
Crisafulli says power outages have begun in Queensland and are expected to rise:
We are starting to see the first of the power outages following some gale-force winds that is predominantly where trees have started to knock over power lines.
We’ll see more of that and I want Queenslanders to know we will get them reconnected as quickly as possible. Right now, crews from Energex are actually reconnecting as quickly as they can while it is still safe to do sot, but we have prepositioned a really large number of staff who are ready to assist and we even have those contractors who will be there to clear the trees so those electricity staff can go and reconnect power.
We have done the preparation and we want Queenslanders to know that there’ll be no daylight between the response and the recovery and that’s our commitment to you, and we’re asking Queenslanders to do the little things now in your preparations which will make a world of difference for that recovery. We would expect to see numbers of power outages continue to rise as the system gets closer, and as the winds and the rain and, indeed, the storm surge gets closer as well.
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Crisafulli goes on:
Overnight we saw the system spin around on itself and then it has resumed its journey into the coast so exactly where it will hit and when still remains unknown, but all of the modelling continues to show it is coming towards the coast albeit it has pushed into the early hours of Saturday morning, just in the last few minutes.
Cyclone expected to cross Saturday morning, Qld premier says
Queensland premier David Crisafulli is speaking, saying the cyclone’s crossing has pushed into the early hours of Saturday morning, as of the last few minutes:
It remains as a category two and obviously we have seen the delay in the system heading towards the coast. It literally in the last few minutes, we have been updated that that could now push into Saturday morning.
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City of Moreton Bay reopens sandbag stations, plans evacuations for Bribie Island
The City of Moreton Bay will reopen sandbag depots from 11am, as it implements a plan to evacuate vulnerable residents.
The council will reopen and refill sandbag stations at Margate, Caboolture and Bribie Island from 11am. Other stations will also be progressively replenished today.
Residents are urged to bring their own bags, due to a shortage – as well as a shovel and zip ties.
More than 300,000 sandbags and 3,000 tonnes of sand have been distributed so far, more than triple any previous event.
Meanwhile, the city has also begun evacuating at-risk sections of Bribie Island today.
The current forecast has the TC Alfred wind speed loop situated over Bribie Island.
The Moreton Bay Disaster Management Centre is conducting an urgent call-out campaign to 170 vulnerable residences at Bellara, Bongaree and Banksia Beach. 104 residents were successfully contacted last night, with the balance contacted this morning.
Residents are being encouraged to take shelter with family or friends or housed at the evacuation centre where that isn’t possible.
Residents on the mainland in low-lying areas are also being encouraged to consider evacuation before it is too late.
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List of evacuation centres in northern NSW
Evacuation centres have been established at the following locations in northern NSW:
Tyalgum Hall, Coolman Street, Tyalgum NSW 2484
Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar, 86 Mahers Lane, Terranora NSW 2486
Mullumbimby RSL, 58 Dalley Street, Mullumbimby NSW 2482
Kingscliff Tafe, 806 Cudgen Road, Kingscliff NSW 2487
Murwillumbah Tafe, 146 Murwillumbah Street, Murwillumbah NSW 2484
Kyogle Memorial Hall Stratheden Street, Kyogle NSW 2474
Casino Showground, Casino NSW 2470
Southern Cross University, Military Road, East Lismore New South Wales 2480
Evans Head RSL, 11-13 McDonald Place, Evans Head New South Wales 2473
Burringar Sports Club, Fourth Avenue, Burringbar NSW 2483
Uki Hall, 1462 Kyogle Road, Uki NSW 2484
Coraki Public School, 50 Adams Street, Coraki NSW 2471
Ocean Shores Country Club, 113A Orana Road, Ocean Shores NSW 2483
Ballina Southern Cross Public School, Chickiba Drive, East Ballina NSW 2478
Updated
Severe weather warning for north-eastern NSW
The NSW government has opened the State Emergency Operations Centre as Tropical Cyclone Alfred approaches landfall in north-eastern NSW.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for north-eastern NSW – including the northern rivers, mid north coast and northern tablelands areas – and south-east Queensland expecting gale-force winds and damaging gusts.
These destructive winds are expected to cause storm surge, which combined with high tides could cause flooding in the northern rivers and mid north coast areas from today.
State Emergency Operations Controller, deputy commissioner Peter Thurtell, said:
We are expecting some of the most severe weather conditions this state has seen in recent years hitting our northern coast in the coming days.
Opening the State Emergency Operations Centre is not a light decision; it should be a clear sign to the NSW public – especially those living in northern rivers and mid north coast areas – that we are expecting extreme conditions.
The combination of high tides, excessive rain and extreme winds will cause flooding and dangerous conditions on our roads. I am urging all NSW road users to avoid driving during these weather conditions.
Anyone who does choose to drive will be putting their own life, your passengers’ lives and the lives of emergency service personnel at risk.
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Bardon homes on stilts to face cyclone
Two houses on stilts in Brisbane’s western suburbs are set to brave Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
The two homes – at Simpsons Road in Bardon – are under construction in an area which regularly floods.
That’s unlikely to be a major concern this time, but Alfred is a category-two tropical cyclone and is expected to bring sustained winds of 95km/h, gusting up to 130km/h.
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Blue skies in Brisbane
Most of south-east Queensland went to bed on Wednesday expecting today would be the day Tropical Cyclone Alfred arrives.
Schools are shut, buses have stopped and residents warned to stay at home in expectation that dangerous winds and heavy rain would set in on Thursday.
But this morning Brisbane’s skies are blue. The wind has died down. The bloody kookaburras that wake my kids up were at it before 5am.
It is – of course – a temporary moment of calm before Alfred arrives.
But for many it will underscore how unbelievably peculiar this past week has felt.
Since Sunday we’ve known that Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast are potentially in the path of a category-two storm. Most residents have prepared their homes.
The calm before the storm feels surreal.
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Musgrave park’s tent city taken down
Musgrave park – Brisbane’s traditional residence of last resort – was empty last night, for the first time in years.
Hundreds of people sleep on the streets of south-east Queensland on an ordinary night. Brisbane is Australia’s second-most expensive city and is facing its most severe housing crisis in decades.
But with the impending arrival of Tropical Cyclone Alfred, a small army of volunteers packed down the park’s tent city yesterday.
Selena Ham, from North West Community Support, said many of the residents had been moved into temporary shelter at Emmanuel City Mission or Kurilpa Hall, but some had been found longer-term accommodation:
One lady was very excited that she had gotten into a women’s shelter and she was able to take all her stuff. She’s waiting for a lift to that.
The property has been marked according to tent number and will be returned once the cyclone is over.
Many of the volunteers took the day off work to help protect the residents of the 30 tents. Ham said:
There’s lots of things going on in the world that are a bit shit that I can do nothing about, but this is something I can do.
Homeless people elsewhere in south-east Queensland reportedly remain on the streets, telling services they have nowhere to store their possessions and would rather brave the wind.
Premier David Crisafulli yesterday said the Department of Housing had offered every homeless person in the affected area some form of shelter, but “quite a few” had refused it:
And that’s why we have to keep going back and redoubling our efforts.
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Record-breaking wave
As we brought you earlier, the Queensland premier David Crisafulli mentioned the record-breaking 12.3m wave overnight off the Gold Coast. The state government’s wave monitoring website shows there were three waves over 12 metres in the last 24 hours – coming in at 12.37m, 12.34m and 12.11m.
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Disaster data
As much of Queensland and northern NSW brace for Cyclone Alfred, new data shows how much Australians are being affected by disasters. Almost one in 20 Australians had their homes damaged by weather-related disasters in 2021-22, according to a national survey released today. The Hilda survey interviews the same 17,000 people every year and has asked about natural disasters since 2009.
The latest spike corresponds to flooding in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria in 2022. The previous high mark was in 2010-11, after storms in Western Australia and the black Saturday.
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So far 198 people have registered with an evacuation centre, Rose Jackson said:
There are 198 people who have registered with an evacuation centre already. They opened up 4pm yesterday. So some of those people are in the centres and using the facilities now, others have just come and registered. But if an evacuation order is in place, they will attend the centre, so that’s the current status.
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10,000 homes could be evacuated, NSW SES says
SES deputy commissioner Peter Thurtell says 20,000 people are affected by the evacuation orders:
We currently have approximately 10,000 homes in the area of the 24 prepare-to-evacuate areas, that would equate to approximately 20,000 people that are again acknowledging a number of people have already relocated and they are very broad figures, but we are talking significant numbers …
Those numbers are the worst-case scenario numbers … we are planning for the worst and hoping for the best.
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Evacuation centres ready in northern NSW
Getting back to that NSW press conference, Rose Jackson says there are two evacuation centres open which are primarily being used by vulnerable people, and seven locations which are ready to be opened if they are needed:
We already have a number of people at the Lismore site and at the Evans Head site, in particular. There are small numbers at some of the other locations. Most of those individuals are vulnerable people people who are already experiencing homelessness, perhaps residents of the pod villages. We know on the New South Wales north coast there is a significant number of people in unstable housing. We have proactively reached out to those people through our partner organisations, the SES, the Reconstruction Authority, and invited them to come and stay at evacuation centres and pleasingly a number have. The Lismore and Evans Head facilities, we have seen a number of people. There are another seven locations primarily around the mid north coast, the major centres there that had not opened evacuation centres yet, but we do have sites identified and, depending on how the storm moves and its impact, we are ready to open those mid north coast centres if they are needed.
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Brisbane reopens sandbag depots
Brisbane city council plans to reopen its sandbag depots, with Tropical Cyclone Alfred moving slower than expected.
Four resource recovery centres will open at 10am. They are at:
1372 Nudgee Road, Nudgee Beach
360 Sherbrooke Road, Willawong
101 Upper Kedron Road, Ferny Grove
728 Tilley Road, Chandler
The seven fill-your-own sandbag distribution points will reopen at 10.30am.
They are at:
Mortimer Road park – 174 Mortimer Road, Acacia Ridge
The former Toowong bowls club – corner Gailey Road and Heroes Avenue, Toowong
Whites Hill reserve – 258 Boundary Road, Camp Hill
Boondall Entertainment Centre, Car Park 2 – 1 Melaleuca Drive, Boondall
Davies park, Montague Road, West End
Atthows park, Monier Road, Darra
Murarrie recreational reserve, Wynnum Road, Murarrie
The council’s website will list the availability of sand at each site, along with wait times.
More than 400,000 sandbags have been collected or filled in the council area alone since Friday, more than double the number used in the 2022 flood.
Sand and bags will be provided onsite but residents should bring their own shovels and cable ties.
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ABC radio moves to higher ground
Brisbane’s local ABC breakfast radio program has abandoned the broadcaster’s South Bank headquarters as Tropical Cyclone Alfred approaches.
Based in South Brisbane, the multi-storey building can flood.
Craig Zonca and Loretta Ryan are instead broadcasting out of a hotel in Spring Hill – well above the high-water line.
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Mental health support offered to northern NSW residents
Rose Jackson, the NSW minister for the north coast, acknowledged the anxiety and distress in the community with this latest natural disaster coming after “years of trauma” due to extreme weather:
I also want to send this message to the north coast community, we know that after years of trauma that they have the devastating floods going back to 2017 and of course 2022 there is a lot of anxiety and distress in the community.
Mental health support is available. There will be disaster recovery clinicians and mental health staff on-site in evacuation centres but the statewide phone lines in the mental health line one 800 011511 is available 24/7. You can contact Lifeline or Beyond Blue, you can contact the kids helpline. If you feel distressed or anxious, that is a very normal response to this very distressing situation.
Please reach out and chat to someone and talk through how you are feeling. The New South Wales government really wants the community on the north coast to know that we are prepared an understanding with you – but it is OK to feel stressed and upset and anxious in these circumstances and the best thing you can do is make sure that you know you have done everything to prepare and if you need someone to talk to, pick up a phone and have a chat about how you are feeling.
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Evacuation orders expected
State emergency operations controller and deputy commissioner Peter Thurtell is relaying a similar message that people should not underestimate the impact of the cyclone due to the delay:
I want to be really clear that a delay in the timing of the crossing of the cyclone across land for does not mean less impact. We’re already seeing the impacts of significant winds and coastal surge. We’re already seeing the impacts of damaging winds and we’re are already seeing, as we’ve just heard, the impacts of the rainfall and early river rises.
He is urging residents of NSW to heed the 24 warnings to prepare to evacuate in the state, with further warnings anticipated for low-lying communities:
Based on the current projections and the current rainfall, we believe later today some of those low-lying communities will be receiving an emergency warning to evacuate.
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Delay will bring more damage, BoM says
Jane Golding says even though the landfall of the cyclone has been delayed, the impact has not lessened:
The key message is that the crossing of the eye of the system has delayed but we still expect similar impact and we expect what that means as well is that we will have longer for the rain to fall and the wind to do the damage.
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‘We expect significant coastal erosion’
There are also abnormally high waves along the northern NSW coast, Jane Golding says:
We have seen the seas pick up yesterday and we see abnormally high tide which means the water levels are higher than you would normally see for the highest tide of the year and that is something we are monitoring closely.
Particularly around high tide for the next few nights we can expect some inundation along the coastal strip into areas that we would not normally see it and that is coming from the tides. The waves are powerful and we expect significant coastal erosion as well associated with this event.
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Wind warning
Several areas in northern NSW are experiencing gales, Jane Golding says:
We are seeing gale-force wind along several coastal locations in New South Wales. The Yamba areas have picked up above 50km/h, Cape Byron, one of our more exposed sites, is also in the gale-force range.
More generally, we expect those gales further down the coast during today and possibly a bit inland.
As the destructive core of the tropical cyclone approaches later tomorrow, we will see a further increase, in particular in the area north of Cape Byron, that area that is closest to the core of the tropical cyclone.
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BoM weather update
Jane Golding, from the Bureau of Meteorology is giving an update on the weather at the NSW Emergency Operations Centre, saying rivers are responding to the up to 250mm of rain which has fallen in areas of northern NSW:
At present the system is expected to cross late on Friday or early Saturday morning. What that means is that we still have a period of three days of increasing rainfall and wind for New South Wales residents. The peak of the rain in the peak of the wind is expected to be a little delayed, closer to when the tropical cyclone crosses the coast but we are still expecting deteriorating weather more generally through today and tonight.
What we have seen so far as we have seen some locations in New South Wales pick up some high rainfall rates already on the river catchments have begun to respond. The Dorrigo area picked up between 150 and 250mm in the last 24 hours, for some locations up around Mullumbimby as well, quite a few locations in that area received over 100mm. We are seeing rivers respond and we expect more rainfall and we expect heavier rainfall, particularly tonight and through tomorrow and tomorrow night.
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Victoria stands ready to help
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, says her thoughts are with people in NSW and Queensland bracing for Cyclone Alfred. She says Victoria stands ready to support emergency services in both states:
There is active engagement with national emergency response arrangements, and we do stand ready to provide what support may be needed for colleagues and friends in Queensland and New South Wales. We’re also still in our own fire season as well, so all of these things have to be considered, but I think we should pause for a moment and send our very best wishes and thoughts to the communities in Queensland and New South Wales who are facing a really difficult few days. We are ready to provide whatever support we can, I sent a message to the Queensland premier over the weekend to that effect, before the cyclone change direction has started to also impact New South Wales.
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Brisbane mayor warns against false sense of security as city bathed in sunlight
Brisbane lord mayor Adrian Schrinner is warning residents against being “lulled into a false sense of security” as Cyclone Alfred’s expected arrival was delayed and the city awoke to beautiful sunshine and gentle winds.
With schools closed and public transport shut down many were using the window of good weather to make last-minute preparations, while others were taking the kids to the park, dogs for a run or catching up with friends before days of heavy rain, potential flooding and the possibility of a lockdown-like situation.
Schrinner said in a social media post:
Alfred has slowed down. Which means it’ll make landfall later than anticipated. Now all of the warnings still stand. The risks the hazards associated with Alfred still stand, but we’re just going to have to wait a little bit longer before it strikes land.
The mayor said the situation was dynamic and could change again:
This situation has continued to change. It will probably change again, but it is still a highly dangerous situation. It will still potentially bring significant flooding, and we need to take it seriously.
So when you go outside today, it looks like a pretty calm day. Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security.
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Supermarkets and schools closed
As for how communities are being affected, Albanese says Queensland supermarkets in affected areas will be closed from today, as well as schools in NSW and Queensland:
More than 660 schools are closed across south-east Queensland and more than 280 schools are closed across northern New South Wales. Queensland supermarkets in affected areas will close from today.
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Resources at the ready
Albanese is also providing details on what kind support is being deployed across emergency services and the Australian defence force:
We’ve delivered 310,000 sandbags into Brisbane for distribution across councils and there’s more on their way.
Sixty ADF personnel and 30 high-clearance vehicles are pre-positioned to go to Queensland and support police and SES volunteers as we move to the recovery phase. They’ll door knock to identify and support at-risk people.
We have approved in addition to that two ADF search-and-rescue choppers to support Queensland post-crossing. Yesterday we pre-positioned heavy-lift helicopters from our national aerial firefighting fleet. It’s being deployed to Coffs Harbour, and a UH60 Black Hawk is being pre-positioned in Bundaberg.
We have activated the Australian government disaster response plan, a crisis coordination team that will operate out of here, I intend operating out of here for coming days.
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Recovery grants to be offered speedily
Albanese says money for affected communities through early recovery grants from the commonwealth government is “on its way”:
We’ve received a request from both Queensland and New South Wales… for the early recovery grants of $1m for affected councils. I will sign off on those at Parliament House immediately this finishes. And that money will be on its way.
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‘A risk is of course that in slowing up, it increases in its intensity’
Anthony Albanese acknowledges the slowing of the cyclone could mean it increases in intensity:
It’s now anticipated, because it has slowed up somewhat, that that will now be at a later time. That is not all good news. It is important to stress it’s still anticipated this will cross into land and will reach landfall, it will just do it later. And a risk is of course that in slowing up, it increases in its intensity, but at this stage it is still predicted to be Category-two, as it crosses on to land. It is expected to make an impact on Friday.
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Governments working together, Albanese says
Anthony Albanese is speaking about how private and public sectors, and different levels of government, are all working together:
Premier Minns and Premier Crisafulli are in lock step as well going forward, as are the three levels of government working together, and through the national coordination mechanism out of here we are assisting with the coordination as well of the private sector as well as the commonwealth government response. So, that includes supermarkets, telcos, banking, freight companies, are all of the organisations which will play a role first in preparedness, then in dealing with the impact of this cyclone and, thirdly, in the recovery period which will occur.
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PM press conference
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is speaking from a national coordination centre in Canberra about the Cyclone:
At the worst of times we always see the best of Australian character. I said yesterday that there were no political parties in this process, and there are no borders. Tropical Cyclone Alfred certainly does not recognise any borders, and nor should the government’s response.
Updated
Evacuation centres open
About a dozen people have sought shelter in a refuge centre in the heart of Brisbane, the ABC reports, where the sun is shining and winds calm, with the expected landfall of Cyclone Alfred delayed.
Brisbane city council opened the RNA showgrounds – which hosts the annual Ekka show – as a refuge “of last resort” at 7am Thursday morning.
Brisbane and neighbouring Redlands council, which encompasses the bayside suburbs and Moreton Bay islands, are yet to announce evacuation centres as most council facilities are not built to withstand the destructive winds of a cyclone.
The premier and mayors have been urging people who decide or are advised to evacuate to seek shelter with family and friends, or in motels if they can. Brisbane lord mayor Adrian Schrinner said:
The Refuge Shelter will be a short-term facility designed to protect people during the predicted peak wind period Tropical Cyclone Alfred, and is a place of last resort.
The shelter will include only basic amenities and will not have beds or cooking facilities.
Evacuation centres will be stood up at appropriate locations in the event of significant flooding.
Redlands opened six refuge centres on Thursday morning, one on the mainland and the others in island communities.
To the north, Moreton Bay council has opened three evacuation centres and the Sunshine Coast and Noosa councils have each opened a place of refuge.
To the south Logan has opened an evacuation centre and two places of refuge and the Gold Coast has three evacuation centres.
Emergency dashboards for 20 local government areas in Queensland potentially affected by the cyclone list places of refuge and evacuation centres and can be found here.
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23,900 sign up for joke Facebook ‘blow the cyclone back’ event in Brisbane
Tens of thousands of Brisbane residents have signed up for a joke last-ditch effort to “blow at cyclone Alfred to push it back”.
About 23,900 people have clicked “attending” the parody Facebook event. It says:
We must collectively work together to blow at Cyclone Alfred to push it back to the ocean.
The coordinated effort is scheduled for 3pm this afternoon.
242 schools closed in NSW
There are now 242 public schools non-operational across NSW, according to the Department of Education. Those schools are throughout the northern areas affected by the cyclone, including Ballina, Bangalow, Bellingen, Byron Bay, Casino, Coffs Harbour, Dorrigo, Grafton, Kempsey, Kingscliff, Lennox Head, Lismore, Mullumbimby, Nambucca Heads, Port Macquarie, Taree, Toormina, Tweed Heads and Yamba.
You can see the full list of public and independent schools scheduled to remain closed until at least Friday due to Cyclone Alfred here.
Updated
Power restored to half of homes cut off in the northern rivers
Between Tweed Heads and Ballina there were 6,000 homes without power about 6am, according to an Essential Energy spokesperson.
Power has been restored to half of those homes, with the number of homes affected back under 3,000, the spokesperson said.
Often it depends where damage has occurred – if one power line that feeds a lot of homes and businesses gets restored it can bring power back to a lot of homes:
Crews are constantly restoring [power lines] when safe to do so.
Updated
Cyclone ‘still a threat’, Crisafulli says
Queensland premier David Crisafulli is warning that although the cyclone’s landfall has been delayed it is “still a threat” with the highest wave recorded to date last night off the Gold Coast.
Crisafulli told ABC News Breakfast:
The run-in to the coast has been pushed. The window we were talking about, late tonight into tomorrow morning, has been pushed well into Friday. What that does is it gives people that a little bit more time if they haven’t fully got ready, to get ready.
But to give an indication the system is still real and it’s still a threat, we received just moments ago, I just got briefed there was a wave recorded off Main beach of the Gold Coast overnight of 12.3m. Now that’s the highest ever recorded.
So, it remains a category-two system, it remains a real threat. All the models show it’s heading into the coast. And I just want Queenslanders to be prepared. And take that a little bit extra time to just do that a little bit more preparation and we will get through this.
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Minns in Lismore
NSW premier Chris Minns is in Lismore, with Cyclone Alfred expected to hit northern NSW as well as south-east Queensland.
Minns is telling ABC News Breakfast there are pre-positioned Essential energy crews in the northern rivers region trying to restore power as 100km/h winds have brought tree branches down, cutting off power.
There are an expected 2,000 to 4,000 houses in the Lennox area affected by the power outages, but Minns said there was no expected date or time he could give when it would be restored.
Minns reiterated as the cyclone’s landfall is expected Friday:
Thursday is the day to act … we don’t want people on the road when the storm hits northern NSW.
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Wave heights soar
Queensland government’s wave monitoring site is showing heights above 6m in some areas.
The Gold Coast area has recorded some of the highest numbers as of 5.30am, with Tweed Offshore recording a wave height of 6.47m, while Tweed Heads is 5.06m, Bilinga 4.02m, Palm Beach 4.27m, and the Gold Coast 5.81m.
In the Moreton Bay area, Brisbane is recording a wave height of 5.33m while North Moreton Bay is 2.53m.
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90,000 sandbags shore up Sunshine Coast
Rosanna Natoli, the mayor of the Sunshine Coast, said more than 90,000 sandbags had been used in the area, which is used to heavy rain but not to a coastal surge on high tide combined with heavy winds.
Natoli told ABC Radio that public transport in the area is not running but roads are still all clear as there hasn’t been a lot of rain to date or wind bringing down trees.
Natoli is liaising with the state government over accommodation for rough sleepers.
There are three places of refuge open today – two just opening in the next hour, she said. In the Nambour showgrounds, there are 50 horses, as well as camper vans.
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Speaking of preparations, adjunct senior lecturer at the Centre for Disaster Studies at James Cook University Yetta Gurtner gives advice here:
Chalmers confident insurance companies ‘know their responsibilities’
Jim Chalmers is also speaking to ABC Radio National, urging people to “make the most of the opportunity” using the extra time that’s come with the Cyclone taking longer to make landfall to make all necessary preparations.
He said people could also use this time to log on to mygov to make sure they are registered to access payments available to them after the disaster.
Asked about what communication he’s had with insurance companies to make sure customers are treated fairly in the wake of Cyclone Alfred, Chalmers says:
I’m confident they know their responsibilities and obligations to people.
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Is climate change supercharging Tropical Cyclone Alfred?
Cyclone Alfred formed in the Coral Sea towards the end of February when sea surface temperatures were almost 1C hotter than usual. Graham Readfearn answers the question of what role the climate crisis is playing in the disaster here:
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A lot of people are in harm’s way, Jim Chalmers says
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is speaking to ABC News Breakfast from his electorate of Logan in Queensland where he says it is the “calm before the storm”:
We’re preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best. There is a lot of stress and anxiety. People are obviously very concerned and very worried about what the next couple of days might bring …
There’s a lot of people in harm’s way here. We’re talking about something like four and a half million Australians, potentially in harm way, 1.8m homes, and we expect that there’ll be billions of dollars of damage done by Cyclone Alfred and so the best thing we can do is prepare and stay informed, make sure that people are accessing all of the relevant information and getting it from trusted sources …
It’s rare for a cyclone to be this far south and to threaten such a huge population area, but we do learn from previous natural disasters.
All three levels of government were working together, Chalmers said, and the government would be there for affected communities in the aftermath.
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Gold Coast residents urged to stay inside
The Gold Coast’s acting mayor, Donna Gates, has described the cyclone as a “very scary event” and urged people to stay inside, especially to protect themselves from strong wind gusts.
Speaking to ABC’s 7.30 last night, Gates encouraged people to check the Gold Coast’s emergency dashboard webpage.
Gates said the cyclone was “not unprecedented but it is unusual”:
The last one was 1974 and the one comparable was 1954. So it’s a long time since we’ve had one in this region.
But fortunately, we’ve had the time to prepare, so we’ve been giving warnings to the community now for almost a week and everyone is as well prepared as we possibly could be.
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Hello
Good morning, my name is Natasha May and I’ll be keeping you updated with this live coverage of Tropical Cyclone Alfred until the afternoon.
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Defence personnel on standby
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, yesterday said Australian defence force assets were on standby for this “rare event”.
Meteorologists had predicted the storm would move directly over Brisbane. The city’s lord mayor, Adrian Schrinner, yesterday warned that modelling showed 20,000 properties “could be impacted by storm surge or flooding”.
Queensland authorities have already advised some residents to leave coastal properties, amid warnings of a storm surge of up to 1 metre higher than typical tides. Schools are closed and public transport is halted.
The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, yesterday warned the number of homes that could be affected there might be “akin to the 2022 natural disaster in Lismore”. The state’s SES commissioner, Mike Wassing, said the state was dealing with “three natural disaster events in one”, not seen since Tropical Cyclone Nancy in 1990, with wind, rain and high tides.
The Bureau of Meteorology said it expected moderate to major flooding in NSW from the Queensland border down to the Manning River. The Manning was not forecast to flood.
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Here’s the latest map of the storm’s forecast track, from the BoM:
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Further 24-hour wait until Alfred makes landfall on cards, BoM says
Queenslanders in the path of Tropical Cyclone Alfred could face a further 24-hour wait until the system makes landfall, the Bureau of Meteorology says.
Advice to residents is now that Alfred’s track to the coast has slowed and that it will probably cross the south-east Queensland coast at some point on Friday.
But the bureau says it’s also possible that Alfred stalls further as it heads towards Moreton Bay, and might not reach the populated coastline until Saturday.
It would still probably hit the coast as a “high-end” category-two system, but possibly a category-three. The centre should cross somewhere between Maroochydore and Coolangatta.
An updated briefing from just after 5am on Thursday says the models – which had largely been consistent in showing Alfred’s track to the coast – had shown “greater variation in the strength of the steering flow”:
The consensus is now for slower westward motion and as a result a delayed time of coastal crossing.
The latest track indicates a coastal crossing is more likely during daylight hours on Friday, however the spread of guidance now includes the possibility of crossing being delayed until Saturday.
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Good morning
Welcome to our live coverage of Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
Overnight, the cyclone travelled in a little circle out to sea, a manoeuvre which has thrown off yesterday’s predictions of when it would make landfall.
As of 5am, the revised track map has the storm’s eye crossing the coast directly over Brisbane at 4pm on Friday, by which stage it will be a category-one storm.
Communities from Double Island Point south to Grafton, including Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Byron Bay and Ballina, are in the warning zone.
Natasha May will be with you shortly, bringing you updates through the day.
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