Tropical Cyclone Alfred news and updates, Friday March 7
Stay in touch with all the latest news in posts below.
Key Events
‘Stay indoors’: Police commissioner’s blunt warning as risk increases
Queensland is acting Police Commissioner, Shane Chelepy says ‘it’s getting risking and has urged people to stay indoors.
“We have warnings out of our community,” he told Sunrise.
“We are seeing torrential rainfall in the Gold Coast and across the coasstline.
“The messages for people, it is getting risky and I don’t want those people to take part in risky behaviour.
“Stay indoors. Now is the time to go inside.
“Large waves, strong wind, approximately 25,000 power outages across greater Brisbane and the Gold Coast already.
“We’re starting to see trees now falling down, starting to see damage to roofs from trees.
“We are starting to really feel the impact. Those effects will continue.”
‘Heed the warnings’: SES commissioner’s urgent plea
New South Wales SES Commissioner Deb Platz says 15,000 residents are without power as she urged locals to heed the warnings.
“We really are urging people to heed the warnings. We have issued now almost 100 warnings and of those, 24 of them are emergency warnings, evacuate now,” she told Sunrise.
“In some instances we have given people a bit of a window.
“This is an extremely dynamic and widespread system. It is when,storms, floods urging, it is flashflooding. It is riverine flooding.
“It is extremely unpredictable and we need people to keep alert at all times.
“Download the Hazards near Me app and get real-time information on what is changing in your local area.”
Evacuation centres, must know emergency contacts and updates.
As millions of residents rise from a sleepless night ahead of Cyclone Alfred’s landfall, we have colated a list of critical alert information you need to know.
Queensland and NSW have multiple evacuation centres open. Check here for the must know information.
New ‘prepare to isolate’ warning issued
A prepare to isolate warning has been issued for Mylestom, Repton and Raleigh as risks of flooding continue.
The warning was issued for properties east of Bailey Street in Repton, all of Mylestom and Yellow Rock Road in Realeigh.
‘It is coming for us’: Mayor’s grim warning for Brisbane
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner says his city his on edge as they wait for worse conditions to arrive.
“We can see the images from northern New South Wales and the Gold Coast,” Mr Schrinner told Sunrise.
“That is the type of thing that will happen in Brisbane.
“It hasn’t reached us to that extent but it has effectively hit Gold Coast and New South Wales.
“It is coming for us so if you’re in Brisbane, look at those images, it is what we can expect in Brisbane
“Also the chance of significant flooding, the chance of power outages, today is the day to stay off the road wherever possible.
“The safest place for you is indoors in your home.”
Wild video shows Cyclone Alfred’s destructive force
Residents across Queensland and New South Wales are bracing for Cyclone Alfred’s landfall, now expected on Saturday morning, with videos showing its wild and destructive force.
Watch more.
Sunshine Coast mayor says residents waiting for potential chaos
“Along the Sunshine Coast we love our beaches, we have a lot of people who have built close to the beach,” Ms Natoli told Sunrise.
“We have low-lying areas, we had a lot of sandbagging.
“We have about 100,000 sandbagsacross the region as people prepare.
“People have been stocking up on food and medication and water. Just in case.
“Again, we don’t know whether we will lose power, water, telecommunications. We are to the north of the current path and we note the impact will be worse to the south.
But we are just absolutely hanging on and hanging in there and totally just waiting now.”
Lismore Mayor Steve Kreig shares update for locals
Lismore, the area that faces devastating floods in 2022, is in the path of the destructive forces of Cyclone Alfred.
Lismore Mayor Steve Kreig says his town are taking the situation seriously.
“It is hitting our community hard, no doubt about that,” Mr Kreig told Sunrise.
“It was only three years ago thay we went through our disaster of the flood. People were just starting to get back on their feet.
“People have probably over capitalised to rebuild their lives here.
“The main CBD block was starting to fill up again, we had about 80 per cent of our shops and businesses return.
“To get this evacuation order yesterday or last night, it just really brings home how soon after that 22 flood we are.
“It is really cool rural to do thisto Lismore again. Cruel.”
What residents can expect in the next 48 hours
- Heavy rainfall bands are extending over the coastal areas of southeast Queensland and northeast New South Wales
- Dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding is expected as Alfred crosses the coast late Friday evening or early Saturday
- Abnormally high tides are likely to continue causing flooding of coastal low-lying areas between Double Island Point and Grafton, particularly during the Friday night (early Saturday)
- Damaging wind gusts to 120 kilometres per hour are occurring near the coast between Cape Moreton and Cape Byron
The next Bureau of Meteorology will deliver it’s next update at 8am AEDT on Friday.
Seqwater confirms dam gates closed but looking for safe window for releases
Seqwater CEO Emma Thomas has confirmed dam gates are closed but they will need to be opened.
“All the dam gates of our three gated dams are currently closed,” Ms Thomas told Sunrise.
“We have seen some spilling on Hinze dam in the south in the Gold Coast region overnight, but that hasn’t been significant at this stage.
“Our catchments for Wivenhoe and Somerset remain relatively dry.
“The new forecasts out of the bureau, with Tropical Cyclone Alfred just sitting there still and moving very, very slowly, it’s picking up a lot of water. So we are expecting to have a lot of rain.
“We would be expecting, with the current forecast, that we could start some controlled releases, particularly from North Pine Dam, which is on the North Pine river, but across all of our dams in the coming days.”
