Tropical Cyclone Alfred news and updates, Friday March 7

A rookie surfer has taken it upon himself to learn how to surf…during a cyclone.

Tim Lawrence picked up a second-hand surfboard and headed to a beach on the Gold Coast.

He apparently thought there was “no better” time to surf intense swell.

​In a video shared to TikTok​, he said he received a lot of stares, but no surprises there as he was wearing budgie smugglers while entering the wild waves.

While paddling out, the keen surfer had a reality check as “no one else was out there”.

The expedition was mostly unsuccessful after only catching some whitewash.

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While thousands of residents have been urged to stay indoors, it seems the safety warning doesn’t apply to everyone.

A video uploaded to TikTok showed a bunch of people taking advantage of the wet and wild conditions by creating a muddy slippery dip.

People, mostly men, were seen throwing themselves down the hilly mud slide, gain speed and end up covered in filth.

There’s always one!

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The latest track map released by the Bureau of Meteorology shows the tropical cyclone’s landing time has been further delayed until 7am Saturday, Queensland time.

Alfred has also dropped in speed, down to 6 kilometres per hour.

The bureau expects the system to be downgraded by Saturday morning due to the wind speed.

A mother of twins has documented her family’s last-minute evacuation after authorities issued more urgent alerts.

Katie Bunton has left her house in Mullumbimby and headed for Byron Bay amid flooding concerns.

“Emergency evacuations just happened for a lot of areas in the Byron shire, praying for everyone affected and hoping everyone can get to a friends or family members,” she told her TikTok followers in a video.

“Very grateful to have a backup plan and hoping we made the right gamble…but only time will tell.”

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The NSW SES released more evacuation notices for areas in northern NSW, after telling residents in Lismore earlier to evacuate by tonight.

Residents in parts of North Macksville, Macksville, Bowraville, Nambucca Heads and Gumma have been told to evacuate by 8am on Friday.

People in Codrington should prepare to evacuate with Northern Rivers residents told to stay indoors unless they have been told to flee.

While many homes across South East Queensland and northern NSW are without power, here are some electricity-free activities to keep your family occupied while waiting out Alfred.

• Play board games or card games
• Do jigsaw puzzles
• Play indoor games like charades or Pictionary
• Journal
• Listen to podcasts
• Organise wardrobes or drawers
• Do some craft or learn how to knit

Choose the strongest area of your home to take shelter. The bathroom or hallways are good options.

Also, always keep your emergency kit with you at all times.

Boat owners have been warned to check their vessel’s security one more time before the wrath of Alfred hits.

Volunteer Marine Rescue Shorncliffe’s Charles Linsley urged owners to ensure two or three anchors were used to secure a boat and make sure bungs were put in place.

He said any boats with bilge pumps should check they’re working properly.

“The only reason you should be going to your boat is to secure it,” he said.

“For small tinnies, get them out of the water and put them undercover or tie them down at home as best you can, and make sure they’re securely anchored because there’s going to be some tidal surges as well.”

Tropical cyclone Alfred is now due to make landfall on Friday night or early Saturday morning, most likely between Noosa and Coolangatta.

It could be downgraded to a category 1 by the time the eye of the storm reaches the coast.

So far, waves of 12.3m were recorded off the Gold Coast, while gales with damaging wind gusts to 120 km/h are developing near the coast between Cape Moreton and Cape Byron.

The bureau warned of “significant storm surge” risk as well as “life threatening flooding” as Alfred nears the coast.

Total rainfalls are expected to reach over 800mm for this event.

A TikTok user has racked up views online after she took to the social media platform to share that her house in Byron Bay had become “a little island”.

Amelia Madisons updated her thousands of followers by filming the outside of the house, with the grounds and garden already subject to major flooding.

“We’re becoming more of an island but rain not as intense,” she said.

Other TikTok users took to the comments to urge Madisons to evacuate but she said she was “going to wait until we’re told to”.

She said she would give another update in the morning.

Gold Coast authorities are searching for a person on a jetski feared missing in the huge swell off the coast of Duranbah near Tweed Heads.

Acting Gold Coast Chief Superintendent Peter Miles told media on Thursday there was a trailer with a jetski missing.

“We are unsure now if we are looking for a person who was on a jetski. Paramount for us is that person’s safety,” he said.

“To know that there was someone out on a jetski out in this type of weather is quite concerning in the first place.”

Social media has been flooded with videos capturing the monster swell along much of the coastline.

Some people are putting their safety at risk by being close to the shore and ignoring warnings to find shelter.

Chief Supt Miles said he’s “flabbergasted” by some residents.

“Certainly, being on the beach is a problem,” he said.

“We all need to be a bit more smart about this and ensure that we don’t have any unneeded rescues or potentially worse where we’re looking at fatalities.”

Isla Fisher shared a selfie to let her fans know she was “hunkered down waiting for the cyclone”.

The star’s latest project is Spa Weekend, which was being filmed on the Gold Coast with Leslie Mann, Michelle Buteau and Anna Faris.

It’s unclear if her co-stars are also taking cover as they haven’t posted any updates.