Cyclone Alfred: Sandbag sales slammed as ‘profiteering from misfortune’ as Queensland scrambles to be ready

As millions of residents prepare for Cyclone Alfred’s landing on Thursday night, Queensland locals have been left outraged after opportunistic hustlers have been outed advertising sand bags for sale.

Dozens of community based sandbag stations are operating in south-east Queensland to provide residents with an allocation of filled water-proofers, with lines lasting for hours to grab as many as possible.

But people in the path of potentially one of the worst storms ever to lash the Australian coastline are witnessing the best and worst of humanity as they prepare for the predicted cyclonic destruction.

With rising flood waters due to the anticipated rain deluge and huge coastal surf conditions already pummelling the coast, the race is on to protect life and property over an expansive area of the eastern seaboard.

Social media users are hot under the collar over the sandbags for sale ads popping up with enraged locals venting their frustration.

“Well that didn’t take long, Profiteering from others misfortune,” one post said showing one of the ads on X.

Other posts on social media are warning about individuals hoarding the sandbags or obtaining them from sandbag stations for free and onselling them for upwards of $10 each.

Hardware stores and local shops from the Sunshine Coast all the way down to the NSW mid-north coast have been stripped bare of sandbags and emergency equipment.

Volunteers and local neighbours have been banding together to assist each other with flood proofing and battening down anything that may be at risk of becoming a projectile in the gale force winds.

One resident who has spent days ‘projectile-proofing’ their Mermaid Waters house said the feeling was like COVID on steroids.

“When the COVID panic hit we still had some options to get essentials but this is unbelievable,” he said.

“Every supermarket has nothing left. The shelves are bare — bread, milk, toilet paper — you can’t get any of it.

“Even the local shops are rationing supplies. Our local bakery is down to one loaf of bread per person until they run out,” the Gold Coast native added.

“But so far everyone we have seen has been respectful and courteous to each other.”

One area preparing itself for yet another severe weather event is Lismore on the north coast on NSW where a man has been arrested and charged after allegedly trying to steal an SES boat on Tuesday night.

At a carpark at Goonellabah about 9.20pm, the man allegedly tried to detach the hitch and safety chains between a boat trailer and a NSW SES vehicle, before members of the public intervened and the man left in his vehicle.

Police were later called to Dibbs Street in Lismore, where the man’s vehicle was located. Officers spoke with a 43-year-old man when they found a camper trailer nearby, which police will allege the man also attempted to steal.

The man also allegedly refused to undergo a roadside breath test, and was arrested and taken to Lismore police station.

A breath analysis at the station returned an alleged reading of 0.152. Inquiries also revealed that the man’s licence had been suspended, police said.

He was charged with two counts of attempting to steal a vessel, driving with high-range PCA, and driving a motor vehicle while having a suspended licence. He was refused bail to appear before Lismore local court on Wednesday.