Cyclone Alfred: PM says ‘now is not the time for sightseeing’ as he outlines preparations for monster storm

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has rallied the country to “hope for the best, but prepare for the worst”, with Tropical Cyclone Alfred now less than 24 hours from landfall on Australia’s eastern coastline.

Mr Albanese, who is coordinating the Government’s response from Canberra, said he had approved the request for 120 ADF personnel to depart immediately for New South Wales as the cyclone’s heavy rains begin to make an impact on local communities.

The ADF will help conduct welfare checks on vulnerable community members and offer support with road clearance, sandbagging and access to critical infrastructure damage assessment and essential services.

The Department of Health’s and Aged Care national incident centre has also been activated.

Mr Albanese said more than 375,000 sandbags have now been delivered and generators were already in the national stockpile to meet State government requests.

The Bureau of Meteorology on Friday morning said Cyclone Alfred was now just 140kms away from the coast and warned that the system’s slow-moving path would bring extremely dangerous conditions for a longer period.

The warning was echoed by Mr Albanese as he gave an update on the looming crisis from the National Situation Room.

“This is already having an impact,” he said. “We should not think that slower means better,” he cautioned, adding that warmer waters could increase the cyclone’s intensity.

The cyclone was now forecast to make landfall “in the early hours of tomorrow morning or at some stage tomorrow.

It would appear rainfall and wind impacts are expected to continue increasing throughout today,” said the Prime Minister, urging the public to stay away from the coast.

“Can I say that everyone has to accept personal responsibility. This isn’t a time for sightseeing or for seeing what it’s like to experience these conditions first hand. Please stay safe,” he said.

“I do want to thank the emergency services personnel, local government, disaster management staff and the thousands of volunteers working to keep our community safe,” he added.

He also praised Australia’s resilience and spirit in times of crisis.

“We rally. We lift each other up. We look out for our neighbours. We look out for our local community,” he said.

“Communities come together at a time like this, and to the local MPs and mayors I’ve spoken to, that is what we are seeing here. We get each other through the dark times, hour by hour and day by day.”