Cyclone Alfred tracking LIVE updates: Brisbane, Queensland BoM storm downgrade; Lismore flood expected; NSW, Qld power outage map
If you’re just joining us, here is everything you need to know about ex-tropical cyclone Alfred.
Our reporter William Davis is on the Gold Coast, where ex-tropical cyclone Alfred’s wrath continues to be felt.
He says while Brisbane has been spared the worst of Alfred, the wind – which is deafening – continues to batter the Gold Coast.
“We are Queenslanders; we’re the people that they breed tough north of the border. We’re the ones that they knock down and we get up again.”
That rallying cry echoed throughout the country in 2011 when then-premier Anna Bligh was confronted with catastrophic flooding that saw Brisbane go under water for the first time since 1974.
Sandbag-filling efforts at Murarrie Recreational Reserve, Wynnum Road, Murarrie as locals prepared for Alfred on Thursday.Credit: Tess Bennett
Fourteen years on, Bligh’s words still rang true as Queenslanders stood firm in the face of Cyclone Alfred – the first expected to cross the south-east coast in more than 50 years.
The threat of Alfred was met with calmness and good humour – the “blow at Cyclone Alfred to push it back” group on Facebook amassed more than 116,000 people in less than a week as the storm approached.
If you’re just joining us, here is everything you need to know about ex-tropical cyclone Alfred.
- As reported in the blog yesterday, a rapid attribution study by scientists at ClimaMeter says ex-tropical cyclone Alfred was moving more slowly and dumping more rain because of human-caused climate change.
- Climate change is also expanding the range of cyclones and hurricanes further north and south of the equator.
Our science reporter Angus Dalton is in Lismore for us.
Authorities there are now saying the Wilsons River levee bank should hold – at least for today.
Here is Angus’ latest report.
Kitesurfers are making the most of hectic conditions on the Gold Coast, despite ongoing warnings from authorities to avoid the water.
A kitesurfer makes the most of wild conditions at Currumbin Beach on the Gold Coast this morning.Credit: Dan Peled
One surfer, Scott, headed down to the beach at Currumbin after his internet and power went out at home a few streets away.
“It’s a bit wild. A bit too gusty,” he said as a mate took off metres into the air over a wave nearby.
Neither was concerned about the dangers.
“It’s about picking the right tools – this is a smaller kite,” Scott said. “Between us, we’ve got about 60 years’ experience.”
More than a dozen people, including children, were braving the sand sprays and heavy winds at the beach until a storm hit about 2pm Queensland time.
Authorities continue to urge people to be cautious and stay inside until Alfred passes.
As we posted a little while ago, ex-tropical cyclone Alfred has stalled off the coast near Maroochydore, according to the latest Bureau of Meteorology forecast maps, and is now expected to reach the mainland later this afternoon.
The bureau says the tropical low is moving slowly and is sitting within 20 kilometres of the coast, 65 kilometres north-east of Brisbane and 40 kilometres south-east of Maroochydore, with sustained wind speeds of 55km/h.
Council workers were keeping an eye on the Wilsons River at the Browns Creek pump station in Lismore as dawn broke this morning.Credit: Nick Moir
It’s a marked difference from what was earlier predicted – the storm was initially categorised as a category 2 cyclone and was expected to bring gale force winds of 155km/h to Brisbane’s CBD.
Even so, Alfred still brings life-threatening risks with several NSW Northern Rivers regions, including Mullumbimby, Bellingen and Lismore, already experiencing serious flooding.
More rain is expected across the weekend.
As ex-tropical cyclone Alfred moves north of Brisbane and turns inland, the focus turns to flood risks, fierce winds and hundreds of thousands of people without power.
Our photographers have been on the ground capturing these moments on Saturday.
Koa Love, 17 months old, plays on the street in front of his house with the dogs in Billinudgel, northern NSW.Credit: Danielle Smith
Flooding in low-lying parts of Lismore.Credit: Nick Moir
NSW Premier Chris Minns, Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib, and Lismore MP Janelle Saffin joined nervous Lismore residents to watch the river rise at the Browns Creek pumping station.Credit: Nick Moir
Wild seas and beach erosion at Miami Beach on the Gold Coast.Credit: Dan Peled
Wild seas at Miami Beach.Credit: Dan Peled
Brisbane Airport is expected to reopen tomorrow, having ceased operations late on Thursday as Cyclone Alfred approached.
Flights were suspended about 4pm on Thursday, a day after Gold Coast Airport closed. Sunshine Coast Airport closed last night.
“Work is under way now to restart operations at Brisbane Airport,” an airport spokesperson said.
“This will take some time as airlines re-position aircraft from around the country and staff are stood up.
“Please do not come to the airport until you have a booking on a flight that is confirmed to depart.”
Gold Coast Airport also planned to reopen on Sunday “if safety and weather conditions allow”.
Sunshine Coast Airport, closer to the weather system, has not provided an update.
The ex-tropical cyclone, which was downgraded from a category 1 as it struck Bribie Island off the coast north of Brisbane on Saturday morning, has not yet made landfall on the mainland.
This is because, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, it has “stalled”.
“We have seen very little change in the position of the system through the course of Saturday,” the bureau’s Miriam Bradbury said.
“It’s still lingering off Bribie Island, essentially stalled for the moment as an ex-tropical cyclone.”
The BoM’s latest map has it looking to cross the coast about 4pm (Queensland time).
To Bellingen, where residents are anxiously watching the rising Bellinger River.
Lyle Condon, a firefighter with NSW Fire and Rescue in the South Bellingen township, said the station had a fire truck on each side of town doing reconnaissance.
“People can flag us down if they see us,” Condon said. “We’re trying to be visible in case anyone needs help.”
Flooding at Lavender’s Bridge in North Bellingen on Saturday morning.Credit: Suza Hynes
Condon said firefighters had enacted a flood plan and parked a vehicle at the Rural Fire Service in North Bellingen while the RFS had parked a truck at the fire station in town.
Bellingen is no stranger to floods because the Dorrigo plateau attracts a lot of rain, which then rushes down the mountainside into a narrow channel.
The last big flood in Bellingen was in 2022 and there were particularly bad floods in 2001 and 2009.
A basketball court inundated near Lavender’s Bridge in North Bellingen on Saturday morning.Credit: Suza Hynes
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