Worst of Cyclone Alfred could hit Brisbane for hours as it crosses over

Millions of people are hunkering down in their homes, while others rush to evacuation centres, as the nervous wait for Cyclone Alfred to pummel Brisbane stretches hours past early forecasts.

The cyclone’s movement towards the coast has slowed, with latest models from the Bureau of Meteorology predicting it to hit the city on Saturday morning.

Brisbane could cop the worst of the storm for six hours or longer as the cyclone crosses over the city, the weather bureau warns, with destructive wind gusts up to 155km/h.

Alfred, the first cyclone to hit Queensland’s south-east in more than 50 years, could dump 400 millimetres of rain – almost half a year’s worth – on the state’s capital in just 24 hours.

Four million people are in its path and about 20,000 Brisbane properties are at risk of flooding, as well as 5000 on the Sunshine Coast and 6000 on the Gold Coast.

Authorities were expecting billions of dollars in damage, as Treasurer Jim Chalmers spoke with chief executives of major insurers to ensure they could process claims after the cyclone hits.

Supermarkets in the cyclone’s path started shutting up shop from Thursday, including stores in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Logan, and people were urged to check the trading hours at their local store.

Flights would be grounded, with Brisbane Airport to announce it would cease operations from 4pm on Thursday.

More than 1000 Queensland schools were closed on Thursday, and public transport has come to a standstill until further notice.

“Typically tropical cyclones as they cross are very erratic,” the Bureau of Meteorology’s Matthew Collopy said.

He said there was a possibility Alfred could slow down further and linger longer over Brisbane than the six-hour time frame.

“But we are expecting two days, perhaps 2½ days’ worth of rainfall as this system both approaches, then weakens and moves inland.

“Right through later [Thursday], through Friday and into Saturday we’re expecting to see those high rainfall amounts.”

Earlier, the bureau said the system could stall off the coast of Brisbane as a category 2 system, but was forecast to downgrade to a category 1 as it moved over land.

Monster waves smash the Curumbin Vikings Surf Club on the Gold Coast on Thursday.Credit: AAPIMAGE

With the cyclone slowing, Premier David Crisafulli urged Queenslanders to use the extra time to continue to prepare their homes, and warned it was still a serious system.

He said overnight the system had “spun around on itself”.

“The area [where it is predicted to cross] is still between the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast,” he said.

Evacuations at aged care facilities in low-lying areas began on Wednesday, while residents in Brisbane’s flood-prone suburbs were packing their bags to stay with friends and family.

A refuge centre would open at Brisbane’s RNA showgrounds in Bowen Hills for people unable to stay with family or friends, but Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said the safest place for most residents would be at home.

By Thursday morning there were about 5000 power outages across South East Queensland.

Most were in the Gold Coast and Redland Bay areas south of Brisbane. Thousands have lost electricity on the border in Tweed and further south, in Lismore.

Flood releases are likely at Queensland’s Somerset and Wivenhoe dams in the next two days, with several ungated dams already spilling.

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