Tropical Cyclone Alfred: How safe Gold Coast high-rise towers are during major weather event

Just how will the Gold Coast’s high-rise towers hold up during the onslaught of Tropical Cyclone Alfred? We asked the experts who built them who have revealed their view. FIND OUT MORE

A pair of the Gold Coast’s most experienced developers insist the city’s towers and high-rises will withstand the battering of Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

The vast majority of the Glitter Strip’s high-rises, and all of its supertowers, were built in the five decades since the 1974 floods, when Tropical Cyclone Wanda hammed the city, inundating Surfers Paradise and other suburbs.

But with winds of more than 100km/h due to hit the city in coming days, many residents have feared how the buildings would be able to hold up.

Soheil Abedian, the co-founder of Sunland Group and the man who built the 77-storey Q1, one of the southern hemisphere’s tallest residential towers, said incredibly stringent building codes which all developers were forced to work under, meant the city’s skyline would stand strong against the high winds.

The towers of the Gold Coast skyline Picture Glenn Hampson

“This building code means everything here has been designed to withstand weather, from earthquakes to flooding and cyclones,” he said.

“We have no problem whatsoever and I say this because I have been building in this city since 1981 and I know everything has been built to this code.

“I can assure all residents it will be fine.”

Fellow developer Ron Bakir, CEO of Homecorp, said the only issue which tower residents potentially would face was to be flooding of basement levels, something which has occurred occasionally during previous severe rain events including the June 30, 2005 “once in 100 years” storm.

Soheil Abedian. Picture: Glenn Hampson

“We cannot control mother nature but we have to build to a code and that construction methodology is extremely strong and solid,” he said.

“There is a remote chance that high-rises will have issues, though flooding on basement areas but it is remote.

“It’s all about the foundations.”

Gold Coast coastal residents have also raised fears of the impact of the cyclone on the record-breaking 62 cranes which are currently dotting the skyline.

The view from Q1 of the giant surf, created by Cyclone Alfred, pounding the beachfront on the Gold Coast. Picture Glenn Hampson

While rare, there have been crane failures during severe weather events, with one left heavily damaged at Burleigh Heads following the Christmas night 2023 storm.

It was soon secured.

Mr Abedian said tower cranes were designed to withstand high winds.

“The cranes have safety measures for situations like this so nothing should be able to shake them,” he said.

“Accidents may happen but if the job has been done properly, the cranes should withstand the weather.”

Originally published as Tropical Cyclone Alfred: How safe Gold Coast high-rise towers are during major weather event