Cyclone Alfred power outages: Thousands of Gold Coast homes left in dark

More than 16,000 Gold Coast homes lost power on Thursday night as Cyclone Alfred’s fury began to bear down on the city. FULL DETAILS

More than 16,000 Gold Coast homes lost power on Thursday night as Cyclone Alfred’s fury began to bear down on the Gold Coast.

The suburbs hit the hardest were Coolangatta with 1388 houses in the dark, and Currumbin Waters with 2275.

Almost 1500 homes in Mudgeeraba also lost power, and another 1203 in Tallebudgera.

More than 1300 homes in Both Bilinga and Burleigh Heads went dark, as well as 523 in Reedy Creek.

More than 100 properties were also without power in Bonogin due to downed powerlines.

In Southport, Energex reported 1474 properties were without power, with another 42 properties affected at Main Beach.

Hinterland communities were also affected, with almost 1000 properties out at Advancetown and 425 at Springbrook, where powerlines were also reported to be down.

Boats in Bums Bay on the Gold Coast as Cyclone Alfred approached on Thursday. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

The outages came as sustained heavy rain and wind battered the Gold Coast on Thursday evening.

An Energex spokesperson said crews were on the ground working to restore power where safe to do so, but were obliged to follow safety advice that applied to everyone amid the tempestuous conditions.

“Where it is possible we will restore power to customers,” the spokesperson said.

“However crews will follow the safety advice that everyone must follow.”

The spokesperson said downed powerlines could represent a serious safety hazard and were another good reason to stay indoors.

“If people see lines down, they should stay well clear and call Triple 0,” the said.

“Just because lines are down does not mean that power has been cut.

“It is best to assume that lines are still live and report them.”

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