Tropical Cyclone Alfred: Everything Gold Coasters need to know about impact of wet weather

The Gold Coast is bracing itself for the worst possible impact from Tropical Cyclone Alfred with fears 130km/h winds and 600mm of rainfall will combine with a night-time tidal surge.

The Gold Coast is bracing itself for the “worst possible” impact from Tropical Cyclone Alfred with the added fear 130km/h winds and half a metre of rainfall will combine with a night-time tidal surge.

Acting Mayor Donna Gates on Monday said the latest briefing forecasted the cyclone would be a Category 1 or 2 and cross at the Sunshine Coast or Moreton Bay on Friday morning.

“There will be widespread flooding and wind gusts of 90 to 130 kilometres per hour. Now is the time to prepare — clear gutters and secure outdoor furniture,” Ms Gates said.

Acting Gold Coast Mayor Donna Gates on Tropical Cyclone Alfred at the Disaster and Management Centre.

The Council closed all beaches on Monday morning.

Just 30 people turned up to sand bagging stations on the weekend but a line-up of vehicles had arrived by mid-Monday morning.

A “watching brief” is being kept on major events like the Green Day concert at CBUS Super Stadium on Wednesday, the Gold Coast Festival of Golf and the Gold Coast Suns season opener on Saturday night against Essendon at Carrara.

Ms Gates revealed Cyclone Alfred crossing north of Brisbane left the Gold Coast exposed to stronger wind and rain damage than other areas in southeast Queensland.

“That is the worst possible outcome for our city than if it crossed directly across the Coast,” she said.

“Because the system, the southern impact, is far worst for us than if it crossed north. It’s a watching brief. It can change but it’s not looking good for us.”

Local disaster co-ordinator Mark Ryan agreed that a cyclone system crossing north of the Coast was the worst outcome.

“We know that the worst weather that comes from a cyclone is on the southerly side of the cyclone. We could see 300 to 400 millimetres of rain on one model - if it adjusts we could even see a three-day total exceeding 600 millimetres of rain. That’s a significant concern for the Gold Coast,” he said.

Before releasing more detail, the Disaster team is working on several scenarios including impacts on exposed areas like South Stradbroke Island and canal communities.

The flood modelling will look at high tides with an extra half a metre of water.

“People can get on our website now, on to our City Plan, and actually looks at what our modelling looks like,” Mr Ryan said.

The City was also checking on beach erosion, with no significant impacts so far.

“However, the team have looked at forecasts and are quite concerned about significant amounts of erosion should the forecasted conditions come through,” Mr Ryan said.

Asked if the north suburbs of the City would be more impacted, he replied: “No, the entire city will feel the effects of this system.”

Disaster management teams were keeping a close watch on night tide forecasts.

“It elevates the water further. Some of the detail monitoring we do today will add the rain into that scenario,” Mr Ryan said.

Local Disaster co-ordinator Mark Ryan talking about Cyclone Alfred at the Disaster and Emergency Management Centre.

Details of flood evacuation centres are likely to be made available on Tuesday.

“Where you go is the next question. They are typically pretty crowded places. So we would also say, if you have friends and family or others you can stay with you will be a lot more comfortable,” Mr Ryan said.

Businesses across the city are already taking precautions.
Village Roadshow announced late on Monday afternoon it would close its Gold Coast attractions - Warner Bros. Movie World, Sea World, Wet’n’Wild, Paradise Country, Australian Outback Spectacular and Topgolf - between Wednesday and Friday.

The company said in a statement Sea World Resort would remain open.

“We will have critical support team members working over this period to ensure the welfare and wellbeing of the animals in our care,” the statement read.

Parks are expected to reopen on Saturday, with a decision to be made later in the week.

Paradise Country Farmstay will close on Tuesday, while Australian Outback Spectacular’s Friday show has been cancelled.

Police are urging residents to start preparing their homes now with the weather event already beginning to lash the region with strong winds and scattered showers.

Acting Gold Coast Chief Superintendent Peter Miles said: “If we get that rain, and there are talks of up to 600 millimetres of rain, that is a lot of rain already in areas where we have catchments that are fairly full and dams that are full.

“We’re not trying to be alarmist but we are trying to be realists and that is the potential

“Now is the time to act. Don’t leave it till Wednesday or Thursday, it will be here before we know it and you really need to start looking at what you need to do now.

“Look at a 72-hour kit that you can stay off grid should you lose power. Charge everything up now.”

Acting Gold Coast Chief Superintendent Peter Miles urged residents to be prepared and avoid travel over the coming days.

Residents in low lying areas are urged to considering getting sandbags and homeowners should secure any loose items around their properties.

Chief Supt Miles said it was a good idea to reach out to neighbours and have a plan to lookout for each other.

“If you don’t know your neighbours, introduce yourself. You just never know that you might be helping them onto their roof, or whatever assistance they require,” he said.

“We are fairly confident this is going to bring a lot of rain – it’s going to cross land and we need to be prepared.”

Residents living along canals and waterways were of immediate concern to emergency service, police are also closely monitoring conditions for property owners at Couran Cove on South Stradbroke Island.

Additional officers – including recruits – are on standby to assist over the next few days. Chief Supt Miles urged residents to begin conversations with employers around the possibility of working from home to keep unnecessary traffic off the roads.

“It’s that serious, if you don’t need to be out and about please stay at home,” he said.

“Your lifestyle for a couple of days may dramatically change because of where you live of what you do for a living. If we prepare for the worst and hope for the best – I think that is the best attitude to have.”

Large waves lash the Coast at Currumbin Beach on Monday morning. Picture: City of Gold Coast.

EARLIER

All Gold Coast beaches were closed early on Monday morning – with early messaging from the City advising of the potential for gale-force winds.

A Council spokesman on Monday said: “All Gold Coast beaches will be closed to swimming today due to a large swell and hazardous conditions. Please heed the advice of lifeguards and stay out of the water.”

The city’s SMS alert system sent messages to locals at 11.30am on Monday, warning them to “prepare now” as “Cyclone Alfred could cross the coast of southeast Queensland from Wednesday”.

Meanwhile, the only Queensland show by ‘90s rock legends Green Day, scheduled for CBUS Stadium on Wednesday night, was still going ahead as of 11am Monday.

Gold Coast beaches are closed due to impact of Tropical Cyclone Alfred. Picture by Richard Gosling.

On Monday two trees fell at the Gold Coast, one crushing two cars and another causing hours-long outages for hundreds of Energex customers.

Just after 6.30am, a tree fell at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre and crushed two cars.

A spokeswoman for the Gold Coast City Council said they were aware of the incident and were talking with the owners of the vehicles.

“Nobody was injured and the tree is being removed this (Monday) morning,” she said.

At 8.25am, a tree fell onto powerlines at Bonogin causing widespread power outages.
A Queensland Fire Department spokesman said a fire and rescue crew was quickly on the scene at Smith St, Bonogin, and said some smoke was coming from the site.

The incident caused outages for 104 customers, an Energex spokeswoman said.

She said Energex hoped to have the power restored by 3pm on Monday, but that as Cyclone Alfred approached Queensland’s coast, residents should be prepared for longer outages.

“The combination of gale force winds and flooding can cause extensive damage to the overhead and underground electricity network,” she said.

“Cyclonic winds can blow tree branches and other debris into powerlines, so now is the time to check your yard for anything that could become a dangerous projectile. By securing or stowing items like trampolines and outdoor furniture, you will reduce the risk of property damage and serious injuries.

“Protracted severe weather events can delay our crews, so people need to think about what their household would need to get through a week without power.”

Problems with light rail at Southport. Passengers were asked to board buses.

Latest modelling forecasts Tropical Cyclone Alfred to cross the Queensland coast by the end of the week.

The category two cyclone was about 465km northeast of Brisbane and 410km east northeast of Maroochydore on Monday morning.

The Bureau of Meteorology warned it was expected to slow and head towards the southern Queensland coast on Tuesday.

The latest modelling showed the cyclone could hit Brisbane by Thursday.

But both southeast Queensland and northern NSW coastal areas can expect to experience “severe” affects from the weather event as early as Monday.

Acting Mayor Donna Gates. Picture: Glenn Campbell.

Gold Coast City Council has opened up three sandbagging stations at:

* 196 Old Pacific Highway, Pimpama (next to the City of Gold Coast Coomera Depot).

* 42-44 Boyd Street, Bilinga (next to the City of Gold Coast Tugun Depot).

* 61 Hutchinson Street, Burleigh Heads (at the Reedy Creek Waste and Recycling Centre).

Vehicle line-ups at Reedy Creek were long just hours after opening, at 10am. Residents are being urged to watch for Gold Coast Alerts by visiting the Gold Coast disaster dashboard.

Line up of vehicles for sand bagging services at Reedy Creek made available by Gold Coast City Council in preparing for Cyclone Alfred.

Acting Mayor Donna Gates said: “As a precaution, we’ll be opening the sandbagging stations at Burleigh, Bilinga and Pimpama. It’s suggested that anyone with concerns should get their sandbags ready. We just want residents to be prepared.”

The council said the Gold Coast is experiencing hazardous surf conditions, with abnormally high tides expected in the coming days. “The City is planning for a range of scenarios to allow the community to prepare for any of the severe weather affects which may affect the Gold Coast, no matter the track that Alfred takes.”

Meanwhile, the plumbing peak body is urging residents to inspect their homes as flooding and pipe breakages surge under severe weather conditions.

Master Plumbers Association Queensland (MPAQ) CEO Penny Cornah said it was critical for residents do this as soon as possible to protect their homes.

“Issues such as flooding, pipe breakages and blockages are common in storms, but often overlooked until they cause severe damage and cost homeowners massively in repairs,” she said.

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