Tropical Cyclone Alfred: How the Gold Coast has been hammered by cyclones and weather events

The Gold Coast is bracing for the impact of Tropical Cyclone Alfred as it barrels towards the Queensland coastline. It’s not the first time the city has been in the firing line. FIND OUT MORE

The Gold Coast is bracing for the impact of Tropical Cyclone Alfred as it barrels towards the Queensland coastline.

It’s been decades since we were last directly hit by a cyclone but the impact of significant weather events has been enormous.

40+ images: Gold Coast’s worst flooding and storms

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Back in the late 19th century the small Southport township was hit hard in the early 1890s when the area’s famous pier was heavily damaged by flooding, wrecking its swimming baths.

In February 1954 the Gold Coast was hit a point-blank range by an unnamed cyclone which made landfall at Coolangatta.

The event, today known as the Great Gold Coast Cyclone, forced the evacuation of many people from Surfers Paradise and the suburbs surrounding the Nerang River.

As recalled in a 2019 story, 30 people came close to being consumed by the floodwaters at Macintosh Island.

“Their story, recorded in newspapers of the day, was that of a miracle but tragically 26 others were not so lucky as the category 3 storm — later to be unofficially labelled “the Great Gold Coast cyclone’’ — swept south, causing damage all the way down to Sydney,” the Bulletin reported at the time.

Surfers Paradise has flooded before.

“Records show that among them was a man who drowned at Murwillumbah.

“Ten drowned as a wall of water hit Kyogle in northern NSW.”

Fast-forward to the 1960s and the Coast bore the brunt of a devastating cyclone season.

In January 1967 Cyclone Dinah moved down the coastline off the Coral Sea.

While never crossing the coast, it caused havoc in Surfers Paradise where the Nerang River burst its banks.

Streets were flooded while the beaches were heavily eroded and part of The Esplanade collapsed leaving a 5m hole near Staghorn Ave.

Cyclone Dinah damage on the Gold Coast in 1967.

During the 1967 storms, more than 1000mm fell on the Hinterland, while Springbrook recorded a 1631mm fall.

The damaged to the Coast was significant, as photos went around the world showing the city’s ruined beaches.

With tourism already a major industry for the city, it forced urgent action from Mayor Sir Bruce Small.

Newly elected to the office, Sir Bruce understood that drastic action was needed to boost the region’s reputation and so he undertook one of his most famous adventures – he took the famous Surfers Paradise Meter Maids on tour to cities such as Sydney and Melbourne to spruik the Gold Coast.

The erosion in 1967 was significant.

A success, it put the Coast back on the map and became an iconic moment of Sir Bruce’s tenure.

But nature’s fury made itself known again in 1974 when Tropical Cyclone Wanda hit, flooding 1500 homes.

More than 1250mm of rain fell on the Hinterland and the streets of Surfers Paradise. When the Nerang River broke its banks, floodwaters rose waist-high.

Brisbane was flooded after more than 314mm of rain fell, the wettest day in the state’s capital since 1887.

On the Coast, the canals overflowed and the Nerang River rose, sending the waters flowing into the Glitter Strip’s streets.

Beaches were washed away.

Cavill Ave, the heart of the city’s tourism industry, was inundated, with tourists and locals photographed in the waist-deep water.

The Surfers Paradise International Raceway at Carrara disappeared entirely under the floodwater, while Surfers Paradise particularly was hard hit.

Nearby buildings, including the Gooding Timber and Hardware barn, were destroyed as the floodwaters consuming them.

The impact of the flooding was long-lasting, becoming the benchmark for a devastating weather event.

It halted any development in central Carrara for decades and was the key evidence used to try and stop Nifsan ultimately building Emerald Lakes in the late 1990s.

Waist high 1974 flood on the corner of Cavill and Ferny Avenues.

“In 1974, a 72-hour deluge filled the Gold Coast flood plains, cutting roads and isolating entire communities – let’s not forget that regular floods are a normal pattern on the Gold Coast landscape,’’ said Australian Conservation Foundation Gold Coast president Peter Farrell.

It was more than 30 years before another major disaster struck – the June 30, 2005 floods which came after days of downpour and was described as a “once in 100 year event”.

The midwinter event led to two deaths and major landslides on the southern Gold Coast, while the city’s stormwater drains struggled to cope with the sheer amount of rain.

The Gold Coast avoided another major round of damage until January 2013 when Tropical Cyclone Oswald arrived.

Over the four-day period covering the Australia Day long weekend, Springbrook took in 1453mm of rain, the highest of any location in the state.

The Gold Coast’s beaches were devastated, with significant erosion up and down the coastline.

While the storm soon passed, the compensation battle for State Government disaster relief money raged on unsuccessfully.