Cyclone Alfred as it happened: South-east Queensland, northern NSW residents brace for direct hit

Thank you for following our live coverage as Cyclone Alfred approaches the Queensland coast. We will continue our rolling coverage tomorrow morning, so do join us.

Stay safe and follow the emergency advice as we prepare for Alfred to reach our doorstep.

Here are some of today’s key developments:

• Cyclone Alfred has slowed down considerably as it moves towards the Queensland coast, and could make landfall much later than previously predicted.
• The Bureau of Meteorology issued its latest cyclone bulletin about 8pm on Wednesday (Queensland time), with a new tracking map showing Alfred making landfall, possibly directly over Brisbane, at 7pm on Friday.
• Alfred was previously expected to make landfall in the early hours of Friday morning, most likely about 2am, only one hour after a 1am high tide in Brisbane. But it’s a moving feast and Alfred could pick up speed again tomorrow.
• Residents have been told to stay home and hunker down as Alfred is forecast to dump half a year’s worth of rain over Brisbane in just 24 hours, causing dangerous, life-threatening flash flooding.
• Around 20,000 properties in Brisbane could be flooded, as well as 5000 on the Sunshine Coast and 6000 on the Gold Coast.
• The cyclone warning zone extends from Double Island Point on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast to Grafton in northern NSW.
• Evacuation centres are opening across northern NSW, and a cyclone refuge centre is being opened at Brisbane’s RNA showgrounds, but residents have been urged to stay with family or friends if they can.
• More than 500 schools will close from Thursday in Queensland, with almost 250 to shut in northern NSW.
• Public transport will cease late on Wednesday night, with major bridges to close when wind gusts reach 90km/h.
• Elective surgeries will be suspended in south-east Queensland from Thursday.
• Flood releases are likely at Queensland’s Somerset and Wivenhoe dams in the next two days.
• Gold Coast and Ballina airport have closed, but Brisbane Airport remains open until further notice.
• Westfield shopping centres are due to remain open under normal trading hours at this stage, although management has not confirmed whether it will open its undercover carparks to people who want to protect their cars from flying debris and falling trees.

with AAP

NSW SES issued a flood evacuation warning on Wednesday night for residents of northern NSW.

The warning encompasses Tweed Heads, Ballina, South Golden Beach, Potsville and Hastings Point.

“You should monitor the situation and prepare to evacuate so you can safely evacuate when instructed to do so by NSW SES,” it said in a statement.

“Wherever possible, you should prepare to stay with family or friends, or make other accommodation arrangements.

“If you remain in the area, you may become trapped without power, water and other essential services. It may be too dangerous for NSW SES to rescue you.”

Thank you for following our live coverage as Cyclone Alfred approaches the Queensland coast. We will continue our rolling coverage tomorrow morning, so do join us.

Stay safe and follow the emergency advice as we prepare for Alfred to reach our doorstep.

Here are some of today’s key developments:

• Cyclone Alfred has slowed down considerably as it moves towards the Queensland coast, and could make landfall much later than previously predicted.
• The Bureau of Meteorology issued its latest cyclone bulletin about 8pm on Wednesday (Queensland time), with a new tracking map showing Alfred making landfall, possibly directly over Brisbane, at 7pm on Friday.
• Alfred was previously expected to make landfall in the early hours of Friday morning, most likely about 2am, only one hour after a 1am high tide in Brisbane. But it’s a moving feast and Alfred could pick up speed again tomorrow.
• Residents have been told to stay home and hunker down as Alfred is forecast to dump half a year’s worth of rain over Brisbane in just 24 hours, causing dangerous, life-threatening flash flooding.
• Around 20,000 properties in Brisbane could be flooded, as well as 5000 on the Sunshine Coast and 6000 on the Gold Coast.
• The cyclone warning zone extends from Double Island Point on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast to Grafton in northern NSW.
• Evacuation centres are opening across northern NSW, and a cyclone refuge centre is being opened at Brisbane’s RNA showgrounds, but residents have been urged to stay with family or friends if they can.
• More than 500 schools will close from Thursday in Queensland, with almost 250 to shut in northern NSW.
• Public transport will cease late on Wednesday night, with major bridges to close when wind gusts reach 90km/h.
• Elective surgeries will be suspended in south-east Queensland from Thursday.
• Flood releases are likely at Queensland’s Somerset and Wivenhoe dams in the next two days.
• Gold Coast and Ballina airport have closed, but Brisbane Airport remains open until further notice.
• Westfield shopping centres are due to remain open under normal trading hours at this stage, although management has not confirmed whether it will open its undercover carparks to people who want to protect their cars from flying debris and falling trees.

with AAP

Cyclone Alfred has slowed down considerably as it moves towards the Queensland coast, and could make landfall much later than previously predicted.

The Bureau of Meteorology issued its latest cyclone bulletin about 8pm on Wednesday, with a new tracking map showing Alfred making landfall, possibly directly over Brisbane, at 7pm on Friday.

“The centre of Alfred is expected to cross the coast during Friday, noting that latest weather model data indicates the potential for a later crossing time than previously indicated,” the bureau said.

“Location of crossing still remains most likely between Maroochydore and Coolangatta.”

Alfred was previously expected to make landfall in the early hours of Friday morning, most likely about 2am, only one hour after a 1am high tide in Brisbane.

The latest tracking map from the weather bureau shows Cyclone Alfred crossing the coast at 7pm Friday, much later than previously predicted. Credit: BoM

During Wednesday, Alfred picked up speed and was moving towards the coast at 11km/h.

By nightfall, Alfred had slowed to 7km/h and was 365 kilometres east of Brisbane and moving northwest.

“Tropical Cyclone Alfred will continue its approach towards the southeast Queensland coast tonight, with the far western edge already impacting the coast from about Coolangatta to Ballina,” the bureau said.

“Alfred is a category 2 cyclone and is forecast to maintain this intensity as it continues to approach the south-east Queensland coast.”

While Alfred’s trajectory and timing is a moving feast, Premier David Crisafulli said one thing was “not negotiable”.

“The one that’s been consistent for a long time, is that it is going to cross,” he said.

This is the latest video update from the bureau’s senior meteorologist Jonathan How, who explains what we can expect as Alfred approaches the coast tomorrow before making landfall in the early hours of Friday morning:

Here is an interesting tit-bit: Cyclone Alfred was initially going to be called Anthony, under the Bureau of Meteorology’s naming conventions.

But the bureau felt it was not ideal to name a cyclone after our current Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese.

“The tropical cyclone names come from a predetermined alphabetical list which is publicly available on our website,” the bureau said in a statement.

“When a name matches a prominent person of the time, we reorder to the next name starting with that same letter to avoid any confusion.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaking in Brisbane on Wednesday about Cyclone Alfred.Credit: Dan Peled

“As the name Anthony represents a current prominent person in Australia, we moved to the next name on the list which is Alfred.”

A spectator has been hospitalised with head injuries after being knocked over by dangerous surf on the Gold Coast.

The spectator was swept up by a large wave at Currumbin beach shortly after 5pm, where locals had gathered to watch the big swells.

Paramedics treat the woman who was knocked over by powerful waves on the Gold Coast.Credit: Nine News

The woman suffered a laceration to her head and was transported to the Gold Coast University Hospital in a stable condition, the ABC reports.

The Gold Coast’s Acting Mayor Donna Gates has pleaded for people to stay away from beaches as Cyclone Alfred approaches.

Cyclones do not usually make a dramatic sharp turn and head straight for the coast. But Cyclone Alfred has done exactly that.

Bureau of Meteorology forecaster meteorologist Jonathan How explains Alfred’s sharp turn was caused by a high-pressure system that developed south of the storm system and effectively “cradled the cyclone”.

“The high-pressure system sort of cradled the tropical cyclone, and then it started pushing it back [towards the coast],” How says.

Cyclone Alfred was tracking south-east towards the Tasman Sea, before it made a sharp turn towards the Queensland coast on Tuesday.

“[It] just goes to show that tropical cyclone steering is quite dependent on other weather systems at the time.”

The bureau’s computing modelling systems are able to detect minuscule changes in the path of a cyclone.

“We look at a range of computer models and the initial track maps and the model were suggesting that it would remain offshore. But then we did see a stronger consensus come through with the computer model saying that it would actually turn back towards the coast,” How says.

He says the bureau’s specialist tropical cyclone team works 24/7 “monitoring these sorts of very small nuances and small changes” in these dangerous storms.

Gold Coast residents were told to bunker down from 6pm tonight. Some residents, including this couple with a newborn baby, have sought refuge at evacuation centres.

A couple with a newborn baby arrive at the evacuation centre at Runaway Bay.Credit: Dan Peled

People arrive at an evacuation centre in Runaway Bay.Credit: Dan Peled

While it might feel calm in Brisbane right now, Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Jonathan How said by this time tomorrow, things will feel very different.

“A lot of people [in south-east Queensland and northern NSW] probably haven’t experienced a direct cyclone crossing before,” he said.

“The winds will really start to howl, buildings will rattle and there will be damage to windows from tomorrow night.”

How said strong, sustained winds are expected from about this time Thursday evening and warned people not to venture outside during the calm of the eye.

“The second half of the cyclone crosses after that.”

Cyclone Alfred is currently predicted to be a category 2 storm with winds of up to 135km/h. There’s a small chance it could be upgraded to a category 3 before it crosses the coast.

The Gold Coast could be one of the hardest-hit regions and as residents make their final preparations, three evacuation centres have now been opened:

• Runaway Bay Indoor Stadium – Sports Drive, Runaway Bay
• Nerang Bicentennial Community Centre – 833 Southport Nerang Road, Nerang
• Burleigh Waters Community Centre – 111 Christine Avenue, Burleigh Waters

Gold Coast residents were told to bunker down from 6pm tonight.

The City of Gold Coast has advised people to take shelter now, with destructive wind gusts of 120km/h and significant flooding forecast to begin tonight.

Meanwhile, Brisbane City Council will open a temporary cyclone shelter at the RNA Showgrounds from 7am on Thursday.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner encouraged individuals to consider staying with friends and family in the first instance as the RNA Showgrounds shelter will be basic.

“We’ve modelled this on what’s been used up in Far North Queensland for many years,” he said.

“It’s a building that is very safe and secure and strong … [but] it’s pretty rough and ready.”

The lord mayor said flood evacuations would be activated as well, but warned they are not cyclone-rated.

“There’s a clear difference between the two … where we normally activate those flood evacuation centres, not all of the centres are … suitable places to shelter from a cyclone.”

For more information, visit Brisbane City Council’s emergency dashboard.