NSW, Queensland floods live updates: Remnants of ex-tropical cyclone Alfred continue as heavy rainfall batters Brisbane, northern NSW

Good evening, and thank you for reading our live coverage of ex-tropical cyclone Alfred’s impact across South East Queensland and northern NSW. If you are just joining us now, here’s what you need to know:

• NSW Premier Chris Minns said the focus in the state today was the risk posed by water levels in the Clarence, Richmond and Tweed rivers. There are dozens of SES warnings in place along the rivers, with the Bureau of Meteorology advising of possible major flooding along all three, with further rainfall forecast for the Northern Rivers today.
• Lismore residents are returning to their homes after evacuation orders were lifted.

• This afternoon more than 200,000 homes across South East Queensland and northern NSW were without power.
• In Queensland, major flood warnings remainin place for the Laidley and Lockyer Creeks, Bremer River and Warrill Creek, and the Logan and Albert Rivers. In NSW moderate to major flood warnings are in place for the Clarence River at Grafton, Ulmarra and Maclean, as well as the Richmond River at Coraki, Bungawalbyn, and Woodburn.
• Hundreds of schools were closed today – though many are expected to reopen tomorrow. Currently, 93 schools in NSW are set to remain closed tomorrow, with the full list available here.
• A man who died after being swept into floodwaters in northern NSW on Friday was identified as 61-year-old Tom Cook.
• Thirteen people who were injured in a crash involving two Australian Defence Force vehicles near Lismore are expected to make a full recovery. All but one ADF member has been released from hospital, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles said this morning.

Stay with us for updates throughout the afternoon and evening.

The state’s health department has urged residents from northern NSW to stay safe around floodwaters which might contain hazardous substances including raw sewage.

In a statement, NSW Health also said drinking water supplies could be affected and told residents that they should check if they’re in a “boil water” area.

Flooding of the Maclean South Arm River near Brushgrove, NSW.Credit: Louise Kennerley

“If a ‘boil water’ alert has been issued in your area, observe it strictly to prevent illness. If you are not sure about the quality of drinking water, contact your water supplier or local council,” a NSW Health statement said.

Bilambil Heights, Terranora and some parts of Banora Point in the Tweed Shire Council are currently under a “boil water” guidance.

Byron Shire Council has urged residents in Mullumbimby to limit water use to essential drinking, cooking and hygiene as the local water treatment is unable to produce more safe drinking water. Water supplies in other parts of the Byron Shire remain unaffected.

Floodwaters could contain contaminants such as raw sewerage and chemicals which can cause infections, injury and sickness, Regional Director North Coast Population and Public Health Dr Valerie Delpech said.

“If you are involved in clean-up activities, please remember to wear safety equipment including boots, gloves and eye protection and wash your hands thoroughly afterwards,” Delpech said.

“Please clean and apply a dressing to any scratches or cuts to reduce chances of infection – even minor wounds are entry points for bacteria.”

NSW Health is also urging people to test their water tanks for chemicals, and for residents to “dry out” their homes to prevent mould.

To the Sunshine Coast, where council is warning people to stay off coastal dunes and away from seawalls because of shifting sands and falling rocks.

The spokesperson for Sunshine Coast Council said erosion caused by ex-tropical cyclone Alfred had weakened the dunes at numerous locations along the shoreline, creating steep drop-offs that could collapse suddenly.

Beaches with the worst erosion include Yaroomba, Maroochydore, Kings Beach and the Kawana stretch.

Council is also warning people to stay clear of the Moffat Beach seawall due to the risk of falling rocks and injury.

“It is showing signs of movement due to the large swells impacting the wall,” the spokesperson said.

“There is a significant risk of the wall deteriorating further and if that occurs, rock falls and movements are highly likely.

“The rocks can fall onto the beach at any time, and if it does, it will happen fairly quickly – within about 10-20 seconds – which means that anyone standing at the base of the rock wall will be injured.”

The spokesperson said council’s first priority was to clear access to surf lifesaving towers. No emergency beach nourishment was planned at this stage.

A man who was pulled from floodwaters in Lismore by police and SES crews, has been charged with a mid-range drink-driving offence.

Around 10am on Monday, multiple police and SES crews were called to help retrieve a 4WD that was stuck in floodwaters in the south of Lismore.

The 55-year-old man was subject to a breath test after his car was pulled out from floodwaters where he returned an alleged prescribed concentration of alcohol reading of 0.086, which constitutes a mid-range blood alcohol level.

He was issued a field Court Attendance Notice, and will appear before Lismore Local Court on March 19.

Queensland Police have announced they will deploy more officers to the Gold Coast and Logan to help with recovery and property crime to replace ADF soldiers.

Superintendent Peter Miles announced the change today, saying that the extra police will assist by doing round the clock patrols looking to help “anywhere they can”.

“The ADF staff, we’ve cut them free. We don’t need them at this stage as a priority. That’s a good thing for the Gold Coast, and we just continue on working with our external stakeholders, trying to get that power on, trying to get those roads cleared,” Miles said.

Operation Xray Secure was established by Queensland police to target criminals who are taking advantage of homes and businesses that are vulnerable during the floods and its recovery.

“We really welcome that support down here on the Gold Coast… It helps send a clear message that we are keen to keep the community safe at all hours and continue the good work that the officers have undertaken so far,” said Miles.

Over 9000 homes and businesses are without power in northern NSW, as energy providers struggle to deal with the “volume of fallen trees and challenging access from floodwaters and landslides”, a spokesperson from Essential Energy has said.

The provider said that homes and businesses need to be prepared to go without power for “several days” as special equipment and climbing crews are rolled out across the state. Some work will not be able to begin until the weather has improved.

Downed trees in northern NSW are causing issues for energy providers attempting to reinstate power. Credit: Carmen Finch

“Community hubs will be established tomorrow to provide support to customers including access to the internet and charging for mobile devices. Locations will be listed on electronic signboards that will be placed throughout impacted communities,” the spokesperson said.

“Essential Energy is asking the community to please stay at least 8 metres away from fallen powerlines, and 150 metres from lines immersed in water, following reports of people trying to remove lines from fallen trees. The community should always assume these assets are live and very dangerous and should report them to Essential Energy on 13 20 80.”

The majority of Coles and Woolworths supermarkets which closed during the height of ex-tropical cyclone Alfred have now reopened, although supplies of some essentials remain low, to the dismay of exhausted residents.

In an update today, Coles said just two of its stores in northern NSW, and 28 stores in South East Queensland remained closed. Woolworths also said the majority of stores in flood-affected areas had reopened, with more than 300 truckloads leaving its Brisbane distribution centre in the last 32 hours in an attempt to restock shelves.

Many residents have been greeted by empty shelves. At Woolworths Montague Markets in Brisbane’s inner-south, fruit, vegetables, milk and eggs had been replenished on Monday morning after running low on Sunday, but stock of meat remained low. Videos posted to social media claimed to show empty shelves at other reopened Woolworths in the city.

Brisbane City councillor Alex Givney posted photos to social media of empty shelves, saying the Coles in her ward remained closed while Woolworths stock were low. “It’s frustrating, but let’s stay patient,” she said.

Panic buying last week saw essentials run out quickly. Coles said it was keeping in place purchase limits on bottled water, long life milk and toilet paper.

“We ask our customers to think about their neighbours and only buy what they need for now.“

The NBN has said that power outages are the main cause for over 192,000 homes across NSW and south-east Qld losing access to the internet.

“Most of the impact continues to be related to mains power outages. Equipment connected to the NBN network will not work without power,” a spokesperson said.

“We expect the numbers impacted to continue to decrease as mains power is restored. A number of our assets remain operating on backup power.”

The provider said it will offer Wi-Fi satellite kits and charging devices to affected towns.

Six towns in NSW have locations set up with a kit, and one at Mt Tamborine in Queensland. The locations in NSW are:

• Terranora — Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School, Terranora Campus — 88/110 Mahers Lane
• Kingscliff — TAFE NSW — 806 Cudgen Road
• Mullumbimby — Ex-Services Club —58 Dalley Street
• Ballina — Southern Cross School of Distance Education — 2/40 Chickiba Drive
• Evans Heads — Club Evans RSL —11-13 McDonald Place
• South Grafton — 425 Bent Street

South-east Qld remains the most affected with 185,000 outages. Northern NSW has 11,000 outages.

Brisbane was lashed with intense rain throughout Sunday and into Monday morning, causing flash flooding that inundated houses, swamped cars and cut roads.

The latest figures from the weather bureau show that Brisbane received its highest ever recorded daily rainfall.

These are the 24-hour record rainfall totals for Brisbane, between 9am Sunday and 9am Monday:

• Brisbane: 275 millimetres
• Carole Park Alert: 331 millimetres
• Karalee: 296 millimetres
• Wolfdene: 289 millimetres
• Mt Gravatt: 272 millimetres
• Greenbank: 246 millimetres

Brisbane Airport recorded its highest March daily rainfall, with 176 millimetres falling, while Amberley also recorded a daily March record of 162 millimetres.

But the flash flooding disappeared as fast as it rose, as demonstrated in the photos below that were taken less than 12 hours apart in Coorparoo:

Here is a quick wrap-up of the flood warnings that are currently in effect.

In Queensland:

• Major flood warnings are in place for the Laidley and Lockyer Creeks, Bremer River and Warrill Creek, and the Logan and Albert Rivers.
• Moderate flood warnings are in place for the Stanley River.
• Minor flood warnings are in place for the Mary River, Maroochy River, Noosa Rivers, Upper Brisbane River, and the Brisbane River downstream of Wivenhoe Dam.
• A flood warning is in place for the Nerang and Coomera Rivers.

In New South Wales:

• Moderate to major flood warnings are in place for the Clarence River at Grafton, Ulmarra and Maclean, as well as the Richmond River at Coraki, Bungawalbyn, and Woodburn.
• Moderate flood warnings are in place for the Tweed River at Tumbulgum, and the Wilsons River at Lismore.
• Minor to moderate flood warnings are in place for the Macleay River at Georges Creek, Bellbrook, Kempsey and Smithtown, and the Orara River at Glenreagh and Coutts Crossing.
• Minor flood warnings are in place for the Bellinger and Kalang Rivers at Thora and Bellingen.

The most up-to-date information can be found at the Bureau of Meteorology website.