Time was on our side for Alfred. It will not always be

In the days leading up to weather system Alfred’s much anticipated arrival, things felt familiar for the residents of NSW’s Northern Rivers district. But something was different.

Speaking to the Herald’s Angus Dalton on Thursday, long-time Byron Bay resident Josh Davies remarked that while there were the same “vibes” as the devastating floods of 2022, this time locals have had almost a week’s notice to prepare and evacuate if necessary and messages from the army, SES, councils and governments had been clear and consistent.

“There’s plenty of communication ... it’s way better than being caught with your pants down,” he said.

More than pull their pants up, Alfred’s protracted path meant residents of northern NSW and south-east Queensland had time to put on a belt and shoes as they prepared for their unwanted guest.

Jim Knight waits out the bad weather in his Byron Bay house.Credit: Danielle Smith

The weather system initially feared to be a category 2 tropical cyclone has received blanket coverage from media outlets over the past week. State and federal politicians stood up daily alongside emergency services to provide the latest advice. Contingency plans were put in place for essential services.

When Alfred approached, downgraded to an ex-cyclone as it stalled north of Brisbane on Saturday afternoon but bringing wild weather as far south as the Mid North Coast, Lismore MP Janelle Saffin told reporters the response “was fantastic”.

“There were a lot of uniforms on the ground, a lot of boots … and I didn’t see that in 2022,” she said.

That is not to downplay that the storm has left hundreds of thousands of people without power, with ongoing destructive rain and conditions.

These communities, some carrying the trauma of previous floods, are not out of the woods yet. The images captured by Herald photographers Nick Moir and Danielle Smith in Lismore, where previous flood damage is yet to be fully repaired, suggest the impact will be devastating and severe.

While Alfred has been less destructive than feared, the extra time – and a well orchestrated response from government and emergency services – undoubtedly assisted in ensuring more people were safe.

Yet, there is only so much preparation that can be done for extreme weather in the days before it arrives.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was right to call for urgent action to cut greenhouse emissions and minimise the growing costs of extreme weather on Friday, as the weather system made its protracted approach towards the coast.

“You can’t say this event is just because of climate change. What you can say is that climate change is having an impact on our weather patterns,” he said.

Time was on our side when Alfred stumbled on Australia’s east coast, days after it was forecast and with less force than predicted. Time is increasingly not on the side of governments and industry to make decisions that will stop events like those of this weekend from occurring more frequently and ferociously.

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