Cyclone Alfred: Residents in northern NSW warned to stay vigilant as wild weather continues

Cyclone Alfred has already caused major damage and chaos in northern NSW as authorities urge residents to stay safe and seek direction from emergency services.

A police officer on patrol looks out to the sea from the Gold Coast as the cyclone threatened. Picture: Getty Images

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Residents in northern NSW are being urged to remain on high alert as Cyclone Alfred continues to wreak havoc in the wake of its arrival, with more than 43,000 homes and businesses across the region without power due to ­severe winds and heavy rain.

The system, set to reach landfall on late Saturday morning, has caused wind speeds to hit more than 100km/h, rainfall of 180mm and waves to reach a staggering 9m – as residents are urged to prepare their homes and activate their emergency kits for what’s to come.

Emergency services, with more than 1000 SES volunteers and 178 ADF personnel, have been working to support affected communities, carrying out sandbagging, damage assessments and essential services, as well as local doorknocking and welfare checks.

Residents in the Northern Rivers area have been advised to stay indoors – except for those instructed to evacuate in Lismore, New Brighton, South Golden Beach, Fingal Head, Billinudgel, Uki, Bungawalbin, Tumbulgum and parts of Coraki and Kyogle – and stay updated with the help of the newly activated national incident centre and the Hazards Near Me app.

As of 1pm on Friday, about 316 people were taking shelter across 19 evacuation centres including 215 people in the Lismore refuge. Thousands more have fled their homes to stay with family and friends.

Evacuation orders currently apply to 29,000 dwellings and 19,000 people.

Those remaining in the area might become trapped without power, water and other essential services, the SES warned.

Northern NSW’s major highway – the M1 – has been cut by floodwaters between Chinderah, north of Kingscliff, and Ewingsdale, west of Byron Bay.

Authorities expect more road closures in northern NSW as the heavy rain continues and flood­waters rise.

Optus confirmed it has lost access to 45 of its mobile sites due to blackouts across Queensland and northern NSW.

Emergency calls to triple-0 on mobile networks during power outages should work if another carrier is available, Optus said.

Supermarkets, including 14 Coles and various Woolworths stores, have begun to shut their doors due to safety concerns and staff shortages. Many shops had been stripped bare in the past few days, with residents looking to stock up on foodstuffs and home essentials.

Some 340 schools and 17 TAFE campuses in northern NSW have closed, and will remain shut on Monday.

“As soon as we know what we’re doing on Tuesday the schools will be informed and we will inform the community because my biggest priority is keeping the students and staff of those schools safe,” Deputy Premier Prue Car said on Friday morning.

Qantas and Virgin have paused flights to and from the Ballina and Byron airports, and Services Australia centres, although closed, remained operational online and over the phone.

Lismore mayor Steve Krieg has raised concerns about residents who are uninsured as the town battles through its second major weather event in a matter of years.

“Basically all the insurance companies abandoned Lismore after the 2022 flood,” he said.

“So we might have fire and storm cover, but no one in town has got flood cover.

“When you sit here after being evacuated, all you’ve got is time to think about things. That’s when the stress and the anxiety starts for sure.”

Anthony Albanese thanked first responders, members of the media and public servants for their ongoing “diligence, commitment, professionalism and passion” in keeping those in the line of Cyclone Alfred alert and supported.

“When nature does its worst, Australians are at our best. We rally, we lift each other up, we look out for our neighbours, we look out for our local community,” the Prime Minister told ABC News Breakfast on Friday morning.

“The cyclone crossing the land is now less than 24 hours away, but already we’re seeing the increased rainfall having an impact.”

He urged members of affected communities to “accept personal responsibility”, warning it was not time for sightseeing or ignoring SES advice.

“(The SES) have knowledge, they have expertise, they have experience. You make their life harder and importantly as well it means they can be distracted from assisting others if people aren’t following the recommendations in a timely manner,” Mr Albanese said.

He added more than 375,000 sandbags had been delivered.

It comes as a $15m Community Recovery Support Fund was announced for NSW councils and their communities for clean-up and restoration of public facilities.

“We are providing assistance now, but also have this future support on standby, ready to roll should recovery and clean-up work be needed in the immediate aftermath,” Mr Albanese said.

“Having this support ready to go means, if needed, essential work can begin and people’s lives can begin to return to normal as soon as possible.”