Images show Bribie Island, Sunshine Coast beaches after Alfred

Stunning aerial images and exclusive drone photos have given a bird’s eye perspective to the Bribie Island breakthroughs and other waterways following ex-tropical cyclone Alfred. SEE THE BEFORE AND AFTER

Currimundi on March 12, after ex-tropical cyclone Alfred. Picture: Location intelligence by Nearmap

The state government has launched an independent inquiry into the Bribie Island breakthrough as the Sunshine Coast Council rolls out replenishment programs following ex-tropical cyclone Alfred.

Stunning images also show the difference in some Sunshine Coast waterways following the massive weather event.

Flooding hit the Sunshine Coast earlier this month after the ex-tropical cyclone moved south before the crossing the Queensland coastline and wreaking havoc in several regional centres.

Nambour along with other suburbs received heavy rainfall leading to flash flooding.

The weather system also caused erosion on some Sunshine Coast beaches as the swell increased.

A set of images show off some of the waterways, swollen with brown-coloured water from the flooding, across the Sunshine Coast:

Bribie Island and Pumicestone Passage

Pumicestone Passage Catchment Management Body spokeswoman Jen Kettleton-Butler said she was concerned about Golden Beach as Bribie Island continued to erode rapidly.

Ms Kettleton-Butler said it was “a wicked problem, a cultural or social problem that has no defined limits with complex and dynamic interplay with no right or wrong answer”.

“There are just responses and solutions,” she said.

Pumicestone Passage Catchment Management Body (PPCMB) spokeswoman Jen Kettleton-Butler and Member for Caloundra Kendall Morton on Bribie Island. Photo: PPCMB

She said Golden Beach was built on a flood plain wetland and catchment area and Bribie Island played a vital role in protecting the low lying area from storm surges and coastal erosion from ocean surf.

She said the shipping channel dredged and maintained in Moreton Bay, for all its undeniable importance, fundamentally changed the behaviour of sand movements around Bribie Island.

Before the channel was made, sand would erode off the island in heavy weather like Cyclone Alfred and be naturally replaced by sand cycling through the ocean.

An exclusive drone shot shows Golden Beach in the foreground and Bribie Island in the background. Picture: Patrick Woods.

However, Ms Kettleton-Butler said the sand now sloughed into the channel on the ocean side and as it built up it was “sucked up by dredging barges” and sent down to the Port of Brisbane or sold to land reclamation projects.

Ms Kettleton-Butler said the people who had built their lives and businesses in Golden Beach under the assumption of the protection of the barrier island needed a solution.

The state government has announced an independent inquiry into the Pumicestone Passage and Bribie Island breakthrough.

Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie announced the inquiry on Monday morning with the support of Sunshine Coast Mayor Rosanna Natoli.

Deputy premier Jarrod Bleijie announces independent inquiry into the Bribie Island breakthrough and Pumicestone Passage.

The inquiry would aim to ascertain what action could be taken to preserve the island.

On Monday night, an open community meeting was held by the Pumicestone Passage Catchment Management Body that saw in excess of 500 Caloundra residents in attendance.

The state Environment Minister Andrew Powell, federal Fisher MP Andrew Wallace, state Member for Caloundra Kendall Morton and Ms Natoli were present.

Bribie Island has broken through twice and the Department of Environment says there is potential for a third breakthrough on the island. Picture: Patrick Woods. Picture: Patrick Woods.

Bribie Island is a national park and Pumicestone Passage is in a marine park conservation zone and is a Ramsar-listed site.

This requires any work on the island to go through multiple environmental conservation checks.

Before this announcement, the Department of the Environment said the Bribie Island breakthrough, erosion, and changes to water dynamics were natural processes, including changes associated with the recent weather event. 

Deputy premier Jarrod Bleijie announces independent inquiry into the Bribie Island breakthrough and Pumicestone Passage.

“We did a drone survey of Bribie Island’s northern tip on 12 March that showed considerable erosion on the northern end of the island and the possibility of a further tidal breakthrough some two kilometres south of the current entrance channel,” a spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said as the national park and marine park have high conservation and cultural values, they allow them to function as close as possible to their natural state.

The Department of Environment says it has been monitoring the Pumicestone Passage for more than 20 years. Picture: Patrick Woods.

“We have been monitoring Pumicestone Passage water quality for more than 20 years, including using telemetry equipment that provides data on physical and chemical water quality every ten minutes,” they said.

“The data show no substantial decline in water quality over this entire period, although it is to be expected that the recent weather event may result in short-term turbidity.”

Replenishment on Sunshine Coast

The Sunshine Coast Council has replenishment and nourishment works planned for beaches hit by Cyclone Alfred up and down the coast.

A council spokesperson said the council’s annual nourishment campaign at Golden Beach would begin in the next few months and focus on some of the areas that have been affected by TC Alfred.

Council’s focus so far has been providing safe access for Surf Life Saving Queensland, emergency vehicles and pedestrians to the beaches.

“Our Shoreline Erosion Management Plan prioritises management of healthy dune systems which includes revegetation and placed us in a good position to buffer much of the impacts of Tropical Cyclone Alfred,” the spokesperson said.

Future weather conditions are the main concern and will define how long it takes the beaches to return to their pre-Alfred profiles.

Council have asked the community to stay off the dunes to allow this natural regeneration process to occur and the beaches to eventually repair themselves.

Mooloolaba Beach

Since last week, works have been underway at Mooloolaba Beach to restore safer boating access to the Mooloolah River and replenish sand to part of Mooloolaba Beach after Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

The Queensland Government’s Marine Safety Queensland has been dredging sand from the entrance channel of the Mooloolaba harbour and the surrounding sand shoal in Mooloolaba Bay for marine safety.

This sand will be then piped over to the beach to restore areas affected by erosion.

During and after the cyclone, TurtleCare volunteers worked tirelessly to rescue nests from eroding beaches and safeguard the future of endangered baby turtles.

Wildlife Conservation Team Leader Kate Hofmeister said quick action, incredible dedication and hard work by volunteers ensured many nests were relocated to safer areas, giving hatchlings a better chance of survival.

Originally published as Images show Bribie Island, Sunshine Coast beaches after Alfred