Cyclone Alfred live updates: PM says supermarkets and more schools to close, warns storm delay may mean worse damage
A lot of people are in harm’s way, Jim Chalmers says
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is speaking to ABC News Breakfast from his electorate of Logan in Queensland where he says it is the “calm before the storm”:
We’re preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best. There is a lot of stress and anxiety. People are obviously very concerned and very worried about what the next couple of days might bring …
There’s a lot of people in harm’s way here. We’re talking about something like four and a half million Australians, potentially in harm way, 1.8m homes, and we expect that there’ll be billions of dollars of damage done by Cyclone Alfred and so the best thing we can do is prepare and stay informed, make sure that people are accessing all of the relevant information and getting it from trusted sources …
It’s rare for a cyclone to be this far south and to threaten such a huge population area, but we do learn from previous natural disasters.
All three levels of government were working together, Chalmers said, and the government would be there for affected communities in the aftermath.
Key events
Joe Hinchliffe
Brisbane mayor warns against false sense of security as Brisbane bathed in sunlight
Brisbane lord mayor Adrian Schrinner is warning residents against being “lulled into a false sense of security” as Cyclone Alfred’s expected arrival was delayed and the city awoke to beautiful sunshine and gentle winds.
With schools closed and public transport shut down many are using the window of good weather to make last minute preparations, while others are taking the kids to the park, dogs for a run or catching up with friends before days of heavy rain, potential flooding and the possibility of a lock down like situation.
Schrinner said on a social media post:
Alfred has slowed down. Which means it’ll make landfall later than anticipated. Now all of the warnings still stand. The risks the hazards associated with Alfred still stand, but we’re just going to have to wait a little bit longer before it strikes land.
The mayor said the situation was dynamic and could change again.
This situation has continued to change. It will probably change again, but it is still a highly dangerous situation. It will still potentially bring significant flooding, and we need to take it seriously.
So when you go outside today, it looks like a pretty calm day. Dont be lulled into a false sense of security.
Supermarkets and schools closed
As for how communities are being affected, Albanese says Queensland supermarkets in affected areas will be closed from today, as well as schools in NSW and Queensland:
More than 660 schools are closed across south-east Queensland and more than 280 schools are closed across northern New South Wales. Queensland supermarkets in affected areas will close from today.
Resources at the ready
Albanese is also providing details on what kind support is being deployed across emergency services and the Australian defence force:
We’ve delivered 310,000 sandbags into Brisbane for distribution across councils and there’s more on their way.
Sixty ADF personnel and 30 high-clearance vehicles are pre-positioned to go to Queensland and support police and SES volunteers as we move to the recovery phase. They’ll door knock to identify and support at-risk people.
We have approved in addition to that two ADF search-and-rescue choppers to support Queensland post-crossing. Yesterday we pre-positioned heavy-lift helicopters from our national aerial firefighting fleet. It’s being deployed to Coffs Harbour, and a UH60 Black Hawk is being pre-positioned in Bundaberg.
We have activated the Australian government disaster response plan, a crisis coordination team that will operate out of here, I intend operating out of here for coming days.
Recovery grants to be offered speedily
Albanese says money for affected communities through early recovery grants from the commonwealth government is “on its way”:
We’ve received a request from both Queensland and New South Wales… for the early recovery grants of $1m for affected councils. I will sign off on those at Parliament House immediately this finishes. And that money will be on its way.
‘A risk is of course that in slowing up, it increases in its intensity’
Anthony Albanese acknowledges the slowing of the cyclone could mean it increases in intensity:
It’s now anticipated, because it has slowed up somewhat, that that will now be at a later time. That is not all good news. It is important to stress it’s still anticipated this will cross into land and will reach landfall, it will just do it later. And a risk is of course that in slowing up, it increases in its intensity, but at this stage it is still predicted to be Category-two, as it crosses on to land. It is expected to make an impact on Friday.
Governments working together, Albanese says
Anthony Albanese is speaking about how private and public sectors, and different levels of government, are all working together:
Premier Minns and Premier Crisafulli are in lock step as well going forward, as are the three levels of government working together, and through the national coordination mechanism out of here we are assisting with the coordination as well of the private sector as well as the commonwealth government response. So, that includes supermarkets, telcos, banking, freight companies, are all of the organisations which will play a role first in preparedness, then in dealing with the impact of this cyclone and, thirdly, in the recovery period which will occur.
PM press conference
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is speaking from a national coordination centre in Canberra about the Cyclone:
At the worst of times we always see the best of Australian character. I said yesterday that there were no political parties in this process, and there are no borders. Tropical Cyclone Alfred certainly does not recognise any borders, and nor should the government’s response.
Evacuation centres open
Joe Hinchliffe
About a dozen people have sought shelter in a refuge centre in the heart of Brisbane, the ABC reports, where the sun is shining and winds calm, with the expected landfall of Cyclone Alfred delayed.
Brisbane city council opened the RNA showgrounds – which hosts the annual Ekka show – as a refuge “of last resort” at 7am Thursday morning.
Brisbane and neighbouring Redlands council, which encompasses the bayside suburbs and Moreton Bay islands, are yet to announce evacuation centres as most council facilities are not built to withstand the destructive winds of a cyclone.
The premier and mayors have been urging people who decide or are advised to evacuate to seek shelter with family and friends, or in motels if they can. Brisbane lord mayor Adrian Schrinner said:
The Refuge Shelter will be a short-term facility designed to protect people during the predicted peak wind period Tropical Cyclone Alfred, and is a place of last resort.
The shelter will include only basic amenities and will not have beds or cooking facilities.
Evacuation centres will be stood up at appropriate locations in the event of significant flooding.
Redlands opened six refuge centres on Thursday morning, one on the mainland and the others in island communities.
To the north, Moreton Bay council has opened three evacuation centres and the Sunshine Coast and Noosa councils have each opened a place of refuge.
To the south Logan has opened an evacuation centre and two places of refuge and the Gold Coast has three evacuation centres.
Emergency dashboards for 20 local government areas in Queensland potentially affected by the cyclone list places of refuge and evacuation centres and can be found here.
Andrew Messenger
23,900 sign up for joke Facebook ‘blow the cyclone back’ event in Brisbane
Tens of thousands of Brisbane residents have signed up for a joke last-ditch effort to “blow at cyclone Alfred to push it back”.
About 23,900 people have clicked “attending” the parody Facebook event. It says:
We must collectively work together to blow at Cyclone Alfred to push it back to the ocean.
The coordinated effort is scheduled for 3pm this afternoon.
242 schools closed in NSW
There are now 242 public schools non-operational across NSW, according to the Department of Education. Those schools are throughout the northern areas affected by the cyclone, including Ballina, Bangalow, Bellingen, Byron Bay, Casino, Coffs Harbour, Dorrigo, Grafton, Kempsey, Kingscliff, Lennox Head, Lismore, Mullumbimby, Nambucca Heads, Port Macquarie, Taree, Toormina, Tweed Heads and Yamba.
You can see the full list of public and independent schools scheduled to remain closed until at least Friday due to Cyclone Alfred here.
Power restored to half of homes cut off in the northern rivers
Between Tweed Heads and Ballina there were 6,000 homes without power about 6am, according to an Essential Energy spokesperson.
Power has been restored to half of those homes, with the number of homes affected back under 3,000, the spokesperson said.
Often it depends where damage has occurred – if one power line that feeds a lot of homes and businesses gets restored it can bring power back to a lot of homes:
Crews are constantly restoring [power lines] when safe to do so.
Cyclone ‘still a threat’, Crisafulli says
Queensland premier David Crisafulli is warning that although the cyclone’s landfall has been delayed it is “still a threat” with the highest wave recorded to date last night off the Gold Coast.
Crisafulli told ABC News Breakfast:
The run-in to the coast has been pushed. The window we were talking about, late tonight into tomorrow morning, has been pushed well into Friday. What that does is it gives people that a little bit more time if they haven’t fully got ready, to get ready.
But to give an indication the system is still real and it’s still a threat, we received just moments ago, I just got briefed there was a wave recorded off Main beach of the Gold Coast overnight of 12.3m. Now that’s the highest ever recorded.
So, it remains a category-two system, it remains a real threat. All the models show it’s heading into the coast. And I just want Queenslanders to be prepared. And take that a little bit extra time to just do that a little bit more preparation and we will get through this.
Minns in Lismore
NSW premier Chris Minns is in Lismore, with Cyclone Alfred expected to hit northern NSW as well as south-east Queensland.
Minns is telling ABC News Breakfast there are pre-positioned Essential energy crews in the northern rivers region trying to restore power as 100km/h winds have brought tree branches down, cutting off power.
There are an expected 2,000 to 4,000 houses in the Lennox area affected by the power outages, but Minns said there was no expected date or time he could give when it would be restored.
Minns reiterated as the cyclone’s landfall is expected Friday:
Thursday is the day to act … we don’t want people on the road when the storm hits northern NSW.
Wave heights soar
Queensland government’s wave monitoring site is showing heights above 6m in some areas.
The Gold Coast area has recorded some of the highest numbers as of 5.30am, with Tweed Offshore recording a wave height of 6.47m, while Tweed Heads is 5.06m, Bilinga 4.02m, Palm Beach 4.27m, and the Gold Coast 5.81m.
In the Moreton Bay area, Brisbane is recording a wave height of 5.33m while North Moreton Bay is 2.53m.
90,000 sandbags shore up Sunshine Coast
Rosanna Natoli, the mayor of the Sunshine Coast, said more than 90,000 sandbags had been used in the area, which is used to heavy rain but not to a coastal surge on high tide combined with heavy winds.
Natoli told ABC Radio that public transport in the area is not running but roads are still all clear as there hasn’t been a lot of rain to date or wind bringing down trees.
Natoli is liaising with the state government over accommodation for rough sleepers.
There are three places of refuge open today – two just opening in the next hour, she said. In the Nambour showgrounds, there are 50 horses, as well as camper vans.
