Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred downgraded to a tropical low ahead of it making landfall on Saturday morning

Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred has wreaked havoc across parts of southeast Queensland, with shocking footage and pictures capturing the carnage. The weather system was downgraded to a tropical low on Saturday morning and was expected to cross land late Saturday evening. The Bureua of Meteorology said the system was “approaching the coast at Bribie Island, with a crossing expected in the next hour or two” in their latest update issued at 7.45pm Saturday. Authorities earlier warned heavy rainfall and potential flash flooding could pose serious risks over the coming days. Matthew Collopy from the Bureau of Meteorology said a coastal hazard warning remained in place with damaging surf conditions from Noosa to the Queensland and NSW border. “Severe coastal erosion is still a risk from Cape Moreton to Coolangatta,” Mr Collopy said at a press conference alongside Queensland Premier David Crisafulli on Saturday evening. “In terms of winds, we saw last night gust of 107km/h again on the Gold Coast, we also saw gusts of 93km/h observed at Brisbane Airport and 85km/h at Redcliffe.” He stressed heavy rainfall was now the central danger flowing from the weather system. “This is the key message from the remainder of the system,” he said. “We have already seen rainfall totals as high as 280mm to nine o’clock this morning and since 9am we have seen falls of between 40 and 70mm across southeast Queensland including Brisbane. “As the remnants of the tropical cyclone moves inland we will see an increase of tropical moisture driving heavy to intense rainfall and we are expecting widespread totals of 300 to 500mm. “Totals of up to 700mm are possible up to Monday.” Multiple river flood warnings were issued, including for the Logan and Albert rivers. Authorities confirmed all emergency warnings in southeast Queensland were downgraded to ‘watch and act’. In northern New South Wales, there were 40 emergency warnings for heavy rain and flooding, with 20,000 people under evacuation orders. Alfred could move inland ‘next few days’ Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said the ex-tropical cyclone was “still sitting off the coast” as of 3pm Saturday. “We do expect it to gradually make its coastal crossing, though, and then continue moving inland through the next few days,” Ms Bradbury said. She said winds shifting to an easterly flow could lead to a “greater convergence” of showers and thunderstorms, and therefore give “more fuel” to any rain, showers and thunderstorms that develop. The Gold Coast, Scenic Rim and Brisbane are also set to experience its “wettest period” in the hours into Saturday evening. Ms Bradbury said the rapid rise of rivers with flash flooding was a “huge risk”, with the delay in the system’s movement pushing back the expected time of flood peaks. “We’re now looking at flood peaks for many of these catchments occurring overnight tonight into early tomorrow morning … it will depend on the catchment in question, how much rainfall they’ve seen over the past few days, and how much rain we see overnight tonight.” She said flood watch areas may be upgraded to flood warnings over the coming days. “This weekend rainfall and flooding continue to be a huge concern for southeast Queensland as well as northeast NSW,” Ms Bradbury said. A TikTok user has captured the moment her suburb lost power in an inferno sparked by Tropical Cyclone Alfred's intense gale forces. The metropolitan region has been one of the worst-hit parts of southeast Queensland. The roof of an apartment complex was ripped off as the weather system ravaged another Gold Coast suburb on Friday night in wild scenes. ‘Largest ever’ power loss Mr Crisafulli said Alfred has caused the “largest ever” loss of power in Queensland. More than 330,000 residents lost power since Thursday night, he said, and Ergon and Energex workers are now begin to restore power for thousands of homes and businesses. As of Saturday afternoon, there were 267,000 outages across southeast Queensland. Power was restored to Gold Coast University Hospital about 4.30pm. SES volunteers responded to 1000 call-outs across Saturday, he said. “About a third of those are for structural damage, about a third are for trees and the balance are for all manner of things,” Mr Crisafulli said. “And they answer the call and we’re grateful for the people who wear those orange uniforms.” Recovery Mr Crisafulli said major services were beginning to come back online. The Brisbane and Gold Coast airports are expected to open up again from Sunday, while supermarkets have started reopening. Buses are set to run on normal timetables from Sunday, though Logan and Caboolture will enjoy only partial services. Rail services will not open on Sunday. Traffic lights are being restored, Mr Crisafulli added, though about half of all traffic lights in the Gold Coast remain offline. The premier said he would deliver an update about schools on Sunday. Footage has captured the moment an apartment complex was evacuated after the roof was ripped off Fiery inferno captured in wild footage An electrical inferno seemingly caused a Gold Coast suburb to lose power amid then-Tropical Cyclone Alfred gale-force winds. Footage of the fire – timestamped to about 5pm on Friday – showed intense winds knocking a tree into a powerline, quickly igniting the vegetation. The tree burned fiercely for almost 30 seconds before cutting off with a large ‘bang’. Numerous people were taken to Burleigh Heads evacuation centre and one woman was taken to hospital following the incident in Labrador, Queensland. The region’s beloved Putt Putt Mermaid Beach course wasn’t spared either. Users captured the spot’s iconic marker – a giant, yellow golf ball – toppled in the bushes. Gold Coasters have already begun the mammoth clean-up effort, with residents taking to fallen trees with chainsaws and starting to clear the debris. Flights to resume in Queensland Qantas and Jetstar flights at Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Ballina and Maroochydore are tipped to restart from 6am Sunday. A Qantas Group spokesperson said they were working to get domestic and international flights in the area going again “subject to weather conditions and safety assessments”. “We are expected to progressively rebuild our schedules throughout the day,” the spokesperson said on Friday night. “With forecast winds easing, from this evening we expect to be able to safely return aircraft that were moved out of the expected path of the cyclone to Brisbane and the Gold Coast airports to support the restart on Sunday. “Teams across the business are working to get customers in and out of Southeast Queensland and Northern NSW as safely and as quickly as possible and continue to work closely with the state and federal government and the relevant local airport authorities.” The spokesperson urged people to check the Qantas app and Qantas and Jetstar websites as well as emails and texts for information on their flights. “We know that this is a very challenging time for many of our customers and continue to offer additional flexibility including travel credits and fee-free date changes to those who have booked flights to or from the impacted areas.” Gold Coast Airport issued a statement confirming operations were set to resume on Sunday morning. Queensland Airports Limited chief operating officer Marion Charlton said reopening was “essential” following the airport’s closure on Wednesday. “With the region now entering the recovery phase, it is essential for us to reopen as quickly as possible, not only for passengers but also to provide critical access for emergency services and support agencies, including the Australian Defence Force,” Ms Charlton said. “There will likely be some disruptions to scheduled services, so we encourage passengers to continue to monitor the status of their flight via their airline before heading to the airport. For anyone driving to and from the airport, please be careful on the roads. “We appreciate the patience of our passengers and airline partners and look forward to reopening to the travelling public tomorrow.” ‘Stay inside’: Warning for NSW residents NSW SES deputy commissioner Debbie Platz urged people in affected areas to “stay inside” until they were told otherwise in an update on ABC TV on Saturday afternoon. “This event is not over,” Ms Platz told the broadcaster. “We do expect that we are going to have at least probably two days of intermittent unpredictable rain, which could be intense in some places, so please stay inside until we give you the all clear to go back to your communities.” She said there had already been more than 30 flood rescues, with lives put at risk as people continue to drive “unnecessarily” into floodwaters. “We know now that we have already had 36 flood rescue activations, where either volunteers or emergency services partners have had to go out to try to rescue people,” she said. “And they are predominantly people who are driving on the roadways unnecessarily and into flooded waters. “They are putting their own lives at risk and those of their families, but also those of our emergency service volunteers and officers.” Group taken to hospital A group of four people were taken to hospital with carbon monoxide poisoning, with Gold Coast Acting Mayor Donna Gates urging people to be careful with generators. “We had another unfortunate incident where four people had to be taken to hospital with carbon monoxide poisoning,” Ms Gates said at a press conference on Saturday afternoon. “It seems they were using a personal generator inside and so my message to everyone is, if you have a generator, it needs to be appropriately ventilated and preferably outside. “The people are fine, by the way, so that was good news.” An Energex spokesperson earlier advised people to only use generators in well-ventilated areas and never inside to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. People were also warned not to plug generators directly into homes unless it was installed by a licensed electrician as it could cause an electrocution hazard for the community and crews. The Energex spokesperson also advised people only to plug in safe and undamaged extension cords to generators. Aussies warned to brace for incredible deluge of up to 800mm Sky News meteorologist Rob Sharpe confirmed to Newswire that an 800mm deluge was expected to lash areas north of Brisbane – up to Maroochydore and including Cape Moreton – between Saturday morning and Monday afternoon. Residents could experience rainfall of up to 250mm within six hours, and 450mm in the next 24 hours. These northern areas may not see the heaviest rainfall until the system has moved inland, the Bureau’s Christine Johnston said on ABC Breakfast. Ms Johnston added the risk of massive rain totals and life-threatening flash-flooding had “increased” in the Sunshine Coast and Wide Bay-Burnett areas, given the shift of the heaviest rainfall occurring north of Brisbane, rather than south. “However, we wouldn’t completely say that the southern areas are out of the woods. We are still seeing significant rainfall in some of our modelling up over particularly the Scenic Rim. “The elevated parts of the Gold Coast hinterland are expected to see significant rainfall totals, too, and down around the border ranges, so it could be a very widespread heavy rain event,” Ms Bradbury said. Queensland dams overflow as Alfred lingers off coast Several ungated dams near Brisbane have spilt over as residents anxiously await ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred to make landfall later today. Cedar Pocket Dam, Enoggera Dam, Gold Creek, and Wappa Dam are overflowing according to Seqwater, the state’s water storage and supply authority. Wivenhoe, Somerset and North Pine dams house most of southeast Queensland’s drinking water and could spill pending conditions, Seqwater said. PM warns ‘wave of trauma’ headed Aussies’ way Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Saturday morning that Queenslanders and NSW residents had done the work to be well-prepared, though warned against complacency as Alfred was downgraded to a tropical low. “I do want to acknowledge as well that many of the people who are providing support, including ADF personnel, have themselves family and close friends who are directly in the path of this extreme weather event,” Mr Albanese said. “Right now, very clearly, we need to stick together and continue to look after each other. “The impacts are already being felt and there is worse to come in the hours ahead.” Mr Albanese said Australian Defence Force personnel were on the ground and had been assisting in preparation, with helicopters and other assets on standby to support recovery. “We will continue to do everything that we can to provide assistance at what is a very difficult time for people in these communities,” he said. “That will include not just physical support, but quite clearly there will be, I think, lasting mental health issues as a result of this. “Some of these communities have copped it time and time again, and that just makes it so tough for people who have rebuilt, recovered, and then find another wave of trauma heading their way along with the cyclone. “So I say please, please stay vigilant over the coming period.” Cash payment for disaster-affected communities Mr Albanese told reporters on Saturday the government will not be waiting for the March 2025 budget to activate disaster payments. He announced a one-off cash payment of $1,000 for adults and $400 for children as part of the Disaster Recovery Payment scheme, a joint state and federal government initiative, for people who have been badly affected by the disaster and need immediate help. These will be activated by the state governments. “That is activated 40 hours after the initial impact. The disaster recovery allowance is a payment for up to 13 weeks for people who are unable to work as a direct result of the disaster. “That is their businesses have been shut down where they work, so they are therefore unable to do so, or their workplace might be closed, and that’s paid through Centrelink. Support under is available for those in the Ballina, Bellingen, Byron, Clarence Valley, Coffs Harbour, Dungog, Kempsey, Kyogle, Lismore, Lord Howe Island, MidCoast, Nambucca Valley, Port Macquarie-Hastings, Richmond Valley and Tweed local government areas (LGAs). Armidale, Glen Innes Severn and Tenterfield were also added on Saturday. Hardship payments were also activated in NSW through a $15 million Community Recovery Support Fund for 15 affected local government areas. Flash flooding ‘main risk’, premier says Power has been cut off to a major Gold Coast hospital as crews work to restore power to the region, Mr Crisafulli said in a press conference on Saturday. “The Gold Coast University Hospital remains without mains power. It has been running on generators, which, of course, was needed,” he said. “But there are a number of other key bits of infrastructure where we need to urgently reattach power to. “The water treatment plants at Mount Cotton and Alexandra Hills are without power. “There are generators on-site and staff are urgently attempting to reconnect those, and it is a race against the clock to try to do that in the minutes and hours ahead, before those reservoirs run out of water.” Mr Crisafulli said 1200 Energex staff were pre-positioned to begin repairs. “They are out there ready to rumble, and there are 800 staff from the other end of the state, the Ergon Network, who will be joining them,” he said. Mr Crisafulli said Queenslanders had been “spared” from the coastal crossing of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred on high tide, though flash flooding remained the main risk. “To have no homes reported still right now that have had storm tide inundation is really a tremendous, tremendous result,” he said. “I’m asking Queenslanders to continue to stay vigilant and go onto the disaster.qld.com website and have a look at those zones. “Be careful on the roads. Do the little things that keep you and your family safe.” The weakening of the system and Brisbane’s exclusion from the main danger zone mean Brisbane ‘dodged a bullet’, the city’s Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said earlier on ABC Radio Brisbane. “What we’re worried about now, and what we must be concerned about, is how much rain comes next, and this is a challenge that Brisbane faces,” he said. “Rainfall (that is) intense over a number of hours can cause flash flooding, and so we’re not out of the woods yet.” More than 295,800 homes and businesses were affected by power outages reported by energy provider Energex across southeast Queensland. It is estimated 43,000 homes in the Northern Rivers and Far North Coast regions lost power according to provider Essential Energy. Mr Crisafulli said on Saturday morning that the outages were the “single biggest loss” the state had seen in the more than a decade since Cyclone Oswald. “The work needed to reconnect that is significant, but the ability and desire of the men and women who will do it is without peer,” he said. “Queenslanders need to know that right now there are damage assessments being done and already crews are being mobilised to get that job done.” Intense rainfall to lash region Rainfall totals reaching 278mm at Upper Springbrook in the far southeast of Queensland, up to 134mm at Gold Coast Seaway, and between 50mm and 60mm across the Brisbane area were recorded in the past 24 hours, the Bureau’s Miriam Bradbury said in a 9am update. Heavy rainfall was still expected through southeast Queensland and northeast NSW after the system is expected to make its coastal crossing in coming hours. “For today, we’re likely to see heavy rain this morning building across the Moreton Bay Islands, the Gold Coast and the Scenic Rim. “But through the later part of today into tomorrow, we’re likely to see that heavy rain risk extending throughout our warning areas in southeast Queensland and northeast New South Wales. “We could see six hourly rainfall totals in excess of 100mm, possibly pushing up towards 200mm in some areas where thunderstorms bring particularly heavy falls. 24 hour rainfall totals could push up across above 200 to 250mm through these areas, she said, adding that this kind of rainfall could easily lead to flash flooding, which is already occurring in parts of the Gold Coast. Ms Bradbury added although coastal hazards were still in place for parts of the southeast Queensland and northeast New South Wales coast for the rest of Saturday, dangerous coastal conditions like damaging surf and abnormally high tides will start to become less likely as we go into tomorrow. Major flood warnings were in place for several catchments including the Bremer, Worrall and Logan areas and Tweed, Wilson and Richmond further to the south. “As that water continues to move through the systems through today and into tomorrow, we expect to see those rivers rising rapidly in response to that rain,” Ms Bradbury said. Ms Bradbury reiterated that Alfred remained dangerous even if downgraded to a tropical low. “The category of a tropical cyclone is only dependent on the wind gusts,” she said. “So while the winds are backing off a little bit, the rain is still coming through in full force, and we’re still seeing widespread flash-flooding (and) widespread impacts likely to continue through today and well into tomorrow as well.” Koalas face Alfred’s fury Heartbreaking video circulating across social media on Saturday appears to show koalas on a tree branch cuddling up as they face Alfred’s furious winds. The four second unverified clip, reportedly captured by Scott Waterhouse, shows an adult koala cuddling a baby koala as the storm rages around them. An unverified clip circulating on social media appears to show koalas on a tree branch confronting Alfred's furious winds. It is understood the clip comes from the Mount Gravatt area of Brisbane’s east. Social media users were left heartbroken at the sight. “This is so sad, poor little babies,” one person posted. “Thinking of all our wildlife during this cyclone.” Another user posted: “We have a koala in the tree opposite where we live … hopefully stays there but it is very windy”. Aussies warned to prepare for days without power Around 350,000 homes and businesses are now without power across southeast Queensland and northern NSW. Queensland’s Energex said more than 295,800 customers were impacted as of 12pm AEST. According to the latest update from Essential Energy, 42,600 homes and businesses were without power, stretching from Tweed Heads to Grafton. Energex area manager Chris Graham said on Saturday morning that residents should be prepared for prolonged outages of a week or more. “We need to work our way in to the area and then assess it, and then repair it,” he told the ABC. “We also need to prioritise hospitals, and sewerage pumping stations and water pumping stations and evacuation centres which have lost power, we need to prioritise those first. “Every customer is a priority, but we need to get those community essentials things first. “A key message I can put in – first light this morning will be a dangerous time because people are going to be waking up and coming out of their house once the cyclone has passed and looking around, be vigilant for all and powerlines. “If you see a fallen powerline (it) is always to be treated as live, as life-threatening and you need to stay clear.” Grim fears for Lismore, northern NSW SES New South Wales believe the South Lismore levee will break on Saturday morning. It is devastating news for the town, which was ravaged by floods in 2022 in one of Australia’s worst recent natural disasters. The ABC reports that many residents were able to load possessions onto trucks and get out of the CBD, but it is “a fast-evolving situation”. Lismore Mayor Steve Krieg said there was a lot of concern among his community for people who had only just rebuilt in the wake of the devastating 2022 floods. “If our levee overtops especially, our town’s in a lot of trouble – just emotionally, financially, people are really struggling before this cyclone,” he told Sunrise on Saturday morning. “My wife will kill me for saying this, but the reality is there's tension in every household as to not only what the future, short- to long-term looks like. “We’ve put everything we have into rebuilding our lives … we can pay our staff this week and we don’t know what’s going to happen after that … it is that stressful.” Mr Krieg said he had conversations with NSW Premier Chris Minns and the Prime Minister about needing funding for flood mitigation. “The cost of doing some mitigation work in Lismore and in the Northern Rivers is a tenth of what the recovery cost is going to be after this cyclone,” he said. “So long-term flood mitigation just has to be done. “I need a budget allocation from the state and federal governments to give our community the guarantee that the work is going to be done so that they have the confidence to rebuild their lives.” Forty evacuation orders have been issued for communities across northern NSW as of Saturday morning. NSW SES deputy commissioner Debbie Platz told the ABC that their operations centre had received almost 8500 calls so far, with volunteers assisting with about 1600 in the past 24 hours alone. “We have had 36 flood rescue activations in the last 24 hours, which is extremely disappointing because we’re asking people not to go into flooded waters (and) to stay indoors unless they’re asked to evacuate, so the roads should be free,” she said. “There should be no one playing in the water, but unfortunately that’s not what we’re seeing in some areas.” Man dead in NSW floodwaters A man has died after he was swept into floodwaters in northern NSW on Friday afternoon. The man was driving along a bridge northeast of Dorrigo when he and his 4WD were washed off, with the man initially able to cling to a tree before he was swept away shortly after. NSW Police confirmed the body of a man believed to be the 61-year-old was found on Saturday afternoon. However Queensland Police Service Acting Commissioner Shane Chelepy said on Saturday morning that there had been no fatalities or missing persons in Queensland. Queensland SES also confirmed their crews had been busy overnight, responding to 77 call-outs, the majority of which were on the Gold Coast and relating to storm or structural damage. “We do see a large number of traffic lights out this morning as a result of power, so if you are travelling on the roadways today, please be careful while you are moving about,” an SES spokesperson said. “We still have 34 evacuation centres open, with 396 people in those evacuation centres, and I’ve been advised through the disaster network that those evacuation centres will remain open, particularly as we move into the threat of flood-related issues.” As for NSW, the state’s SES has recorded almost 9000 emergency calls and responded to more than 5000 calls in the Northern Rivers and Mid North Coast regions as of 5am Saturday. More than 16,000 people have been ordered to evacuate and 31,400 homes are at risk of flooding as residents brace for a riverine deluge to hit the region. Urgent warning as flash flooding inundates southern Gold Coast Emergency alerts were issued for Tallebudgera Creek and Currumbin Valley on the Gold Coast overnight. The warnings said dangerous flooding was impacting Currumbin Creek and Tallebudgera Creek catchments, urging residents to find higher ground where they were as it was too dangerous to leave. Gold Coast City Council have since downgraded the Currumbin Creek warning to a ‘watch and act’, saying: “Destructive winds from (ex-) Tropical Cyclone Alfred are easing, however flooding may occur across the weekend. 15 people were evacuated after an apartment complex roof was damaged in Labrador on Friday night. A video uploaded to TikTok shows the roof blowing off the Frank Street complex at 10:15pm.