Cyclone Alfred live updates: Storm already ‘packing a punch’ as 70k without power across Gold Coast and NSW – UK Times

Heavy rains drenched some regions in northern New South Wales ahead of Cyclone Alfred’s landfall on Saturday, with more than 400mm dumped over the last 48 hours, exceeding the mean total for March, data showed, as residents scrambled to save properties from possible flooding.

New South Wales business owner Thomas Gough has been busy putting sandbags at his shop in Lismore, a rural town of about 700km (435 miles) north of Sydney devastated by major floods in 2022.

“It’s a beautiful place to live most of the time, but it feels like we have one-in-100-year events every five years – there’s nothing we can do about it,” Mr Gough told ABC News.

TV footage showed surfers riding the huge seas and people strolling near beaches, forcing officials to warn residents to stay indoors or prepare to evacuate when asked.

“This isn’t a time for sightseeing or for seeing what it’s like to experience these conditions firsthand. Please stay safe. Be sensible,” prime minister Anthony Albanese said.

Mr Albanese told reporters that 120 defence personnel would help emergency crews with rescue and relief efforts.

More than 20,000 homes in the tourist city of Gold Coast are without power, Queensland premier David Crisafulli said.

As Cyclone Alfred nears Brisbane, most residents will take shelter indoors, but more than 1,300 people facing homelessness remain vulnerable to the dangerous conditions.

With heavy rain and destructive winds expected late on Friday, support workers are racing against time to bring those sleeping rough to safety.

Karyn Walsh, chief executive of the non-profit organisation Micah Projects, said the urgency of the situation was being met with disbelief.

“Every time we tell people it’s urgent, they don’t believe us,” Ms Walsh told Australian Broadcast Corporation.

Many homeless individuals lack access to news updates and may not realise the risks of staying outdoors.

“People won’t see the danger, and with a cyclone, you need to come inside before the storm,” she added.

“It’s really hard to convey it to people, and you just have to keep going back. But we will keep going back as long as it is safe to drive.”

In preparation, staff and volunteers have been removing tents from open spaces such as Musgrave Park, while the Northwest Community Group has set up emergency shelters with around 100 air mattresses.

“There are those that have gone in early, but there are those who won’t go anywhere until there is imminent danger,” Ms Walsh said. “Because it isn’t raining yet, people think they still have time.”

Thousands of residents in Australia’s east were ordered to evacuate ahead of Tropical Cyclone Alfred’s landfall on Saturday as the storm brought heavy rains, huge waves and strong winds that cut off power, eroded beaches and closed airports.

Alfred has been moving slowly toward the coast raising concerns it could result in a longer and prolonged period of heavy rainfall. It is still expected to land as a Category 2 storm north of Brisbane, Australia’s third-most populous city, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

Wind gusts of more than 100kmph smashed the coastal border regions of the states of Queensland and New South Wales overnight, while the storm sits around 200 km offshore, the weather bureau said.

“Overnight we saw it packed a punch,” Queensland premier David Crisafulli said.

“You will continue to see the winds during the course of today but then there is that rain and often in cyclones, that rainfall, lots of it in a short window can also be really problematic,” Mr Crisafulli told ABC News.

Uncertainty remains over whether residents in Brisbane’s low-lying areas can park their cars at shopping centres for free to protect them from potential flooding.

Queensland premier David Crisafulli urged businesses to support those seeking refuge for their vehicles.

“Let me answer it this way, if someone takes the initiative to go and put their car into a safe place, I would hope that they are supported in that journey,” Mr Crisafulli said at a press conference.

“And we want everyone to be good corporate citizens and good community citizens at the moment,” Sydney Morning Herald quoted him as saying.

A spokesperson for Scentre Group, which operates Westfield shopping centres, confirmed that parking was free at locations within the cyclone warning zone on Thursday.

However, they cautioned that they could not guarantee the safety of vehicles stored there during or after the cyclone.

Cases of the deadly bacterial infection melioidosis have surged in north Queensland following this year’s devastating floods, with 119 infections reported—more than three times the number recorded in the same period in 2024.

Sixteen people have died so far.

Of the confirmed cases, 106 were detected in Cairns and Townsville.

The disease, caused by the soil-dwelling bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei, thrives in tropical regions and is typically triggered by environmental disruptions such as flooding. The bacteria can enter the body through cuts, inhalation, or contaminated water consumption.

Associate Professor Jeffrey Warner, a microbiology expert at the Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, described melioidosis as an “opportunistic infection” that primarily affects those with underlying health conditions, including diabetes and kidney disease.

Heavy alcohol consumption also increases susceptibility.

The disease, often mistaken for severe respiratory infections, can rapidly progress to pneumonia and sepsis. “Even when people present in well-resourced hospitals, the disease can be fatal,” the Guardian quoted Dr Warner as saying.

With Tropical Cyclone Alfred approaching, experts warn that further infections could arise, though the greatest health risks from flooding are likely to be mosquito-borne illnesses, fungal infections, and waterborne diseases.

Authorities have urged residents to take precautions, including wearing protective clothing and avoiding direct contact with floodwaters.

Cyclone Alfred was 240km east of Brisbane and moving west on Thursday with sustained winds near the centre of 95kmph and gusting to 130kmph, Bureau of Meteorology manager Matt Collopy said.

The storm is expected to maintain its wind strength before hitting land. But the greatest fears are for the expected flooding over a wide area.

Modelling shows that up to 20,000 homes in Brisbane, a city largely built on a river floodplain, could experience some level of flooding.

Prime minister Anthony Albanese said 660 schools in southern Queensland and 280 schools in northern New South Wales were closed on Thursday as weather conditions worsen.

The federal government had delivered 310,000 sandbags to Brisbane and more were on the way, Mr Albanese said.

“My message to people, whether they be in southeast Queensland or northern New South Wales, is we are there to support you. We have your back,” Mr Albanese told reporters in the national capital Canberra.

Brisbane Airport has announced that it is suspending operations as Australia braces for Cyclone Alfred. The airport said it would only keep its terminals open for defence operations.

Qantas Airways said its international operations from Brisbane would be suspended until at least noon on Saturday and domestic flights until Sunday morning.

More than 1,000 schools in southeast Queensland and 250 in northern New South Wales were closed on Thursday, while public transport in Brisbane has been suspended.

Over 5,000 properties in southeast Queensland and thousands in northern New South Wales are without power as officials warned there would be more outages when the wind speed increases.

Despite warnings and threats of thousands of dollars in fines, die-hard surfers have been surfing record-breaking waves.

“It’s pretty serious, there are people that are going to lose their houses, but at the moment, you’re taking the good of it all – this is just crazy surf,” Kirra resident and surfer Donnie Neal told the BBC.

Speaking from Kirra beach in Queensland, Jeff Weatherall also told the BBC: “This is what we look forward to.”

“This is the fifth day straight – I’ve done nothing but eat, sleep, surf and do it again.”

Prime minister Anthony Albanese said the country’s military would be ready to support the emergency services during the cyclone and its aftermath.

Heavy rain from the weather system has already drenched some regions, said Dean Narramore, forecaster at Australia’s weather bureau.

Mr Narramore said the cyclone’s stalling could result in “a longer and prolonged period of heavy rainfall, particularly in northern New South Wales” leading to life-threatening flash flooding.