Cyclone Alfred live updates: BoM tracking map forecast for Brisbane, SE Queensland and northern NSW; TC Alfred flooding warnings and power outages – latest news
PM says 120 ADF personnel heading ‘immediately’ to help in NSW
Anthony Albanese said that overnight he approved a request for 120 Australian defence force personnel to depart “immediately” for NSW.
They’ll start work today supporting the local SES [with] door knocking as well as conducting welfare checks on vulnerable members of the community.
They’ll support the SES with sandbagging, damage assessments and essential services.
The chief medical officer has also activated the Department of Health and Aged Care’s national incident centre for TC Alfred, the PM said.
The national incident centre is activated when there’s a significant event or an emerging threat. It’s a coordination mechanism to ensure that communication is maintained between the Commonwealth department of health, state health authorities, and response agencies, including of course here at Nema.
Key events
60 ADF personnel going to Queensland
Jenny McAllister also spoke about the ADF’s role in the response.
She said 60 personnel would be made available for the Queensland government “to undertake welfare checks”, along with high-clearance vehicles.
The Queensland government has also requested aerial support for search-and-rescue activities which are also being provided.
This is on top of the 120 personnel allocated for NSW, as well. The minister said:
They are moving to NSW immediately to provide support to the local SES in all of these activities, including conducting door-knocking and welfare checks today on vulnerable members of the community.
Federal government provides joint funding of $50m for NSW and Queensland
The emergency management minister, Jenny McAllister, is next up to provide an update.
She said the commonwealth has agreed to jointly fund – for NSW and Queensland – a $50m community relief fund.
This is to “provide councils with financial support to undertake essential immediate clean-up and restoration activities”, she said – including waste and debris removal from streets, properties and community assets, and restoration works.
Bureau provides key updates on TC Alfred status
The Bureau of Meteorology’s Matthew Collopy has also been providing a Tropical Cyclone Alfred update, and outlined some key updates:
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TC Alfred remains a category 2 system, located 160km east of Brisbane
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It has moved erratically, but is currently tracking 7km/h towards the south-east Queensland coast
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It is expected to approach the Bay Islands after midnight and into early tomorrow
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It will then move across Moreton Bay during Saturday morning and to the north of the Brisbane CBD
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He said the “exact track is still uncertain” and warnings will now be updated every hour “based on the latest radar and satellite imagery”
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Destructive winds up to 150km/h are possible about the exposed island coasts and coastal locations
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As Alfred moves across Moreton Bay it may drop to a category 1 system – meaning destructive winds are unlikely for Brisbane itself, but potentially damaging winds of 120km/h
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Waves have been observed over 10m, with these conditions expected to continue as the system approaches with “extreme coastal erosion and inundation of some areas”
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Widespread daily rainfall totals of 300mm to 500mm is possible, meaning up to 800mm may fall for the event in 48 hours
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A number of flood watches remain in place amid this rainfall
Crisafulli says twins born on Dulwich Island overnight amid cyclone
David Crisafulli took a moment to thank all the first responders and volunteers, as well as Queenslanders themselves for being prepared.
I know this is an unusual event. It’s been a long time since a cyclone crossed the coast this far south, but the way that people have treated this has been, quite frankly, remarkable. The vast majority of people have done the right thing.
He also sent his thoughts to affected communities in NSW who have already been battered by severe weather in recent years.
The premier said there was a moment of “magic” overnight when a set of twins were born on Dulwich Island.
We had paramedics and midwives who assisted the mum and they continue to care for her … [It’s] one of those little gems in an otherwise really, really stressful time for everybody.
Premier on schools, transport, schools
Continuing to address reporters, David Crisafulli said public transport continues to be closed in the south-east today.
Tomorrow, it will be closed from Noosa all the way to the border. Supermarkets are operating on a case-by-case basis, he added.
That is their decision and we’re continuing to give them the information and some remain open. Their challenge will be balancing being able to get their staff there and make sure that they have things like power and they manage their impacts.
In terms of schools, he said 1,049 schools are closed today, as well as 2,081 early childcare centres.
We will be making an announcement [on] Sunday to give people the opportunity to plan and most importantly to ensure that we don’t do it in the morning and cause confusion.
Queensland premier confident of water supply for south-east
David Crisafulli said there are 34 water treatment plants in south-east Queensland and all of them had been “fortified” with back-up provisions.
We’ve done a full analysis of the potential impacts on them. We’re in as best a position as possible to handle that and I’m confident in the ability to meet the water supply in the short- and long-term.
Crisafulli on power outages
David Crisafulli said “large parts of the population in the south-east” are without power. As we flagged earlier, this is around 40,000 people.
The premier said as soon as it’s safe to do so, crews would be “hooking into action to reconnect.”
We understand how important having electricity is at all times, particularly after a disaster when you’re cleaning up and you need a good night’s sleep … 1,200 staff have been pre-positioned and there are 800 Ergon staff at the other end of the state who are ready to return the favour to their mates down here from what we saw a few weeks ago.
Crisafulli says large, slow-moving system could bring ‘significant rainfall over long period of time’
On rainfall, the Queensland premier said in the past 24 hours 165mm was recorded at Lower Springbrook, as well as:
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53mm at Currimbin Creek
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102mm at Nerang
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136mm at Coolangatta
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134mm at Binna Burra
David Crisafulli said Queensland should expect “significant rainfall in the next 24 to 48 hours right across that system and maybe even beyond.”
It is really large and slow-moving [system] and that does represent the prospect of some significant rainfall over a long period of time. And that rainfall brings the risk of river and creek flooding.
No reports of storm tide inundation, premier says
David Crisafulli said representatives met this morning and “we’ve got no reports this morning of storm tide inundation.”
That is really, really good news. It truly is.
He said there would be another high tide this afternoon and another “slightly larger” tomorrow, “so we’ll continue to watch that as the system approaches”.
There were, however, some major waves, he said – higher than 10m off the coast – as well as erosion about Main Beach.
Queensland premier addressing media
The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, is providing a Tropical Cyclone Alfred update.
He pointed to the four challenges the cyclone brings – waves, winds, rain and flooding – and said Queenslanders would experience this at different times.
We’ve seen wind gusts between 100km/h and 115km/h from Moreton Island through to Cape Byron. That is expected to increase in the hours ahead.
He said as the system moves towards the coast, increased winds would be felt by Brisbane and to the north.
Cait Kelly
UWU says underpaid women reporting care duties at higher rate than broader community
Continuing from our last post: UWU national president, Jo Schofield, said there had been “considerable progress in identifying and combating this historic undervaluation based on gender.”
However it’s also striking that women in this survey are reporting care duties higher than the rate of those of the broader community.
The fact many are doing this with some of the lowest wages in Australia amid highly insecure work environments should give policy makers pause for thought.
Low-paid women’s demands for better leave options to address women’s health issues and a high level of caring duties is a big take-out from this research, and we will carry that forward on behalf of our members.
Cait Kelly
Survey reveals gender disparity in pay, caring duties
Breaking away from cyclone news for a moment, and a survey of almost 1500 United Workers Union members has revealed women juggling huge out-of-hours care burdens, while a third earn less than $41,700.
The survey of almost 1500 United Workers Union members released to mark International Women’s Day on Saturday reveals the viewpoint of women working in often-low-paid industries
Issues faced by women in the survey include:
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Entrenched low pay: 37%reported earning less than $41,700 annually. In the median bracket of the survey women earned between $41,700 and $48,000 – or less than $1000 a week. ABS statistics show the median wage for full-time males is $93,000 annually and for full-time females it is $83,000.
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High levels of part-time work and low hours: 50% of women in the survey said they worked part-time, and 29% said they wanted to work more hours.
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Low access to formal paid care for children and the elderly: Only 12% report paying for early childhood education and care or similar services; only 7% report paying for disability support or aged care services.
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Insecure work and erratic shift patterns: One in three workers (34%) report they need to keep their phone nearby in case of last-minute shift changes weekly and even daily.
Cait Kelly
Sunrise reporter has choice words for driver crossing floodwaters
OK, this is great from Katie Brown. Everyone knows – don’t drive in flood waters. Don’t be this idiot.
New Brighton residents in low-lying properties urged to ‘evacuate now’
An “evacuate now” emergency warning has been issued for low-lying properties in New Brighton, north of Byron Bay.
This is near South Golden beach, which was also given an evacuate now warning this morning.
The warning from the NSW SES reads:
You must evacuate now because forecasted heavy rainfall will close evacuation routes. Cyclonic wind gusts will cause roads to be blocked and power outages may occur.
People are urged to stay with family, friends or “alternate accommodation in areas unaffected by flooding”. An evacuation centre has been established at the Ocean Shores Country Club at 113A Orana Road.
Timelapse: satellite shows Tropical Cyclone Alfred’s path as it approaches coast
The Japanese weather satellite, Himawari 8, has captured the path of Tropical Cyclone Alfred as it moves along the east coast of Australia.
The geostationary satellite moves with the Earth allowing scientists to observe the same hemisphere constantly. The role of Himawari 8 is to provide typhoon, rainstorm, weather forecasts and other related reports for Japan, East Asia, and Western Pacific region.
Please note: the image gets a bit jittery a couple of times – this is not an editing error, it’s a result of how the data comes through from the satellite.
Growers move stock higher, bracing for Cyclone Alfred
Farmers still recovering from devastating floods are expecting Tropical Cyclone Alfred’s strong winds and heavy rain to wipe out their crops, AAP reports.
Tweed Valley grower Sandra Hawken said she had no doubt her soybean crop would go under, while her sugarcane would likely get battered by wild winds making it harder to harvest.
That’s loss of income. But that’s the life of the farmer. They really are at the mercy of the weather and unfortunately it hasn’t been kind to us the last couple of years.
With rain that has fallen across the district ahead of the cyclone, including more than 100mm since yesterday morning, the cane-growing flood plains were already inundated.
Northern NSW producers have been helping each other move stock, with farmers from low-lying areas taking their animals to higher ground on neighbouring properties.
Many growers have prepared their farms with flood mounds, built above historic high water marks, to salvage their machinery.
Craig Huf, a cattle farmer from Upper Burringbar, around 40km south of the NSW-Queensland border, said some producers on the flood plains were cut off by overflowing creeks and causeways.
Royce Kurmelovs
Access to Pacific Highway north from Byron closed off by SES
In Byron Bay in northern NSW, access to the Pacific Highway heading north towards Mullumbimby has been closed off by SES personnel.
Parts of Byron Bay still have power, however. Here’s the bakery in the industrial estate, where lines are snaking out the door:
Flooding has turned ‘picnic area into a lake’ in northern NSW
Guardian contributor Royce Kurmelovs has captured some images of the flooding at Bangalow, in the Northern Rivers of NSW. He wrote:
Flooding in Bangalow – this is the weir on the river. It’s turned a picnic area into a lake.
Large bunya pine uprooted on Gold Coast street amid strong winds
Krystle Wright has been on the scene at the Gold Coast, capturing all the damage Tropical Cyclone Alfred has wreaked so far.
Here are some photos that have been filtering through this morning:
