Tropical Cyclone Alfred is closing in on southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales, with authorities warning residents to “prepare now” for the “extremely rare event”.
Millions of people in Queensland and northern New South Wales (NSW) are under warnings to hunker down or evacuate with flights, trains, buses and schools suspended.
Meteorologists warn the cyclone will bring destructive winds of up to 120kmph, life-threatening flash flooding, and 8-metre waves.
Follow our live coverage of Cyclone Alfred
“The governments across the board are taking this seriously, and Queenslanders as well as those on the north coast of New South Wales need to do so as well,” Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese said.
On Thursday, the storm slowed down as it moved towards the eastern coast of Australia. It is now expected to make landfall late on Friday night or early Saturday morning, between Maroochydore and Coolangatta.
The cyclone, which charted an unusual path in the Pacific, is the first to directly impact areas near Brisbane since Nancy in 1990.
On Thursday, Alfred was 245km east of Brisbane, 230km east-northeast of the Gold Coast, moving west-northwest at just 7kmph, according to an update from the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) at 5pm local time.
The cyclone is maintaining Category 2 strength with gusts up to 130kmph. But its slow movement means Alfred will have more time to intensify, feeding off warm ocean waters and low vertical wind shear, potentially making it stronger before it reaches the coast.
Meteorologist Thomas Hinterdorfer said that this could result in prolonged extreme weather, with some areas experiencing heavy rain, destructive winds, and storm surges for up to 12 to 14 hours.
“It’s going to have more time in the lower vertical shear. It’s going to have more time with the warm ocean waters, and all that fuel is gonna help it intensify,” Mr Hinterdorfer told The Courier Mail.
“It’s not a good scenario to have it, you know, being a bit slower, we’d much prefer it to come through faster.”
Authorities say the cyclone’s impact will extend far beyond the landfall zone, with destructive winds, extreme rainfall, and dangerous storm surges from Double Island Point (QLD) to Ballina (NSW).
BoM warns that storm surges could cause major flooding in low-lying coastal areas, particularly if Alfred’s landfall coincides with high tide early Friday.
