Cyclone Alfred live updates: Woolworths, Coles holding out on store closures, map reveals widespread power outages

Yahoo

07-03-2025

Hello and welcome to Yahoo's live coverage of Tropical Cyclone Alfred. The category two cyclone is expected to make landfall in less than 24 hours as millions looks to bunker down. Woolworths and Coles say they are doing what they can to keep stores open in a bid to help last-minute preparations.
The Bureau of Meteorology is warning residents they will face extreme conditions for six or more hours once the cyclone makes landfall. Many are feeling the impacts of the cyclone well before it reaches the coastline, with tens of thousands of homes losing power and wind gusts of over 100km/h already recorded.
Authorities are stressing people should be nowhere near beaches, fearing emergency services will be dealing with fatalities if warnings aren't heeded. Police are reportedly looking to fine anyone in the water $1,600.
Follow along as we bring you regular updates throughout the day.
Well this is a somewhat positive update for millions anxiously waiting in Brisbane.
The Bureau of Meteorology's Matthew Collopy told reporters just now the cyclone should weaken by the time it reaches Queensland's capital.
"As the cyclone moves across Moreton Bay islands, it is expected to weaken from a Category two to a Category one system," he said.
"That will mean that destructive winds are unlikely for Brisbane itself, but damaging wind gusts to 120km/h are expected and they will develop quickly as the system approaches."
He expects the cyclone to pass north of the city's CBD about midday on Saturday.
Collopy said waves bigger than 10 metres are expected to continue while he said flooding remains a "major concern", with the southern flank of the cyclone expected to bring 800mm across the next two days.
In what Premier David Crisafulli was a "little moment of magic" amid the chaos, a set of twins have been born on North Stradbroke Island overnight.
The island has been badly impacted by Tropical Cyclone Alfred however midwives and paramedics were able to deliver the twins in the town of Dunwich on the western side of the island.
We've seen plenty of viral videos from Currumbin's Vikings Surf Life club over the past few days as the storm surge engulfed its car park right on the beach there.
Well vision shared to Instagram by local photographer Luke Workmann now shows the damage caused.
While plenty of sand has been washed away either side, the car park's tarmac has been completely ripped up.
Tens of thousands of people are being warned they could be without power for over a week after storm debris took out a substation on the Gold Coast.
Roughly 38,000 people in southeast Queensland have lost power, with the majority of those on the Gold Coast.
'The strong winds have carried debris, tree branches, whole trees, everything onto the network," Energex spokesman Danny Donald told the Courier Mail.
Donald said if the cyclone hits part hard, restoration work will be delayed.
If there was a video to show you why residents in the line of Cyclone Alfred shouldn't be on the beach, well this is probably it.
A man with a metal detector was scanning the Gold Coast sand yesterday when he was quickly engulfed by rising swell, showing just how quickly the storm surge can come in.
Authorities are becoming increasingly frustrated with people ignoring instruction to stay off beaches, while the ABC is reporting police will look to fine anyone entering the water $1,600.
Well just when you thought that it couldn't be pushed back any further, it has.
The landfall prediction for Cyclone Alfred has once again been revised, with the category two cyclone moving slower than expected.
The Bureau of Meteorology says it could be as late as 10am on Saturday now for Cyclone Alfred to reach the mainland.
It is expected to cross between Noosa and Coolangatta and bring wind gusts north of 150km/h.
We bring you more damage now caused by strong wind gusts overnight, with parts of an apartment block in Surfers Paradise blown over. Wind gusts reached close to 90km/h last night at Gold Coast Seaway.
We've now heard from Coles about their store closures today.
All Gold Coast stores are now shut, all Brisbane stores will be closed by 2pm, with some closing at noon, while Sunshine Coast stores will shut at 4pm.
In NSW, all are closed apart from Ballina, Goonellabah and Casino, which will close in 45 minutes and Grafton, South Grafton and Yamba which will stay open until 4pm.
"As a food retailer, we know we are an essential part of the communities we serve in times of natural disasters. As such, we have been working hard to keep our stores open as long as it has been safe to do so," a Coles spokesperson said.
There are significant power outages in northern NSW where Essential Energy now says has left more than 43,000 homes and businesses without power.
A live map shows widespread outages, with authorities warning it will only get worse.
North Coast Minister Rose Jackson said people should be prepared to lose their energy supply.
"Conditions in the Northern Rivers and Far North Coast continue to be extremely dangerous, hindering restoration efforts for the over 43,000 homes and businesses without power," Essential Energy said in an update this morning.
Crews have been stood down as the cyclone conditions worsen.
Woolworths says it's trying to keep as many stores open as possible to help communities set to be impacted by Cyclone Alfred.
'Where it remains safe and possible to do so, some of our stores in Brisbane and Sunshine Coast are open this morning to serve the community, however we expect them to close early throughout the day to ensure safe travel home for our team," the supermarket said in an update on Friday morning.
'While we're working to keep as many stores open as possible, some items may be missing from the shelves as trucking services begin to be reduced ahead of the cyclone. We thank customers for their understanding as our teams do their best to support shoppers.
Woolworths said it was well prepared to stock shelves once the cyclone was over.
All the latest information on which stores are open can be found here.
Strong wind gusts have already begun to topple trees across northern NSW and southeast Queensland.
And in Byron Bay town centre, an iconic tree near the train station has been ripped out of the ground.
Cape Byron recorded wind gusts of 113km/h at 5.30am this morning.
Well there we have it. Tropical Cyclone Alfred has entered the Bureau of Meteorology's Brisbane's radar loop. It sits roughly 160km from Queensland's capital.
While we're expecting landfall after midnight tonight, that will likely happen first on Moreton Island and will be a bit later for the densely populated areas of Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
The storm surge has claimed a fair bit of sand along the Gold Coast's vast coastline and the erosion is only expected to get worse as the water rises.
The Gold Coast Bulletin's Andrew Potts has shared vision of one of the city's many lifeguard towers, which normally sit well back from the ocean, in a precarious spot.
One of the #goldcoast's famous lifeguard towers now sits on the very edge of a sand Clift as #TCAlfred's swell erodes the beach. @GCBulletin pic.twitter.com/nvCY2ebqZT
— Andrew Potts (@GCS_Pottsy) March 6, 2025
We saw plenty of people out and about yesterday, with huge crowds seen in places like Burleigh.
But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says that has to stop.
"Can I say that everyone has to accept personal responsibility here," he told reporters this morning.
"This is not a time for sight seeing or seeing what it's like to experience these conditions first hand.
"Please stay safe. Be sensible. And keep distance from these events and the impact as it's happening."
Queensland Premier David Crisufalli has called out "a handful of idiots" who continue to head to beaches and enter the ocean.
You have a handful of idiots who do that, and in the end, they don't just put themselves at risk, they put the emergency services who may have to go and rescue them as well," he said.
Acting Chief Superintendent Peter Miles said on Thursday he was "flabbergasted" by the amount of people, particularly kids, he was seeing near the storm surge and stressed nobody should be on the beach.
"We all need to be a bit more smart about this and ensure that we don't have any unneeded rescues or potentially worse where we're looking at fatalities," he told reporters.
The Bureau of Meteorology has given an insight into what residents in the path of Cyclone Alfred can expect.
Senior forecaster Christie Johnson explained it will be a prolonged event once the cyclone makes landfall.
'It'll be those sort of conditions that we're used to seeing for 20 minutes or so at a time with a thunderstorm coming through … but potentially sustained for six hours or more," she told the ABC.
As Tropical Cyclone Alfred makes its way towards the east coast, those in its direct path are being warned deadly conditions will occur today.
The category two cyclone is expected to make landfall in the early hours of Saturday morning but the threat to residents has already begun.
"Regardless of whether it does cross as a category one, two, or three, we are still expecting that very heavy rainfall and life-threatening flash flooding well before the crossing and well after the crossing as well and that very dangerous storm surge," The Bureau of Meteorology's Jonathan Howe said.
Tens of thousands of people have been impacted by power outages, while there have been evacuations in some areas. Schools, supermarkets and airports have shut as communities bunker down.
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Well this is a somewhat positive update for millions anxiously waiting in Brisbane.
The Bureau of Meteorology's Matthew Collopy told reporters just now the cyclone should weaken by the time it reaches Queensland's capital.
"As the cyclone moves across Moreton Bay islands, it is expected to weaken from a Category two to a Category one system," he said.
"That will mean that destructive winds are unlikely for Brisbane itself, but damaging wind gusts to 120km/h are expected and they will develop quickly as the system approaches."
He expects the cyclone to pass north of the city's CBD about midday on Saturday.
Collopy said waves bigger than 10 metres are expected to continue while he said flooding remains a "major concern", with the southern flank of the cyclone expected to bring 800mm across the next two days.
In what Premier David Crisafulli was a "little moment of magic" amid the chaos, a set of twins have been born on North Stradbroke Island overnight.
The island has been badly impacted by Tropical Cyclone Alfred however midwives and paramedics were able to deliver the twins in the town of Dunwich on the western side of the island.
We've seen plenty of viral videos from Currumbin's Vikings Surf Life club over the past few days as the storm surge engulfed its car park right on the beach there.
Well vision shared to Instagram by local photographer Luke Workmann now shows the damage caused.
While plenty of sand has been washed away either side, the car park's tarmac has been completely ripped up.
Tens of thousands of people are being warned they could be without power for over a week after storm debris took out a substation on the Gold Coast.
Roughly 38,000 people in southeast Queensland have lost power, with the majority of those on the Gold Coast.
'The strong winds have carried debris, tree branches, whole trees, everything onto the network," Energex spokesman Danny Donald told the Courier Mail.
Donald said if the cyclone hits part hard, restoration work will be delayed.
If there was a video to show you why residents in the line of Cyclone Alfred shouldn't be on the beach, well this is probably it.
A man with a metal detector was scanning the Gold Coast sand yesterday when he was quickly engulfed by rising swell, showing just how quickly the storm surge can come in.
Authorities are becoming increasingly frustrated with people ignoring instruction to stay off beaches, while the ABC is reporting police will look to fine anyone entering the water $1,600.
Well just when you thought that it couldn't be pushed back any further, it has.
The landfall prediction for Cyclone Alfred has once again been revised, with the category two cyclone moving slower than expected.
The Bureau of Meteorology says it could be as late as 10am on Saturday now for Cyclone Alfred to reach the mainland.
It is expected to cross between Noosa and Coolangatta and bring wind gusts north of 150km/h.
We bring you more damage now caused by strong wind gusts overnight, with parts of an apartment block in Surfers Paradise blown over. Wind gusts reached close to 90km/h last night at Gold Coast Seaway.
We've now heard from Coles about their store closures today.
All Gold Coast stores are now shut, all Brisbane stores will be closed by 2pm, with some closing at noon, while Sunshine Coast stores will shut at 4pm.
In NSW, all are closed apart from Ballina, Goonellabah and Casino, which will close in 45 minutes and Grafton, South Grafton and Yamba which will stay open until 4pm.
"As a food retailer, we know we are an essential part of the communities we serve in times of natural disasters. As such, we have been working hard to keep our stores open as long as it has been safe to do so," a Coles spokesperson said.
There are significant power outages in northern NSW where Essential Energy now says has left more than 43,000 homes and businesses without power.
A live map shows widespread outages, with authorities warning it will only get worse.
North Coast Minister Rose Jackson said people should be prepared to lose their energy supply.
"Conditions in the Northern Rivers and Far North Coast continue to be extremely dangerous, hindering restoration efforts for the over 43,000 homes and businesses without power," Essential Energy said in an update this morning.
Crews have been stood down as the cyclone conditions worsen.
Woolworths says it's trying to keep as many stores open as possible to help communities set to be impacted by Cyclone Alfred.
'Where it remains safe and possible to do so, some of our stores in Brisbane and Sunshine Coast are open this morning to serve the community, however we expect them to close early throughout the day to ensure safe travel home for our team," the supermarket said in an update on Friday morning.
'While we're working to keep as many stores open as possible, some items may be missing from the shelves as trucking services begin to be reduced ahead of the cyclone. We thank customers for their understanding as our teams do their best to support shoppers.
Woolworths said it was well prepared to stock shelves once the cyclone was over.
All the latest information on which stores are open can be found here.
Strong wind gusts have already begun to topple trees across northern NSW and southeast Queensland.
And in Byron Bay town centre, an iconic tree near the train station has been ripped out of the ground.
Cape Byron recorded wind gusts of 113km/h at 5.30am this morning.
Well there we have it. Tropical Cyclone Alfred has entered the Bureau of Meteorology's Brisbane's radar loop. It sits roughly 160km from Queensland's capital.
While we're expecting landfall after midnight tonight, that will likely happen first on Moreton Island and will be a bit later for the densely populated areas of Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
The storm surge has claimed a fair bit of sand along the Gold Coast's vast coastline and the erosion is only expected to get worse as the water rises.
The Gold Coast Bulletin's Andrew Potts has shared vision of one of the city's many lifeguard towers, which normally sit well back from the ocean, in a precarious spot.
One of the #goldcoast's famous lifeguard towers now sits on the very edge of a sand Clift as #TCAlfred's swell erodes the beach. @GCBulletin pic.twitter.com/nvCY2ebqZT
— Andrew Potts (@GCS_Pottsy) March 6, 2025
We saw plenty of people out and about yesterday, with huge crowds seen in places like Burleigh.
But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says that has to stop.
"Can I say that everyone has to accept personal responsibility here," he told reporters this morning.
"This is not a time for sight seeing or seeing what it's like to experience these conditions first hand.
"Please stay safe. Be sensible. And keep distance from these events and the impact as it's happening."
Queensland Premier David Crisufalli has called out "a handful of idiots" who continue to head to beaches and enter the ocean.
You have a handful of idiots who do that, and in the end, they don't just put themselves at risk, they put the emergency services who may have to go and rescue them as well," he said.
Acting Chief Superintendent Peter Miles said on Thursday he was "flabbergasted" by the amount of people, particularly kids, he was seeing near the storm surge and stressed nobody should be on the beach.
"We all need to be a bit more smart about this and ensure that we don't have any unneeded rescues or potentially worse where we're looking at fatalities," he told reporters.
The Bureau of Meteorology has given an insight into what residents in the path of Cyclone Alfred can expect.
Senior forecaster Christie Johnson explained it will be a prolonged event once the cyclone makes landfall.
'It'll be those sort of conditions that we're used to seeing for 20 minutes or so at a time with a thunderstorm coming through … but potentially sustained for six hours or more," she told the ABC.
As Tropical Cyclone Alfred makes its way towards the east coast, those in its direct path are being warned deadly conditions will occur today.
The category two cyclone is expected to make landfall in the early hours of Saturday morning but the threat to residents has already begun.
"Regardless of whether it does cross as a category one, two, or three, we are still expecting that very heavy rainfall and life-threatening flash flooding well before the crossing and well after the crossing as well and that very dangerous storm surge," The Bureau of Meteorology's Jonathan Howe said.
Tens of thousands of people have been impacted by power outages, while there have been evacuations in some areas. Schools, supermarkets and airports have shut as communities bunker down.