Cyclone Alfred live updates: 'Staggering' number of power outages, dire warning to millions despite downgrade
There are power outages for close to 300,000 people, which energy networks are calling a "staggering" number. In a brutal assessment, they believe those without power should expect to be without it for at least a week.
The Bureau of Meteorology had earlier warned residents they will face extreme conditions for six or more hours once the cyclone makes landfall. That is expected to happen on the mainland very shortly, with the cyclone already crossing Moreton Island as a category one system.
Follow along as we bring you regular updates throughout the day.
One thing the slow pace of now Ex-TropCyclone Alfred has allowed is ample preparation time, with many communities saying they are ready for what the system brings.
Overnight, SES Queensland said it had handed out its millionth sandbag.
'Our local councils have been moving mountains of sand trying to get our communities ready,' Acting Commissioner Shane Chelepy said.
Moreton Bay City Council Mayor Peter Flannery is warning residents to heed warnings, and remain inside after a "hell of a lot of wind and rain" overnight.
"The impacts are still prevalent, and we don't know what's ahead of us. Expect the worst," he said on ABC News Breakfast.
He'd earlier said "selfies on social media for likes" simply weren't worth it and again urged people to stay off the roads, beaches and out of the water.
Authorities have repeatedly expressed their anger over the amount of people on beaches throughout Friday, particularly children. Acting Gold Coast Mayor Donna Gates said warnings of $16,000 fines for entering the water had simply not worked.
Let's get some more clarity on what this downgrade means. The Bureau of Meteorology is keen to stress it does not mean the threat posed to large areas has diminished and categories simply refer to the strength of the wind gusts.
"The rainfall risk continues and is likely to continue through today, ramping up overnight and into tomorrow," the BoM's Miriam Bradbury told ABC News Breakfast.
"That wet weather is only seeing its beginning at the moment."
OK, we have a major update from the Bureau of Meteorology.
Just hours after the cyclone was revised down to a category one system late on Friday, it has now been downgraded to a tropical low.
Now that does not mean the dangers millions have been warned about will become less likely as the sheer amount of rain predicted is still expected.
"Some of the biggest weather event I've seen in my career have been tropical lows," the ABC's meteorologist Adam Morgan said
Energex says there are widespread power outages in Queensland's southeast.
A staggering number of 239,000 people are currently off in the southeast area. Those are the main ones. Significant numbers," area manager Chris Graham told the ABC news channel.
The worst hit is the Gold Coast with nearly 120,000 people without power.
And in a bleak update for residents, Graham said people needed to "be prepared for prolonged outages". He said that could be at least a week some are left without power.
Good morning and welcome to Yahoo's live coverage once more.
In a key update this morning, the Bureau of Meteorology has said Cyclone Alfred has been revised to a category one system after weakening slightly. However that does not mean life-threatening conditions will not occur, with damaging gusts and flash flooding expected on the mainland.
The cyclone is expected to make landfall shortly between Maroochydore and Bribie Island.
This is where we'll be leaving our live coverage for the day, however the Yahoo homepage will have the latest news from the cyclone here.
And for vital information from the Bureau of Meteorology, you can find that here.
Our live coverage will return early tomorrow morning before Cyclone Alfred is expected to make landfall.
With Tropical Cyclone Alfred now just hours away from landfall, authorities are warning residents it's now time to get serious.
Residents are being urged to stay inside 'immediately' as the wild weather ramps up.
The cyclone was 125km east-southeast of Brisbane and 90km east-northeast of the Gold Coast on Friday afternoon, moving west southwest at 8km/h.
'Everyone should be off the roads and at home almost from immediately after this press conference,' Acting Gold Coast Mayor Donna Gates said at 2pm (AEST).
'It is serious and strong winds can't be underestimated."
OK, passing 2pm (AEST), all Brisbane Coles stores are now closed.
Woolworths had earlier said the select number of stores open in Brisbane would close early.
We'll stick with Acting Gold Coast mayor Donna Gates as she's just revealed police are working to remove four children from the ocean at Southport.
"They're ignoring warnings to get out... it's very, very foolish and very, very dangerous," she said.
Gates said two teens had earlier been rescued from the water.
She clarified a previous warning people could get fined $16,000 for entering the water, saying they were not on-the-spot fines, however the maximum someone could be fined if taken through the courts.
She said trying to scare people with that information appeared to have "fallen on deaf ears".
Acting Gold Coast mayor Donna Gates has urged people not to call Triple-0 to report fallen powerlines with emergency services inundated amid the cyclone.
"Don't clog other resources," she urged, telling people to call 131962 instead, stressing it was still an important call residents still need to make.
Well we mentioned before a few of the Gold Coast's iconic lifeguard towers had succumbed to the coastal erosion there, so let's take a closer look at that now.
Remarkably the ones that have fallen around Southport remain in tact after falling down the sand cliff onto the beach below.
NSW Premier Chris Minns has told anyone who ignores evacuation orders in northern NSW will be "by yourself".
While he said the majority of people are following the advice, there are concerns a small number of people will stay.
"If you're one of the few people that are remaining in your house and you're in an evacuation area … you will literally be by yourself,' he said.
Mr Minns warned that despite the heavy emergency service presence, it did not mean those remaining in the evacuation zone could 'ride out the storm'.
'There aren't the same number of boats as houses, and in the event of a major natural disaster we can't be everywhere at the same time," he said.
The Bureau of Meteorology has released a new update, saying Cyclone Alfred is expected to remain a category 2 system as it approaches the coast. It is now just 150 kilometres east southeast of Brisbane.
It's on track to cross the Moreton Bay islands on Saturday morning as a category 2 cyclone, before potentially dropping to a category 1 around midday. By Sunday, BoM predicts it will become a tropical low.
Damaging wind gusts of up to 140km/h are still forecast for today, with locally 'intense' rainfall and the risk of flash flooding.
'Destructive wind gusts of up to 155 kilometres per hour may develop about the Moreton Bay Islands and exposed coastal location on the northern Gold Coast from tonight,' BoM said in the update.
'Although Alfred is expected to weaken and move inland during Saturday, damaging wind gusts may continue, particularly over elevated terrain during Saturday, before easing throughout during Sunday.'
People between Cape Moreton and Yamba, including the Moreton Bay Islands should remain inside until conditions have eased and listen to the next advice.
People between Yamba and Grafton in New South Wales, as well as Brisbane and Double Island Point in Queensland should take precautions and listen to the next advice.
And how about this unfortunate moment for this Brisbane driver? With fears e-scooters and e-bikes could prove to be a deadly projectile, they've all been gathered up and stored together in the CBD.
But one driver was left trapped by them all. Unsurprisingly the motorist's plight went viral this morning.
Read more about it from the Yahoo team here.
Two Currumbin Valley residents are lucky to be alive after a massive gum tree fell on their home on Friday morning.
Damaging winds from Cyclone Alfred sent the tree crashing into the roof of the house, ripping open the roof and flattening walls.
The occupants thankfully sustained only minor injuries and were taken to the Gold Coast University Hospital in stable conditions.
On Facebook, a woman claimed it was her brother's home, and emergency crews had to cut up the tree in order to free him from the house.
Your home is your castle, as they say and it appears those who live in this Currumbin apartment block certainly see it that way. They've managed to build one of the most sophisticated sandbag walls we've seen.
There's been plenty of vision from the Gold Coast's Currumbin and the waterfront there showing the water swamping the local surf life club's car park with fears the water will shortly cross the coastal road there.
There's plenty at threat thanks to the coastal erosion on the Gold Coast with reports some of the city's iconic lifeguard towers have fallen.
And crews in Southport are working to save the iconic bronze sculpture 'Melody on the foreshore' in front of the surf live saving club. The sculpture's neighbouring lifeguard tower is nowhere to be seen.
Surf cam shows a digger looking to pull the sculpture to safety, which can be seen below. And take a look at what the site normally looks like.
The NSW SES has issued 25 evacuation orders in anticipation of severe flooding from Cyclone Alfred.
The most recent additions have been New Brighton and South Golden Beach on the Tweed Coast, and areas of Macksville and Bowraville on the Mid North Coast as river levels continue to rise.
The NSW government admitted its evacuation orders were made too late during the 2022 Lismore floods so it is making early calls on areas it expects will need to be evacuated.
There are currently 19 evacuation centres open in NSW.
In Queensland four areas along the Moreton Bay coast, including Wynnum and Brighton, have beed ordered to prepare to evacuate. Redland City Island communities were last night at 9pm warned to 'Take Shelter Now'. The cyclone is forecast to reach the Queensland mainland at midday on Saturday.
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.
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
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One thing the slow pace of now Ex-TropCyclone Alfred has allowed is ample preparation time, with many communities saying they are ready for what the system brings.
Overnight, SES Queensland said it had handed out its millionth sandbag.
'Our local councils have been moving mountains of sand trying to get our communities ready,' Acting Commissioner Shane Chelepy said.
Moreton Bay City Council Mayor Peter Flannery is warning residents to heed warnings, and remain inside after a "hell of a lot of wind and rain" overnight.
"The impacts are still prevalent, and we don't know what's ahead of us. Expect the worst," he said on ABC News Breakfast.
He'd earlier said "selfies on social media for likes" simply weren't worth it and again urged people to stay off the roads, beaches and out of the water.
Authorities have repeatedly expressed their anger over the amount of people on beaches throughout Friday, particularly children. Acting Gold Coast Mayor Donna Gates said warnings of $16,000 fines for entering the water had simply not worked.
Let's get some more clarity on what this downgrade means. The Bureau of Meteorology is keen to stress it does not mean the threat posed to large areas has diminished and categories simply refer to the strength of the wind gusts.
"The rainfall risk continues and is likely to continue through today, ramping up overnight and into tomorrow," the BoM's Miriam Bradbury told ABC News Breakfast.
"That wet weather is only seeing its beginning at the moment."
OK, we have a major update from the Bureau of Meteorology.
Just hours after the cyclone was revised down to a category one system late on Friday, it has now been downgraded to a tropical low.
Now that does not mean the dangers millions have been warned about will become less likely as the sheer amount of rain predicted is still expected.
"Some of the biggest weather event I've seen in my career have been tropical lows," the ABC's meteorologist Adam Morgan said
Energex says there are widespread power outages in Queensland's southeast.
A staggering number of 239,000 people are currently off in the southeast area. Those are the main ones. Significant numbers," area manager Chris Graham told the ABC news channel.
The worst hit is the Gold Coast with nearly 120,000 people without power.
And in a bleak update for residents, Graham said people needed to "be prepared for prolonged outages". He said that could be at least a week some are left without power.
Good morning and welcome to Yahoo's live coverage once more.
In a key update this morning, the Bureau of Meteorology has said Cyclone Alfred has been revised to a category one system after weakening slightly. However that does not mean life-threatening conditions will not occur, with damaging gusts and flash flooding expected on the mainland.
The cyclone is expected to make landfall shortly between Maroochydore and Bribie Island.
This is where we'll be leaving our live coverage for the day, however the Yahoo homepage will have the latest news from the cyclone here.
And for vital information from the Bureau of Meteorology, you can find that here.
Our live coverage will return early tomorrow morning before Cyclone Alfred is expected to make landfall.
With Tropical Cyclone Alfred now just hours away from landfall, authorities are warning residents it's now time to get serious.
Residents are being urged to stay inside 'immediately' as the wild weather ramps up.
The cyclone was 125km east-southeast of Brisbane and 90km east-northeast of the Gold Coast on Friday afternoon, moving west southwest at 8km/h.
'Everyone should be off the roads and at home almost from immediately after this press conference,' Acting Gold Coast Mayor Donna Gates said at 2pm (AEST).
'It is serious and strong winds can't be underestimated."
OK, passing 2pm (AEST), all Brisbane Coles stores are now closed.
Woolworths had earlier said the select number of stores open in Brisbane would close early.
We'll stick with Acting Gold Coast mayor Donna Gates as she's just revealed police are working to remove four children from the ocean at Southport.
"They're ignoring warnings to get out... it's very, very foolish and very, very dangerous," she said.
Gates said two teens had earlier been rescued from the water.
She clarified a previous warning people could get fined $16,000 for entering the water, saying they were not on-the-spot fines, however the maximum someone could be fined if taken through the courts.
She said trying to scare people with that information appeared to have "fallen on deaf ears".
Acting Gold Coast mayor Donna Gates has urged people not to call Triple-0 to report fallen powerlines with emergency services inundated amid the cyclone.
"Don't clog other resources," she urged, telling people to call 131962 instead, stressing it was still an important call residents still need to make.
Well we mentioned before a few of the Gold Coast's iconic lifeguard towers had succumbed to the coastal erosion there, so let's take a closer look at that now.
Remarkably the ones that have fallen around Southport remain in tact after falling down the sand cliff onto the beach below.
NSW Premier Chris Minns has told anyone who ignores evacuation orders in northern NSW will be "by yourself".
While he said the majority of people are following the advice, there are concerns a small number of people will stay.
"If you're one of the few people that are remaining in your house and you're in an evacuation area … you will literally be by yourself,' he said.
Mr Minns warned that despite the heavy emergency service presence, it did not mean those remaining in the evacuation zone could 'ride out the storm'.
'There aren't the same number of boats as houses, and in the event of a major natural disaster we can't be everywhere at the same time," he said.
The Bureau of Meteorology has released a new update, saying Cyclone Alfred is expected to remain a category 2 system as it approaches the coast. It is now just 150 kilometres east southeast of Brisbane.
It's on track to cross the Moreton Bay islands on Saturday morning as a category 2 cyclone, before potentially dropping to a category 1 around midday. By Sunday, BoM predicts it will become a tropical low.
Damaging wind gusts of up to 140km/h are still forecast for today, with locally 'intense' rainfall and the risk of flash flooding.
'Destructive wind gusts of up to 155 kilometres per hour may develop about the Moreton Bay Islands and exposed coastal location on the northern Gold Coast from tonight,' BoM said in the update.
'Although Alfred is expected to weaken and move inland during Saturday, damaging wind gusts may continue, particularly over elevated terrain during Saturday, before easing throughout during Sunday.'
People between Cape Moreton and Yamba, including the Moreton Bay Islands should remain inside until conditions have eased and listen to the next advice.
People between Yamba and Grafton in New South Wales, as well as Brisbane and Double Island Point in Queensland should take precautions and listen to the next advice.
And how about this unfortunate moment for this Brisbane driver? With fears e-scooters and e-bikes could prove to be a deadly projectile, they've all been gathered up and stored together in the CBD.
But one driver was left trapped by them all. Unsurprisingly the motorist's plight went viral this morning.
Read more about it from the Yahoo team here.
Two Currumbin Valley residents are lucky to be alive after a massive gum tree fell on their home on Friday morning.
Damaging winds from Cyclone Alfred sent the tree crashing into the roof of the house, ripping open the roof and flattening walls.
The occupants thankfully sustained only minor injuries and were taken to the Gold Coast University Hospital in stable conditions.
On Facebook, a woman claimed it was her brother's home, and emergency crews had to cut up the tree in order to free him from the house.
Your home is your castle, as they say and it appears those who live in this Currumbin apartment block certainly see it that way. They've managed to build one of the most sophisticated sandbag walls we've seen.
There's been plenty of vision from the Gold Coast's Currumbin and the waterfront there showing the water swamping the local surf life club's car park with fears the water will shortly cross the coastal road there.
There's plenty at threat thanks to the coastal erosion on the Gold Coast with reports some of the city's iconic lifeguard towers have fallen.
And crews in Southport are working to save the iconic bronze sculpture 'Melody on the foreshore' in front of the surf live saving club. The sculpture's neighbouring lifeguard tower is nowhere to be seen.
Surf cam shows a digger looking to pull the sculpture to safety, which can be seen below. And take a look at what the site normally looks like.
The NSW SES has issued 25 evacuation orders in anticipation of severe flooding from Cyclone Alfred.
The most recent additions have been New Brighton and South Golden Beach on the Tweed Coast, and areas of Macksville and Bowraville on the Mid North Coast as river levels continue to rise.
The NSW government admitted its evacuation orders were made too late during the 2022 Lismore floods so it is making early calls on areas it expects will need to be evacuated.
There are currently 19 evacuation centres open in NSW.
In Queensland four areas along the Moreton Bay coast, including Wynnum and Brighton, have beed ordered to prepare to evacuate. Redland City Island communities were last night at 9pm warned to 'Take Shelter Now'. The cyclone is forecast to reach the Queensland mainland at midday on Saturday.
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.
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