Cyclone Alfred: 'Worse to come', warns Australian PM - as heavy rain and flooding batters east coast
Anthony Albanese said the impacts of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred are already being felt across parts of Queensland and New South Wales, with the hours ahead expected to bring more downpours.
"We must remain vigilant. This is a very serious weather event," he said in an update on Saturday morning.
"The impact will be serious and will intensify over coming hours and coming days. [It will] still bring strong winds, heavy rain, flooding and dangerous conditions over this weekend and the days beyond.
"Now is the time to remain alert, stay inside and look after each other."
0:46
Tropical Cyclone Alfred had been expected to become the first cyclone to cross the east Australian coast near the Queensland state capital since 1974.
But the weather event weakened early on Saturday to a tropical low, which is defined as carrying sustained winds of less than 39mph.
Fallen trees across the region have already damaged power lines, homes and cars, while the Gold Coast's renowned beaches have become steep sandy cliffs after days of relentless erosion.
A number of flood warnings are in place across the east coast, with the Bureau of Meteorology Australia warning that "rivers are rising rapidly" and flash flood also pose a "huge risk".
The national forecaster said the peak of flooding is expected to be overnight on Saturday into early Sunday.
Mr Albanese warned people not to take the weather downgrade as a reason to be complacent, adding that the advice of his government remains: "If it's flooded, forget it."
Sarah Ndiaye, the mayor of Byron Shire in New South Wales, told Sky News that the region had "dodged a bullet" after the cyclone didn't hit as expected, but it remains a "very, very tense" situation.
An estimated 19,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying homes, and a 61-year-old man remains missing after being swept down a river near the town of Dorrigo in New South Wales.
Region's 'largest ever loss of power'
More than 330,000 homes and businesses lost power on both sides of the border, a large proportion of them on the Gold Coast, which recorded the strongest gusts of 107kph (66 mph) on Friday night.
Queensland premier David Crisafulli said the outage is the "largest ever loss of power from a natural disaster" in the region's history.
He said authorities and emergency services are "throwing everything" at restoring power to those affected and clearing roads that have been blocked by fallen debris.
In its latest forecast, the Bureau of Meteorology Australia said areas experiencing the heaviest rainfall could see up to 200-300mm of rain in the next 24 hours with isolated wind gusts of up to 90kph (55mph).
A severe weather warning is in place for "heavy to locally intense rainfall" and "damaging winds", covering areas to the south of Gympie in Queensland all the way down to Nambucca Heads in New South Wales.
The forecaster said a "gradual easing" of the intense rainfall should be seen by Monday night, but this depends on how the system moves across the country.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
13-08-2025
- Daily Mail
Brit hotspots are burning: Three are killed as wildfires tear through Greek Islands, Spain, Portugal and the Balkans as heatwaves hell continues
Deadly wildfires which have claimed the lives of at least three people have spread across several British tourist hotspots forcing thousands of evacuations as a scorching heatwave continues to tear through Europe. Sunseekers have been fleeing Greece 's Zakynthos and Kefalonia islands 'by the minute' as raging infernos continue to rip through the Med. A British bar worker on Zakynthos told Sky News he joined emergency services and locals to help combat a 'shocking' fire near a popular tourist resort. Since dawn on Wednesday, 4,850 firefighters backed by the army and 33 planes were mobilised across Greece on what promised to be 'a very difficult day', fire service spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said. In popular party-resort Laganas, officials ordered young Brit revellers to leave hotels as a 'precautionary measure' after the fires shot clouds of black smoke over the area. 'It's a cocktail of high temperatures, strong winds... and minimal humidity,' the head of civil protection for Western Greece, Nikos Gyftakis, told public broadcaster ERT. One local official spoke of 'an unending nightmare' as a blaze near the ancient Mycenaean archaeological site of Voudeni, just four miles from Patras, Greece's third-largest city, threatened forested zones and homes, while 7,700 people were evacuated from a nearby town. Meanwhile, some 15 firefighters were injured overnight while hundreds of locals and tourists are being treated for respiratory problems in hospital. Fire brigade spokesperson, Vasillis Vathrakogiannis said: 'It will be another very difficult day, as the wildfire risk for most of the country's regions will be very high.' In a scene he likened to 'doomsday', Giorgos Karavanis, a volunteer firefighter said: 'We came from Athens with our volunteer association Kleisthenis, we can't do anything more. He added: 'May God help us and help people here.' Officials evacuated 12 children from a Patras hospital, Vathrakogiannis said. Eighty elderly people were removed from a retirement home, and local media footage showed the roof of a nearby 17th-century monastery ablaze. Meanwhile, in the western Achaia region in the Peloponnese, to which the coastal city of Patras belongs, around 20 villages were evacuated on Tuesday. Other fronts were burning on the popular tourist island of Zante and the Aegean island of Chios, scarred by a huge wildfire in June that ravaged more than 4,000 hectares. The Greek coastguard said it had helped evacuate nearly 80 people from Chios and near Patras. The national ambulance service reported 52 hospitalisations from Achaia, Chios and the western town of Preveza, including 'a small number of firefighters', mostly for respiratory problems and minor burns. After Greece requested four water bombers from the EU Civil Protection Mechanism to bolster its resources, leftist opposition party Syriza criticised the conservative government's preparation for the fires that hit every year. Greece needed 'a bold redistribution of resources in favour of civil protection', an 'emphasis on prevention', better coordination and new technologies in its civil protection system, Syriza said. Earlier this week, the Keratea region, south of Athens was decimated by raging wildfires with up to 16,000 acres of land decimated. An elderly man was found dead inside his bed by firefighters who have been tirelessly battling against the numerous blazes. More than 260 firefighters with nearly 80 fire engines along with 12 aircraft were deployed near Keratea. Dimitris Loukas, mayor of the city of nearby Lavrio, said the Keratea fire destroyed dozens of homes, agriculture and forest land. Meanwhile, last month on the island of Kythera, authorities evacuated the villages of Aroniadika, Pitsinades and Aryoi. In the area of Messinia, west of Athens, residents of the Kryoneri and Sellas villages were also told to leave. It comes as Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, the Balkans and Britain have this week wilted in high temperatures that fuel wildfires and which scientists say human-induced climate change is intensifying. Wildfires have continued to rip through Spain, where cooler temperatures and greater humidity were expected to help control blazes in which two people have died. Authorities in the northwestern region of Castile and Leon, where flames have threatened a world heritage Roman mining site, said almost 6,000 people from 26 localities had been evacuated from their homes. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said late Wednesday that Spain had asked the European Union for help, including the deployment of two water-bombing planes. He urged European partners to deploy the planes quickly given 'weather forecasts' that could worsen the blazes, telling broadcaster Cadena Ser radio that Spain would also request firefighter deployments if necessary. Bushy undergrowth and searing temperatures that have baked Spain for almost two weeks had created 'the worst possible breeding ground for this situation', Castile and Leon's civil protection head Irene Cortes said. Madrid was hit by fireballs on Monday night as a hellish blaze fuelled by strong winds burned several houses in the capital's suburbs. At least 180 people were evacuated overnight from Tres Cantos, an affluent suburb northeast of Madrid, after wildfires tore through homes and farmland. A farmer who had been taken by helicopter to the La Paz hospital after suffering burns on 98 percent of his body, later died, the Community of Madrid confirmed on Tuesday. He reportedly sustained his injuries while trying to rescue 27 horses, who were also killed in the blaze. Spanish authorities said today a 35-year-old volunteer firefighter died on Tuesday while trying to extinguish a wildfire. Kings College, a prestigious British private school, is also understood to have suffered some damage, and a donkey shelter burned down. Due to the speed of winds, the flames quickly spread and reached the Norman pharmaceutical laboratories, where sounds of explosions were reportedly heard. 'In barely 40 minutes, the fire advanced six kilometres,' Carlos Novillo, Madrid's regional environment chief, told reporters. The inferno then spread to the adjacent affluent suburbs of Fuente del Fresno and Soto de Viñuelas, where residents remained on evacuation alerts overnight. Footage shared on social media showed how flames spread through forested areas, while thick smoke billowed into the sky. Other videos showed how strong winds pushed blazes across fields as fire services rushed to contain the inferno. Firefighters managed to contain the wildfire near the Spanish capital by Tuesday morning thanks to favourable overnight conditions, regional authorities said. A total of 199 wildfires have scorched nearly 98,784 hectares across Spain this year, more than double the area burned during the same period in 2024. Neighbouring Portugal deployed more than 2,100 firefighters and 20 aircraft against five major blazes, with efforts focused on a fire in the central municipality of Trancoso that has raged since Saturday. Strong gusts of wind had rekindled flames overnight and threatened nearby villages, where television images showed locals volunteering to help firefighters under a thick cloud of smoke. 'It's scary... but we are always ready to help each other,' a mask-wearing farmer told Sic Noticias television, holding a spade in his hand. A separate fire in a mountainous zone of Arganil in central Portugal smothered several villages with smoke, prompting the evacuation of elderly residents in particular. Italian firefighters had also extinguished a blaze that burned for five days on the famed Mount Vesuvius and spewed plumes of smoke over the Naples area. In the Balkans, dozens of blazes stretched emergency services in the Balkans, where a severe drought and a prolonged heatwave have exacerbated the region's traditional fire season. An 80-year-old man died in Albania late Tuesday after he lost control of a fire he had started in his garden. The blaze quickly spread to neighbouring homes, injuring eight people. An Italian Canadair CL-415 aircraft flies over a wildfire near the town of Delvine, southeast Albania on August 13, 2025 Authorities have evacuated residents in parts of central and southern Albania, but easing weather conditions in neighbouring Montenegro helped firefighters protect homes. The country mourned a soldier who died in a water truck overturn near the capital Podgorica on Tuesday, with the defence ministry speaking of a 'heavy loss'. In Britain, temperatures were expected to peak at 34C in the country's fourth heatwave of the summer. The UK Health Security Agency warned of 'significant impacts' on health and social care services for the parts of central and southeastern England where the harshest heat was forecast.
Sky News
11-08-2025
- Sky News
Storm Floris latest: Winds up to 124mph hit UK - as 32,000 homes without power and plane filmed struggling to land
We're pausing our live coverage That's all from us. Storm Floris has been and mostly gone, with some disruption expected tomorrow. Keep scrolling down to catch up on how the storm unfolded today, or check our 22:00 post for a quick recap. In the meantime, we'll share any other developments on the Sky News website and app. Rail disruption likely tomorrow as work continues to clear routes Tomorrow may be free of weather warnings in almost every part of the UK - see our 18:55 post - but there will be a hangover from today's disruption on the rails. Passengers have been warned as such, with Network Rail working "tirelessly" to clear routes blocked by falling trees and debris. But Network Rail Scotland's route director said this work will continue into tomorrow. "As the storm passes later this evening, our focus switches to inspecting routes which have been closed by fallen trees, debris and other damage," he said. "Our teams will work through the night, but this work will continue into Tuesday morning. "We'll use two helicopters to assist engineers on the ground. We're grateful to passengers for their patience whilst we do this." 10pm recap - what you need to know in five bullet points as Storm Floris passes It's 10pm, and two weather warnings in place for the northern half of the UK are set to expire in minutes. If you're just checking in, or you simply want a quick recap of today's storm, here's a summary in five bullet points: An amber warning for wind - which indicates a risk to life and injury - is in place for another hour for most of Scotland, while a less severe yellow warning covers northern England until midnight; Rail, road and ferry travel have been disrupted and Edinburgh Fringe events cancelled; More than 30,000 people were without power earlier, with dozens of flights grounded and one particularly bumpy landing caught on camera; Police received "multiple reports" of campervans blown over on the A87 between Broadford and Portree on Skye, while in Aberdeenshire the A96 was closed in both directions near Old Rayne because of fallen trees; The storm will cling onto Orkney and Shetland Isles until tomorrow morning, and showers will remain throughout the rest of Scotland. Wind speeds topped 80mph at low-level Scottish site, data shows The Met Office has just released the latest top speeds recorded during today's storm. It's worth noting the overall top speed - the gust we reported at 17:55 - was clocked at a high elevation, going at 124mph. But the top speed at a low-level site (which are most commonly reported by the Met Office) stands at 82mph - which is provisionally an August record for Scotland. The speeds listed below were all clocked at low-level sites in Scotland, which better reflect the kind of conditions people faced during the storm: Wick - 82mph South Uist Range - 79mph Kinloss - 79mph Tain Range - 78mph Inverbervie - 77mph Tiree - 75mph Brighter day ahead tomorrow with risk of scattered showers Almost all of the UK is free of weather warnings tomorrow - see our 18:55 post. That means things are looking brighter, but there are still rain clouds ahead. Highs of 23C are forecast in the southeast, but keep an eye on the top left of the graphic below to see how showers could develop... Seven tips to cope with a power cut - and prepare for the next one Today's stormed cut power to thousands, with many still without supply. Below, the Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks offer some tips on what to do when the lights go out, and how to be better prepared for any repeats: Turn off appliances and lights, but leave one switched on so you know when power is back; If you know your power will be switched off in advance, boil some water and keep it in a thermos flask; Try to avoid opening the freezer unless absolutely necessary, as it helps food stay frozen for longer. Food will keep for about eight hours without power, but make sure to check it when your electricity is restored; Get hold of a torch and keep extra batteries; Try to set up a plug-in phone, and charge your mobile ahead of the storm; Save important numbers on your mobile, or write them on a piece of paper; Make sure you have a battery-powered radio, and tune into your local station. Watch: Edinburgh Fringe visitors disappointed after cancelled shows "We're a little disappointed our show got cancelled for tonight," David, who was visiting Edinburgh, told us. He was one of many who had travelled to the city for the events. Jane flew up with her husband to see the Tattoo for his 60th birthday - see our 7.24 post for more on its cancellation. But the pair will be flying back home tomorrow morning... Cows take advantage after fence 'blown over' By Jenness Mitchell, Scotland reporter Escaped cows were spotted on the loose in North Lanarkshire earlier. Darren Young recorded this herd running down Carfin's Elder Way/Taylor Avenue. Young shared footage of the incident online, adding: "For anyone out and about in Carfin, looks like a couple of fences have been blown down and the cows are out in force." Warnings still in place - here's the latest While the worst of the storm has passed over much of the UK, warnings remain in place for the northern half of the country. An amber warning for wind covers almost all of Scotland until 11pm tonight, according to the Met Office. This means there is potential danger to life and the risk of injuries, particularly in coastal areas. A yellow warning for wind will expire at midnight, stretching from Manchester, Liverpool and north Wales up to the northern reaches of Scotland. This includes Northern Ireland. Tomorrow, a yellow warning for wind is in place until 8am over the Shetland Islands and Orkney. Hundreds still have no power in Ireland Around 2,700 homes, farms and businesses remain without power in the Republic of Ireland. ESB Networks said its crews will keep working into the night to restore supply. More than 10,000 homes were without power earlier today, with Co Donegal and Co Roscommon among the worst-affected areas.
Sky News
11-08-2025
- Sky News
UK weather: Amber heat health alert issued for large parts of England
An amber heat health alert has been issued for large parts of England. A yellow weather alert has been issued for the rest of the country. The alerts, issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), are due to be in place from 9am on Tuesday, until 6pm on Wednesday. The amber alert - described as an "enhanced hot weather response" - covers East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, London, and the South East. The UKHSA warns significant impacts are "likely" across health and social care services due to the high temperatures. The yellow alert covers the North East, North West, Yorkshire, The Humber, and the South West. Sky News meteorologist Christopher England said the high pressure that brought the warmth of the last few days via the "heat dome" effect is moving east, as low pressure moves in towards the west. "Southern Britain can expect temperatures widely into the low 30s then, perhaps exceeding 35C (95F) in places," Mr England said. "There's around a 10% chance Wales may exceed its August peak temperature of 35.2C recorded at Hawarden on 2 August 1990." Please refresh the page for the latest version.
