Sunshine Coast residents are starting to bunker down as Cyclone Alfred threatens to make a direct hit on the region.
A cyclone watch was issued for Sandy Cape to Byron Bay and locals have been told to prepare for the system, which is predicted to veer towards South-East Queensland on Tuesday, before making landfall on Thursday night or Friday morning. It could be the first cyclone to strike the area in more than 50 years.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s forecast track map, issued late Monday, suggested that the centre of the cyclone could be on the Sunshine Coast.
Wind and surf warnings and a flood watch have been issued, beaches have been closed, sandbagging is underway and one of the region’s biggest events of the year, the Mooloolaba Triathlon, is in doubt.
Premier David Crisafulli urged people to be ready for the cyclone.
“My message to Queenslanders is please be prepared,” he said.
“It is important that people take it seriously and stay up to date with warnings and, if they do that, they will be able to get through.”
He said residents of low-lying areas should be wary.
“People who live on canals or on beachfront properties should be thinking about their plans,” he said.
“A particular area of concern is Golden Beach.”
BOM senior meteorologist Dean Narramore told Sunshine Coast News the system would pack a punch.
“It’s likely to cross the coast late Thursday and into Friday as a Category 1 or 2,” he said.
“The current tracking map has it going right near Maroochydore, so the Sunny Coast could get lots of heavy rainfall, damaging winds of more than 100kmh and big swells, particularly if it crosses on the high tide.”
But he said areas south of the eye would be hardest hit.
“Regardless of where it crosses the impacts are going to be wide ranging, but especially to the south of the system,” he said.
“If it crosses at Noosa or K’gari it could have a huge impact on the Sunshine Coast. But if it crosses in the Brisbane and Gold Coast area, there’s not going to be as much (wild) weather on the northern side.
“If it does cross on the Sunny Coast you could see 200mm of rain but there would be much more further south.”
The cyclone would be the first to hit the region in decades.
Mr Narromine said two key factors contributed to its presence.
“An upper trough has been dragging it to the south for the last few days, but there is a very strong high-pressure system over the Tasman Sea that should stop its southward movement,” he said.
“That influence will steer it towards the Queensland coast.”
Sunshine Coast mayor Rosanna Natoli told locals to be on guard.
“We are asking our community to prepare their homes right now,” she said. “Know that it is going to impact our community from north to south … we’ll see storm surges and rainfall.
“Don’t panic buy: make sure you have enough food for your family and pets.
“We may be without power for some time. Have batteries for your radio. If you’re in a low-lying area and need to access sandbags, contact the SES.”
The SES has free sandbags at multiple locations around the region.
Sunshine Coast Police district officer Superintendent Craig Hawkins said two suburbs face increased risks.
“There are some areas that are giving greater concerns: low-lying Golden Beach and Pelican Waters,” he said. “We are watching a (tidal) break in Bribie Island and the impacts it might have on Golden Beach.”
He said there was “some potential” evacuation centres could be established on the Sunshine Coast and police may door-knock some properties to ask residents to leave. He also encouraged campers and caravanners at beach sites to relocate.
Supt Hawkins said people who need help could contact the SES on 132 500 or, in an emergency, call 000.
Surf Life Saving Queensland chief operations officer Greg Cahill called on people “to stay out of the water”.
“Please don’t put at risk our lifesavers and emergency services personnel because you want to venture out in these conditions,” he said as the state championships on the Gold Coast were cancelled.
Beaches are expected to be closed for a week “if not longer”.
“There are powerful surf conditions and we are seeing examples of beach erosion so now is not the time to go to the beach,” he said.
This weekend’s Mooloolaba Triathlon festival, which attracts more than 5000 athletes and injects more than $8.5 million into the local economy, is in doubt.
Organisers said they would assess conditions during the week.
“The (organising) team is currently monitoring Alfred ahead of the event,” a statement said.
“The team will work with stakeholders and relevant authorities over the coming days to understand how the weather system may impact the running of this year’s event. At this stage there are no changes to the event, however if this changes information will be communicated directly to athletes.”
Noosa Council has activated its Local Disaster Control Centre and informed residents that “now is the time to prepare your properties”.
“People in low-lying areas should consider what’s required for significant rain and potential storm surges,” it said in a statement.
Noosa Council-owned holiday parks have been closed and campers and caravanners were urged to “move on”.
“Campers and caravanners should start packing up now and if you don’t need to be in the area, please leave now. Check road conditions and plan your route before you leave,” it said.
UniSC Associate Professor of Physical Geography Javier Leon said the cyclone would have “a significant impact” on beaches and dunes.
“Waves are expected to peak at 7m from a southeasterly direction, which would make this a one-in-20 or one-in-50 AEP (annual exceedance probability) event,” he said.
“What makes Alfred uniquely hazardous is that the coast is already eroded from the run of northeasterly and easterly swells and very high tides in the past couple of days. This means that as peak wave heights approach the coast at some stage this Wednesday, the chances of overtopping and flooding are high, especially during high tide.”
Mr Leon said there could be considerable impacts at Golden Beach.
Meanwhile, the premier said telecommunications companies had been asked to do all they can to provide extra capacity.
“There could come the time where we need to send out many millions of text messages in a very short window and it’s important that telcos are able to do that as quickly as they can,” Mr Crisafulli said.
He also said shipping operators off Mooloolaba were suspended until further notice.
“I know that there’s some cruise ships off our coast and we are assisting them,” he said.
“Two of those are looking for alternate ports and we’ll assist them in that.”
For more information see getready.qld.gov.au, disaster.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au and disaster.noosa.qld.gov.au.
