Tropical Cyclone Alfred has been downgraded to a tropical low but, despite its weakening, heavy rainfall is likely to continue over southeast Queensland and northeast NSW during the weekend.
The Bureau of Meteorology at 6am on Saturday said ex-TC Alfred was off Bribie Island and moving slowly towards the mainland coast. It was expected to cross between Maroochydore and Bribie during the morning.
A cyclone warning for Noosa to Brisbane has been cancelled, but severe weather warnings remain in place.
The BoM said sustained winds near the centre of the system could reach 55km/h with wind gusts to 85km/h.
At 6am it was estimated to be 40km south-southeast of Maroochydore.
“Abnormally high tides are no longer occurring along the coastal areas, but are expected to be higher than normal over the weekend,” the BoM said. “However, damaging surf may continue with significant beach erosion for the open beaches between Noosa and Ballina during the weekend.”
It also warned of the continuing threat of potentially dangerous downpours.
“Heavy to locally intense rainfall which may lead to dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding may occur over coastal and adjacent inland areas of southeast Queensland as ex-Alfred moves inland during today,” it said.
Mayor Rosanna Natoli, who is also chair of the Sunshine Coast Council Local Disaster Management Group, said plans to clean up beaches were already underway, with the community invited to help in a coordinated operation once safe.
“We understand there are so many volunteers and community groups who want to do their part to help with the clean-up, including our beautiful beaches,” Cr Natoli said.
“We ask that you wait until it is safe to do so, and so we can all work together to effectively protect wildlife and natural areas from litter pollution.
“Conditions will continue to be dangerous along the coastline in waterways for several days with potential for flooding.
“Our top priority is safety and as ex-TC Alfred passes we urge the community to stay safe at home or at your place of refuge.”
Wild weather pummelled coastal communities overnight, with 120mm of rain recorded at the Gold Coast and 130mm at Lismore since 9am on Friday.
About 240,000 homes and businesses have lost power in southeast Queensland and thousands more have been warned to brace for ongoing outages.
“The category of a tropical cyclone is only dependent on the wind gusts so while the winds are backing off a little bit, the rain is still coming through in full force,” weather bureau Senior Meteorologist Miriam Bradbury told ABC TV.
“We’re still seeing widespread flash flooding, widespread impacts likely to continue through today and well into tomorrow as well.”
A man remained missing in floodwaters in Megan near Coffs Harbour after he was swept away by rushing water as he clung to a tree.
“It is important that people do not take this downgrading as a reason for complacency,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters in Canberra.
“Its impact will be serious and will intensify over coming hours and indeed over coming days.”
The State Emergency Service and Queensland Police Service, alongside local councils and disaster management groups, distributed more than a million sandbags to help southeast Queenslanders prepare for Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
Each sandbag weighs about 15kg, meaning 750 trucks have delivered about 15,000 tonnes of sand.
Surf Life Saving Queensland was urging people not to visit the beach, coastal walkways or enter the water despite Alfred being downgraded, with a coastal hazard warning still place.
“For those from the Gold Coast to Sunshine Coast, it might seem like things have calmed down, but the speed and volume of the tidal surges are still as harsh as they have been the last couple of days,” SLSQ lifesaving services manager Natalie Edwards said.
“The erosion along southeast Queensland beaches is dramatic, with some experiencing sand cliff drops of more than 3-4m in highly populated areas and we have seen a number of lifeguard towers threatened or in the water now.
“The sand dunes are unstable and many coastal walkways are experiencing flooding so we urge everyone to stay home and stay safe.”
