A severe weather warning remains in place for the Sunshine Coast but many services are resuming after ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred began moving across the coast.
From Monday, schools on the Sunshine Coast will reopen, as will council rubbish services, libraries, aquatic centres and customer contact centres.
Sunshine Coast mayor Rosanna Natoli continued to ask residents to use caution, with heavy downpours of 100-200mm still possible.
“This is what’s happened in Hervey Bay this morning, and also we’ve seen similar scenes in Brisbane and the Gold Coast to our south,” she said on Sunday.
“Our hearts go out to those communities, to our neighbours, not too far to the north and not too far to the south.”
Hervey Bay recorded about 260mm of rain on Sunday morning, with police making an emergency declaration under the Public Safety Preservation Act to stay indoors, after emergency services were called to multiple reports of stranded motorists and floodwater impacting homes.
Related story: Alfred downgraded to ex-cyclone as it crosses coast
“That’s why we are advising our community to remain vigilant,” Cr Natoli said. “This is no time for complacency. This could still happen to our community into this evening and overnight.
“We have been so lucky so far on the Sunshine Coast. It feels like we’ve been in the centre of mayhem, and we want to be sure that we are ready if that changes, and that we remain prepared.
“There is a minor flood warning for the Maroochydore and Mooloolah rivers, and the Mary River is under flood watch as we speak.
“There are also reports of significant debris in the Pumicestone Passage, as you would expect after what we’ve seen happening on Bribie Island. Maritime Services Queensland are advising that they will undertake what they need to do to ensure that the navigation channels are safe.
“Council is asking that with rain still to come, residents and businesses keep sandbags in place, just in case.”
The Landsborough refuge centre has now closed, with decisions on the Nambour and Caloundra centres to be made on Monday.
Queensland Rail said a limited number of trains would be back on track on Monday running a modified Sunday timetable.
Other public transport resumed on Sunday, while shops, supermarkets and service stations were opening on a case-by-case basis.
A marine wind warning was still in place and a council statement said conditions would continue to be dangerous along the coastline and in waterways for several days.
“Our community is urged to stay off coastal dunes and seawalls as shifting sands and rocks pose a serious risk of collapse and instability,” it said.
“Erosion caused by TC Alfred has weakened the dunes at numerous locations along our shoreline, including Kings Beach, Buddina and Coolum, creating steep drop-offs.
“These dunes may look stable but can collapse suddenly, putting people at serious risk.”
Regular kerbside bin collection will resume on the Sunshine Coast and in Noosa from Monday.
In Noosa, for those whose bins were missed on Thursday and Friday, trucks will begin collecting those from Monday.
Noosa mayor Frank Wilkie asked residents to be patient as it will take several days to visit the areas missed last week.
“We are encouraging residents in those missed areas to place all their bins on the kerb before 6am Monday and keep them there until they are emptied,” he said.
Cr Wilkie said there were more than 40,000 missed residential bins that need to be collected.
“Our shire has been fortunate so far and our thoughts are with friends and colleagues to the south who continue the clean-up from this weather system,” Cr Wilkie said.
In the Sunshine Coast Council area, all refuse tips will reopen on Monday, with disposal of storm-damaged household general waste and green waste free until close of business on Sunday.
“Residential bins collections also resume tomorrow as normal,” Cr Natoli said.
“I want to thank those residents who did not get their bin collected on Thursday and Friday for their patience and understanding. For safety reasons council is unable to operate our landfill at night, so we cannot run a double shift for a make-up collection.”
Both Cr Natoli and Cr Wilkie thanked the community and emergency services members for their efforts in preparing for TC Alfred.
“We extend our gratitude to the members of the emergency services, and also to all of our volunteers who have been working now for more than a week to ensure that our community is safe, and that our community is as prepared as can be in such a weather event,” Cr Natoli said.
“To all of our disaster preparedness teams, thank you. This has been quite the week.”
Cr Wilkie added: “Our shire has been fortunate so far and our thoughts are with friends and colleagues to the south who continue the clean-up from this weather system.”
