Residents prepare for first cyclone in 51 years to hit Australian coast

Tropical Cyclone Alfred is forecast to cross the coast between the Queensland State capital Brisbane and the tourist city of Gold Coast to the south late on Thursday or early Friday

Melbourne: Residents were stacking sandbags to protect low-lying properties on Wednesday ahead of a tropical cyclone forecast to become the first in 51 years to hit the Australian east coast near Brisbane, the nation’s third-most populous city.

Tropical Cyclone Alfred is forecast to cross the coast between the Queensland State capital Brisbane and the tourist city of Gold Coast to the south late on Thursday or early Friday, Bureau of Meteorology manager Matt Collopy said. Brisbane and Gold Coast are a continuous urban sprawl. Their centres are 80 km apart.

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Alfred was over the Pacific Ocean 400 km east of Brisbane and tracking west on Wednesday with sustained winds near the centre of 95 kph with gusts to 130 kph.

“Large swells and powerful waves have been observed along the Queensland coast for several days now with severe coastal erosion and inundation happening,” Collopy told reporters in Brisbane. “This will continue and likely get worse as the system approaches and makes landfall.” Heavy rain and life-threatening flooding were expected in the days ahead, he said.

Tropical Cyclone Zoe struck Gold Coast in 1974 Cyclones are common in Queensland’s tropical north but are rare in the state’s temperate and densely populated southeast corner that borders New South Wales state.

Cyclone Zoe crossed the coast at the southern end of Gold Coast on the New South Wales border in March 1974, causing extensive flooding.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government was providing the Queensland government with 250,000 sandbags in addition to 80,000 the military had already delivered.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said modelling showed that up to 20,000 homes in his city of more than 3 million people could experience some level of flooding.

A cyclone refuge centre would be established at Brisbane’s show grounds for people who had nowhere else to shelter during the storm. Evacuation centres for longer-term stays would also be opened, Schrinner said.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said boats moored in the region would not be allowed to move without the permission of the Brisbane harbour master from Wednesday afternoon due to the cyclone danger.

From Thursday, schools will be closed, hospitals will not carry out non-urgent surgeries and public transport will not run in the affected area, he said.

Crisafulli urged the public to prepare their homes and plan evacuation routes. He said 68 people had been evacuated from South Stradbroke Island, which lies off the coast between Brisbane and Gold Coast, on Tuesday night and evacuations continued on Wednesday.