Cyclone Alfred: Australian PM warns of worsening conditions as severe weather lashes the east coast

Fallen trees have already caused destruction across the region, damaging power lines, homes, and vehicles. 

Cyclone Alfred: Australian PM warns of worsening conditions as severe weather lashes the east coast

Fallen trees have already caused destruction across the region, damaging power lines, homes, and vehicles. Meanwhile, the Gold Coast’s famous beaches have been reshaped into steep sand cliffs after relentless coastal erosion over several days.

Australia’s prime minister has cautioned that the situation could deteriorate further after a tropical low-pressure system unleashed torrential rain, fierce winds, and severe flooding along the country’s eastern coastline.

Anthony Albanese highlighted that ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred has already impacted areas in Queensland and New South Wales, with more intense weather expected in the coming hours.

"We must remain vigilant. This is a very serious weather event," he stated during 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."

Fallen trees continue to cause disruptions, toppling power lines, damaging homes and vehicles.

Authorities confirmed that a 61-year-old man, who had gone missing after being swept away by a flooded river near Dorrigo, New South Wales, was found dead on Saturday.

Initially, meteorologists had predicted Tropical Cyclone Alfred would become the first cyclone to make landfall near Queensland’s state capital since 1974.

However, the storm system weakened into a tropical low early on Saturday, characterized by sustained wind speeds below 39 mph.

Despite this downgrade, the cyclone stalled off the coast of Brisbane for several hours at the start of the weekend, and it is still expected to move westward over the Australian mainland in the coming days, bringing further heavy rainfall, according to Matt Collopy, a manager at Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology.

Fallen trees continue to cause disruptions, toppling power lines, damaging homes and vehicles. Meanwhile, the renowned beaches of the Gold Coast have suffered extensive erosion, transforming into steep sand cliffs.

Numerous flood warnings remain in place along the east coast, with the Bureau of Meteorology Australia cautioning that "rivers are rising rapidly" and that flash floods pose a "huge risk."

According to national forecasters, the worst of the flooding is expected to occur between Saturday night and early Sunday morning.

Albanese urged residents not to underestimate the ongoing dangers despite the storm’s downgraded classification, reiterating the government’s warning: "If it's flooded, forget it."

Byron Shire Mayor Sarah Ndiaye told Sky News that the area had "dodged a bullet" as the cyclone did not make landfall as originally feared, but she added that the situation remains "very, very tense."

Approximately 19,000 people have been forced to evacuate from low-lying residences. In Queensland, a woman sustained minor injuries when the roof of an apartment building was torn off. Officials confirmed that she was among 21 individuals who had to be rescued from the property.

Meanwhile, in Currumbin Valley, Queensland, two people narrowly avoided serious harm when a massive tree crashed through their home on Thursday night. They reported that they had been lying just inches away from where the tree came to rest in their bedroom, suffering only minor injuries.

Region's 'largest ever loss of power'

More than 330,000 homes and businesses across Queensland and New South Wales lost electricity due to the storm, with the majority of outages occurring on the Gold Coast, which recorded wind gusts of up to 66 mph (107 kph) on Friday night.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli described the blackout as the "largest ever loss of power from a natural disaster" in the region’s history.

Emergency services and utility providers, he assured, are "throwing everything" into restoring electricity and clearing debris-blocked roads as swiftly as possible.

According to the latest forecast from the Bureau of Meteorology Australia, the heaviest-hit areas could experience up to 200-300mm of rainfall in the next 24 hours, with isolated wind gusts reaching speeds of 55 mph (90 kph).

A severe weather alert remains in effect, warning of "heavy to locally intense rainfall" and "damaging winds" from south of Gympie, Queensland, extending down to Nambucca Heads, New South Wales.

Forecasters anticipate that rainfall will begin to subside by Monday night, though the rate of improvement will depend on the movement of the weather system across the country.