Tropical Cyclone Alfred live updates: wind and rain intensify as category 2 storm nears south-east Queensland and northern NSW
Widespread power outages as TC Alfred brings gale-force winds
Gale-force winds accompanying the storm have already hit a large stretch of the Queensland and NSW coast. This has led to widespread power outages.
As of 5.30am, Queensland’s Energex power network was reporting 28,655 customer outages across south-east Queensland, all attributed to “damage due to cyclone”.
In NSW, the provider Essential Energy said that as of 6am, Cyclone Alfred had left more than 35,000 homes and businesses without power in northern NSW overnight after severe winds and heavy rain covered the region.
The worst hit communities were in the Northern Rivers and far north coast. The company said in an online update:
Essential Energy crews worked late into the evening to restore what they could safely until conditions became too dangerous to work in.
Once safe to do so, crews will continue to restore power where they can until they are able to access areas of the network that are flooded or damaged by wind or vegetation debris.
Due to the extreme conditions, the extent of the damage and the continuing weather event it may take several days before power is restored to customers.
Key events
Federal Labor scores first poll win in eight months
Let’s move to some political news for a moment: AAP is reporting that a majority of voters have backed Labor for the first time in eight months, amid its multibillion-dollar Medicare boost and support for Ukraine.
Fresh polling by YouGov found the federal government is ahead of the Coalition, at 51% to 49%, in the two-party preferred vote while its primary vote has risen by three percentage points.
Labor has not been ahead in the pollster’s data since July 2024. Last week, it was trailing the opposition, at 49% to 51%.
Anthony Albanese has widened his lead as preferred prime minister to six percentage points from two, with 45% of voters now backing the Labor leader compared to 39% for Coalition leader Peter Dutton.
Labor’s $8.5bn boost to Medicare, announced in late February, played a significant role in lifting the party’s primary vote to 31%, although it still trails the Coalition on 36%.
The number of respondents satisfied with the prime minister rose to 42%, from 40%, while those content with Dutton’s performance fell to 43% from 44%.
The YouGov poll of 1,504 people was conducted between 28 February and 6 March and has a margin of error of 3.4%.
NSW SES receives 1,850 calls for help in past 24 hours
The NSW State Emergency Service says that throughout the entire TC Alfred event, it has received 3,494 calls for assistance.
It said 1,850 calls were made in the last 24 hours.
You can see a map of the 97 warnings that have been issued across the state below:
Residents of Northern NSW are waking up to strong winds and heavy rain.
In this event so far, we have had 3494 incidents with 1850 calls to 132 500 in the last 24 hours.
There are now 97 warnings issued.
View all warnings on the NSW SES website or the Hazards Near Me app. pic.twitter.com/0QCIsiRA7A— NSW SES (@NSWSES) March 6, 2025
Lismore MP evacuated overnight amid cyclone
The MP for Lismore, Janelle Saffin, also spoke with ABC RN this morning – after she herself was evacuated overnight due to the cyclone.
I left yesterday … I understand how hard it can be because you’re not just leaving behind your shelter, [you’re] leaving a bit of your life behind. So I get what that feels like, and that’s why I just appeal to people – better safe than sorry. Always better safe than sorry.
She said the CBD had “packed up quite early” and a lot of people had evacuated.
We are as prepared as we could be … We’ve got a lot of boots and boats on the ground.
Gold Coast acting mayor urges people ‘foolishly swimming’ in surf not to
Donna Gates was also up on ABC RN to provide a cyclone update. The Gold Coast’s acting mayor described the weather as “murky” this morning, with rain overnight:
I’ve got a big leak in my roof overnight, so that’s an indication – it’s coming right through, dropping on the floor.
Gates said “major erosion” was also occurring along the coast, with waves up to 15m at the beaches – which are closed. She, like David Crisafulli earlier, continues to urge people not to enter the surf:
People were foolishly swimming yesterday. It took the resources of Queensland police and their lifeguard – so as strong as possible messages, stay away from the beach and the rock pools.
In terms of property damage on the Gold Coast, she said there was potential for “up to 8,000 properties to be severely affected by this event”. She also said the council was short of sandbags and “ran out”:
Although the government had a few 100,000 delivered, we missed out on getting them. Our sandbagging is closed now.
Brisbane lord mayor provides cyclone update
The Brisbane lord mayor, Adrian Schrinner, said impacts to the city would be “a little bit delayed” behind the Gold Coast, where the cyclone is expected to hit first.
Speaking to ABC RN, he said Brisbane was facing similar risks – “trees coming down, power lines coming down, power outages, damaging winds that impact pieces of roof sheeting and that sort of thing”.
Then on top of that, following the cyclone coming through, is the rain risk and flooding risk that comes with it. So we’re all prepared as much as we can be.
He said the council had distributed around 470,000 sandbags across the LGA, “which is unprecedented.”
As the cyclone moves across Brisbane he said there were projections of 200mm in a 24 hour period, “but there’s also a chance that it could be even higher than that.”
That’s the key risk at the moment, the damage from wind, plus the flood risk that follows as well.
But he said unlike previous flooding events, the city has had days to prepare:
In previous floods, often they’ve come with little warning – and particularly the one in 2022 there was next to no warning from the Bureau about that event. And this time, we’ve had days and days to get ready.
Qantas head provides update on airline closures, timeline for resumption of flights
Ben Holland, the head of integrated operations at Qantas, says Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Ballina airports continue to be closed.
He told the Today Show that Qantas had also extended its suspension of services through the international market for Brisbane.
But he said an aircraft is expected in Coffs Harbour “within the next hour” as it attempts to “resume services and keep passengers moving safely to their destination.”
He expects planes to resume on Sunday, but noted this is still 48 hours away:
There’s still some variability in the model, and we expect landfall early on Saturday morning, but we need to reassess … [and] understand what the infrastructure and resource support will be prior to resuming services.
Holland said 4,600 passengers were waiting overseas for flights – and while Brisbane is closed, the airline was looking at flights to other Australian ports:
Maybe we can fly passengers into Melbourne, get them a bit closer to their destination and get them to Australia to support their travel and returning home.
‘Inappropriate’ for PM to call election this weekend – Ley
Sussan Ley was also questioned about the timing of the federal election being called and said it would be “inappropriate” if Anthony Albanese called it this weekend, amid the cyclone.
It would be inappropriate when people are worried about their safety, their lives, and we’re about to be smashed by something … as it crosses the coastline, we’re not sure where. It wouldn’t be appropriate for the prime minister to call the election this weekend.
Ley says Dutton in Queensland electorate amid report he attended Sydney fundraiser
The deputy Liberal leader, Sussan Ley, has been asked whether Peter Dutton was right to “duck down to Sydney for a fundraiser” this week as a cyclone heads for south-east Queensland?
She turned the heat back on the PM while speaking to ABC News Breakfast and responded:
I note that Anthony Albanese has recently left to come back to Canberra. He was also in Sydney on that day. No one can doubt Peter Dutton’s commitment to his electorate … Peter Dutton is in his community, with his community of Brisbane …
NSW SES has issued almost 100 warnings, 24 for evacuations
The deputy commissioner of the NSW SES, Deb Platts, says the agency has already issued nearly 100 warnings.
Speaking on the Today Show, she said 36 were watch and acts, with people prepared to evacuate, and there were 24 emergency warnings, which are for people to evacuate now.
They’re extremely widespread from parts of Lismore down to Port Macquarie and everywhere in between …
We need people to keep up to date with the warnings [because] we’ve seen that overnight where we’ve been able to change some evacuation warnings based on the Bureau of Meteorology’s information and forecasts.
Teen charged after dramatic Jetstar confrontation
A teenager who allegedly tried to force his way on to a commercial flight before being dramatically overpowered by passengers will face court charged with a string of offences.
AAP reports that police were called to Avalon airport near Geelong, Victoria, yesterday afternoon following reports a male wielding a firearm had attempted to board the Jetstar flight.
Acting alone, the 17-year-old from Ballarat allegedly climbed through a hole in the airport’s security fence before making his way on foot to the plane, Victoria police superintendent Michael Reid later told reporters. The flight, which was carrying about 150 people, was bound for Sydney.
Police have charged the youth with multiple offences including unlawfully taking control of an aircraft, orchestrating a bomb hoax and possessing a firearm. He has been remanded in custody to appear in a children’s court on a date to be determined.
The teen allegedly tried to climb the front stairs into the plane cabin but was noticed by passengers carrying the shotgun and subsequently overpowered by three civilians, Supt Reid said.
Jetstar said it was working with police and the airport to understand what happened.
Crisafulli says residents from some aged care centres moved to higher ground
David Crisafulli was also on ABC RN this morning, where he said a number of residents in aged care homes were lifted to higher areas ahead of the cyclone.
Where evacuations are needed, they have been done. In some cases, there’s been residents who lifted to higher areas.
We always take the approach, if it is possible to keep people in their location, that is always the first and overwhelming principle – but you never [want to get] in harm’s way either.
He said council’s led the work with air mapping to determine where vulnerable centres were, and also made contingency plans for a number of places.
Queensland premier urges people not to enter surf
David Crisafulli also called out a “handful of idiots” who are heading to closed beaches amid the cyclone.
He said most people were “really doing the right thing”, but those going to the beach were putting themselves – and emergency services – at risk.
We had someone out on a jet ski who had to be rescued. I would rather see that emergency services worker being able to go and knock on someone’s door and talk to them about preparation than having to get an idiot on the sea …
I plead to the people who might think that now is a great time to go out on the surf – it’s not. It’s not just for you I’m concerned but for the innocent person who has to go in after you.
Premier says Queenslanders’ preparation means state can go from response to recover ‘really quickly’
Authorities have repeatedly spoken about TC Alfred in terms of three stages of impact – big surf and erosion, damaging winds and flooding. David Crisafulli said just now:
We’re moving into that part where yes, you will continue to see [those] winds in the course of today, but then there’s that rain, and often in cyclones that rainfall – lots of it in a short window – can be really problematic.
The premier said Queenslanders had overwhelmingly done the correct things to prepare for the cyclone, and this meant it could “go from response to recovery really quickly”.
The difference that makes in getting people back on their feet is just night and day.
Crisafulli says energy crews will work to reconnect power as soon as it’s safe
The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, has described the impact to the Gold Coast overnight amid TC Alfred. He told ABC News Breakfast:
Over 20,000 homes lost power on the Goldie. We saw trees come down … it’s the rain and the wind which make the trees fall over and then all of a sudden you have issues with power.
As Jenny McAllister also flagged a moment ago, Crisafulli said Energex crews were on standby and had flown from other ends of the state.
They’re waiting. The moment it is safe they will reconnect … It’s also on some of the island communities who have lost power.
BoM says Alfred could cross in daytime tomorrow
Miriam Bradbury, a meteorologist with the Bureau of Meteorology, says TC Alfred is still a category 2 system sitting just under 200km to the east of Brisbane.
Also speaking with the Today Show, she said the coastal crossing was still expected to occur “sometime tomorrow” during the daytime.
It is worth noting that the system is likely to reach the offshore islands before it reaches the coast … But for today, we are already seeing very windy conditions, particularly about the Gold Coast, where we’re having those power outages.
Bradbury said wind gusts up to 100km/h were being felt at the airport – and throughout today, winds would increase.
The rainfall will keep coming down, really building up to that time of crossing tomorrow.
As TC Alfred continues to move around a bit in its approach to the coast, Bradbury said the exact crossing point wasn’t the most important thing to focus on, but “the warnings that are surrounding that crossing point”.
Because we’re not going to see those strong winds and heavy rain just where the system crosses. That’s where we might see the top wind gusts. But those extremely destructive winds and heavy rainfall are going to be across a much, much wider area.
McAllister updates from SES headquarters
The federal emergency management minister, Jenny McAllister, spoke with the Today Show from the State Emergency Service HQ and said “very significant preparations” were under way.
She flagged potential power outages, and said energy workers were lined up and “extra workers in place to support when outages do occur.”
On reports some supermarkets were closing their doors ahead of the cyclone, McAllister noted that “they, of course, have their own families [and] own homes to prepare.”
The advice from the supermarkets, with whom we’ve been working really closely, is that they’ll be assessing on a case by case basis when their stores can be open.
She said safety, and the availability of staff, were the two main factors supermarkets had to consider.
For those workers that are there, I say a big, big thanks. And I really ask the community to look out for them and be kind to them when they’re in there as well.
Send us your photographs and videos of TC Alfred
Guardian Australia’s readers have provided thousands of images and videos to support our coverage of major news events over the past decade.
Now, we’re asking for any pictures or videos you can provide to help in our reporting of Tropical Cyclone Alfred – but your safety and security are most important.
You can read more on how to stay safe, and where to send your photos, below:
Emily Wind
Good morning – Emily Wind here, signing on for blogging duties. I’ll be taking you through all the latest Tropical Cyclone Alfred news today, as well as other notable news from across the country.
If you see anything that needs attention, you can get in touch via email: emily.wind@theguardian.com. Let’s go.
MPs help sandbagging effort as rivalries set aside
Political rivalries have been put aside as Tropical Cyclone Alfred approaches the Queensland coast with a wave of volunteers, including federal MPs, pitching in at Brisbane’s sandbag depots.
Greens volunteer Harrison Rees has been working shoulder to shoulder with a Liberal for the last three days at the former Toowong Bowls Club site, as the activists get on with the job amid a “no shop talk” policy.
Read Andrew Messenger’s full report here:
