Tropical Cyclone Alfred was bearing down on southeast Queensland on Wednesday with forecasters warning that impacts would be felt before the centre crossed the coast. The Bureau of Meteorology said the system was expected to make landfall during Friday, most likely between Maroochydore and Coolangatta, after earlier forecasts had pointed to a late-Thursday or early-Friday arrival. Its slowing pace pushed the timing back, but did not reduce the breadth of the warning zone.
ABC News reported that the cyclone warning area stretched from Double Island Point in Queensland to Grafton in New South Wales, taking in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Byron Bay and Ballina. The bureau described Alfred as a category 2 system and warned of damaging wind gusts of about 120 kilometres an hour near the coast, with destructive gusts of up to 155 kilometres an hour possible near and south of the track as the storm approached and crossed the shoreline.
The warning was not limited to weather forecasts. Brisbane City Council said several services would be shut down because of the risk, including rubbish tips, customer service centres, libraries, pools, golf courses and community halls. Rubbish collection and kerbside pickup were suspended, and pedestrian footpaths along the Story Bridge were closed. The council framed the measures as a response to the significant risk posed by the cyclone.
Local preparations were also moving beyond standard storm advice. Gold Coast Acting Mayor Donna Gates told ABC News residents should check local dashboard tools to understand flood modelling for different scenarios, including whether water could cross their properties. In Nambour, a designated refuge centre had already registered around 50 horses and a small number of residents, showing how evacuation planning was extending to animals as well as people.
The consequences were already visible at the coast. Currumbin Surf Lifesaving Club said water had surrounded the club and that parts of the site had already been damaged, including blown-in roller doors at ground level. Club president John Brennan said the swelling surf was a concern, with forecasts indicating waves could reach 8 to 10 metres. On the nearby islands of Macleay and Stradbroke, reporters described residents preparing for the first landfall effects.
Diabetes Australia also urged people living with the disease to prepare emergency kits and protect insulin storage if power failed, underscoring how cyclone planning often turns on basic medical continuity as much as property protection. The bureau said impacts were already beginning on the western edge of the system and warned that destructive winds could develop late Thursday, before the eye of the storm arrived.
For southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales, the message on March 5 was clear: Alfred was still offshore, but the disruption had already started, and the most dangerous conditions were expected to intensify before landfall.
