BoM: Alfred now set to arrive on the mainland about 9am on Saturday

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) says Cyclone Alfred is now expected to cross onto the mainland about six hours later than forecast.

This means it will hit the mainland about 9am on Saturday.

“Now that it has started to move onto our radar coverage … we can get a bit more of an understanding of its movements,” BoM senior forecaster Christie Johnson said.

“It looks like it could reach Moreton Island around 6 or 7 am and perhaps not pushing on the mainland or Bribie Island until towards 9 or 10am.”

The Bureau of Meteorology is now moving to hourly updates on the progress of Cyclone Alfred.

The most recent update shows that it remains as a category 2 cyclone and is forecast to maintain this intensity as it approaches the coast, with impacts expected to increase this evening.

“Rainfall, wind and ocean impacts are likely to persist today and over the weekend,” the update read.

⚠️Issued 10:10am AEST

🌀Tropical #CycloneAlfred (Cat 2) is 160km east of #Brisbane.

Alfred is a category 2 cyclone, and is forecast to maintain this intensity as it approaches the coast today. Impacts expected to increase this evening. https://t.co/abjo0qiR5X pic.twitter.com/zHY0TY4GgR

— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) March 7, 2025

Residents urged to prepare for days without power

With power outages already hitting parts of Queensland and NSW, authorities have urged residents to prepare adequately.

How to prepare for losing power:

• Make sure your phone and devices are charged.
• Make sure there are fresh batteries in your torch.
• Have a backup power bank, if available.
• Set aside 10 litres of water per person for three days’ worth of washing, bathing and drinking.

NSW Homelessness Minister Rose Jackson added that it may be days until power is restored in some regions.

“Over 35,000 people are already without power,” she said. “As soon as it’s safe, they’ll have people back out repairing the infrastructure.”

“But that is not going to be the case for a few days.”

Federal government to fund $50 million relief fund

Emergency Management Minister Jenny McAllister has also provided an update, including about joint funding to help with clean-up efforts.

“The Albanese government has agreed to jointly fund, for both states, a $50 million community relief fund that will provide councils with financial support to undertake essential immediate clean-up and restoration activities after this event,” she said.

“Councils can use this funding for waste and debris removal from streets, properties and community assets, and undertake activities to restore public assets. We want councils to go into this event fully confident that they will have support to engage in the clean-up.”

Northern Rivers main roads could be blocked by floods soon

While some roads in northern NSW are still open, these could be closed if flash flooding happens.

“We’re seeing a number of roads have been cut. South is open on the M1,” police sergeant Scott Allerton said.

“If you need to be on the road, don’t go on the road. Leave the roadway networks open for emergency services and resupply vehicles. If you are attempting to get to a safer location, by all means [use them].”

He added that if the amount of water predicted comes: “we’ll see blockages on the main arterial roads”.

Should that happen, a fleet of helicopters and high-clearance vehicles able to drive through higher floodwaters will be used to get supplies in.

Today’s key updates so far

Tropical Cyclone Alfred’s path

• Alfred remains a category two system, the Bureau of Meteorology says, and was 160km east of Brisbane around noon
• Its “movement has been erratic” and it is travelling around 7km/h towards the south-east Queensland coast
• It’s expected to approach south-east Queensland’s Bay Islands after midnight Friday and into the early hours of Saturday
• It is forecast to reach the mainland at about 12pm AEST (1pm AEDT) on Saturday
• By this point it is forecast to have downgraded from a category two system to a category one.

Weather predictions

• Alfred could produce widespread daily rainfall totals of 300mm to 500mm. 800mm totals could be possible in 48 hours.
• As it approaches, high waves are likely to continue with “extreme coastal erosion and inundation of some areas”
• If Alfred weakens to a category one, Brisbane will unlikely face destructive winds, but could still face damaging wind gusts of up to 120km/h

On the ground

• Major supermarkets started closing their stores in impacted areas this morning, with more closures to follow this afternoon
• The NSW SES has fielded at least 1,850 calls in the 24 hours to 6am Friday. The Queensland SES said it had received more than 1,300 calls in the 24 hours to 12.30pm
• Northern NSW residents in evacuation zones have been urged to leave in the next few hours if they haven’t already
• Some 36,500 homes are without power in the NSW Northern Rivers region, and almost 43,600 are without power in south-east Queensland
• Residents have been warned they could be without power for days if they are hit hard by Alfred

The Bureau of Meteorology is now issuing hourly updates.

Source: sbs.com.au