March 6, 2025 • 12 mins
The Queensland Premier has given an update on the current state of play of Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Everybody.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
Cyclone Alfred remains a Category two, continues to make its
way towards the coast, and the latest satellite imagery shows
it's expected across the Bay Islands somewhere into the early
hours of Saturday morning it will be crossing the coast.
I can announce that from now the Bureau of Meteorology
will be going to hourly updates and that'll be a
great way of sharing that track with Queenslanders and we'll
(00:23):
continue to update you regularly about what that impact means as.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Well as a reflection on what's occurred.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
I've spoken about the four challenges, the waves, the winds,
the rain and the flooding.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Queenslanders will experience.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Different impacts from that at different times, and it's important
that we continue to share this update in a timely
fashion to enable people to do so. We can do
this calmly and clearly because we've done that preparation and
therefore we can respond swiftly as well. And so far
the way that Queenslanders have prepared has given us the
(00:57):
best opportunity not just to deal with the event, but
to be able to switch from response to recovery. And
that's a really key part of it during the disaster event.
Just some overnight observations, we've seen some wind gusts between
one hundred and one hundred and fifteen kilometers from Morton
Island through to Cape Byron. That is expected to increase
(01:21):
in the hours ahead as the system moves towards the coast.
Some of those increased winds will be felt indeed to
Brisbane and to the north, but obviously those islands will
be the first that continued to experience that You've obviously
seen images in overnight and in recent hours of fallen
trees and the impact that's had on homes and cars.
(01:44):
We do expect that to see that continuing and that
has obviously made a big impact on the ability to.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
Provide electricity supply.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Will Pete will be updating you shortly from Ergon from Energex,
but that is important we keep.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
You updated on that.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Regarding the storm tide flooding, which we've spoken about as
one of those major challenges on the flooding front, the
fact that the cyclone sat at slowed before across the
coast and it didn't cross during this morning's high tide
was particularly good news for that storm surge from the
(02:21):
tide we've this morning convened a meeting and we had
representatives from all of the local governments but including Gold
Coast and Redlands. And we've got no reports this morning
of storm tide inundation.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
That is really really good news. It truly is.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Now there's another high tide this afternoon and a slightly
larger one tomorrow morning, a slightly larger one than this afternoon,
so we'll continue to watch that as the system approaches.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
But particularly good.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
News there was no inundation overnight. There were, however, some
major waves and we continue to see waves author of
ten meters off the coast and indeed some of the erosion,
some of the erosion that we've seen at Main Beach
of some incredible images that have come through this morning
and it does show you the force in which those
waves hit the coast.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
Turning to rainfall.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Some significant totals over the last twenty four hours one
hundred and sixty five mills at Lower Springbrook, and these
totals are to ten am at to nine am.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
In fact, we've only received them in the last couple
of hours.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
One hundred and fifty three meals at Currumbin Creek, one
hundred and two mills at Narrang, one hundred and thirty
six millimeters at Curlingader and one hundred and thirty four
millimeters at Binneborough. We are expecting some significant rainfall in
the next twenty four to forty eight hours right across
that system and maybe even beyond. I really want to
address that, and I want to address the significance of
(03:48):
the potential for flooding. This system remains a very broad
one and often when we see tropical cyclones as they
approach the coast, that band really does titan. In this case,
it is really large and slow moving, and that does
represent the prospect of some significant rainfall over a long
period of time, and that rainfall does bring the risk
(04:11):
of river and creek flooding. Queenslanders know how to deal
with that, and that has been proven time and time again.
And I has seen an incredible level of preparation, the
way that people have responded, the way that they have
done the little things around their property. We have seen
people heed the advice about stocking up supplies. I really
(04:32):
do have every confidence that whatever the rainfall challenges come
upon us, that Queenslanders will be able to handle that.
Across a really big section of the coast and a
heavily populated one of that. The floodwatch across the impact
zone we could see minitt a major flooding, and the
Bureau will update that. Okay, I just want to talk
to a couple of our priority areas at the moment,
(04:54):
and I'll start with power outages. Peter will update you
shortly from Energy. But there are large parts of the
population in the southeast without power, particularly some of those islands,
and indeed in the Gold Coast area. The moment it
is safe to do so, those crews will be hooking
(05:16):
into action to reconnect. We understand how important having electricity
is at all times, but particularly after a disaster when.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
You're cleaning up and you need a good night's sleep.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
We understand that twelve hundred staff have been prepositioned and
there are eight hundred ergon staff at the other end
of the state who are ready to return the favorite
of their mates down here from what we saw a
few weeks ago. So all the preparation has been done
and I can assure Queensland as the moment it is
safe to do so, they will be on the ground
(05:47):
reconnecting power to homes and we'll keep updating you about
the loss of power and as it's coming back on,
We've had a couple of questions about water. There are
thirty four different water treatment plants in that area. All
of them have been assessed and many of them have
been fortified, and by that I mean all of the
(06:07):
backup provisions things like the possibility of needing power generation.
We've done a full analysis about potential impacts on them,
so we are in as best a position as possible
to handle that and I'm very confident in the ability
to meet the water supply in the short and the
long term. Telecommunications will be a challenge, of course, it
(06:29):
always is in an event. As part of our regular meetings,
we do have representatives from the talcos there now. They
have prepositioned generators as well, following our discussions earlier in
the week, and they will do everything they can to
try to make sure that as the backup generation does
come offline, that that can be reconnected. What we'll do,
(06:51):
having done the work in working with them to make
sure that that was in place, our role will be
to make sure that we work with counsels to drawn
on in those areas if we need to get messages
out to a part of the community that isn't covered
by telecommunications. If those systems do go down, we will
have people going door to door to deliver a message.
(07:12):
Now as we speak, we're sure that those things are
still in place. We will update Queenslanders as it comes
and if that is needed, we will ramp into gear.
There are twenty eight refuge centers that have been advertised
and are online and we're very grateful to the local
(07:32):
governments for doing that. They are there as a last
resort for people who need it, but they are there
and we ask Queenslanders to stay up to date have
an evacuation plan, but overwhelmingly we have seen the way
that local government has prepared that.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
We're very grateful.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
If you want information on that, disaster dot qld dot
gov dot au. So that's the disaster website. Disaster dot
Qld dot gov dot au. Local governments dashboards are there.
They also have all the mapping for floods and we
thank them very much for it. Turning to age care,
there has been some preemptive reallocation of some residents, but
(08:13):
overall there's no reported evacuations of age care. We have
assessed all of those potential vulnerable residents. There are plans
in place if they are required to be relocated. Our
preference always is to try to care for them on site.
But all those plans have been put in place and
we continue to update those residents and you on that
(08:35):
hospitals virtual health care services which are available twenty four
to seven, have been stepped up. Whilst we aren't having
elective surgeries at the moment, those emergency departments are there
and they are there for people who need help in
an emergency. There's even the ability for some of those
(08:56):
health staff to be accommodated there if required, to make
sure that we can keep those key medical facilities open,
and we are very grateful for the fact that health
service providers would be willing to do that and come
into work at a time when they also have friends
and family that they would love to.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Be with as well. So we're deeply grateful for that.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Public transport will continue to be closed today. So we
will announce that all public transport will be closed tomorrow
from NUSA to the border, and as we do with schools,
we will make the announcement the day before to give
people the opportunity to be able to plan but we
will also continue to make sure that wherever it's possible
(09:40):
to be able to bring things back on, we obviously will.
Now we are expecting some serious rainfall as of outlined,
but we'll be back multiple times, and we'll continue to
give people as much notice as we can. In that
supermarkets they are operating on a case by case basis.
That is their decease, and we're continuing to give them
(10:02):
the information.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
And there are some that remain open.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
Their challenge will be balancing being able to get their
staff there and make sure that they have things like
power and.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
They manage their impacts.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
As we continue to say, we are most grateful for
people who are working in those frontline roles at a
time that we desperately need it, and we will continue
to work with the supermarkets to stay open for as
long as they can and then get back on their
feet as quickly as they can. And we are most
(10:34):
keen to ensure that life can go back to normal
after the event, and they are a key part of it.
Turning to schools, there are one thousand and forty nine
schools that are closed today in impacts on two thousand
and eighty one. Early childhood centers are closed. We will
be making an announcement on Monday, the day before on
Sunday to give people the opportunity to plan, and most
(10:57):
importantly to ensure we don't do it in the morning
and cause confusion. So it'll be the day before and
that will apply to Sunday as well.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
A couple of messages.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Firstly, one of gratitude to every person who has worked
around the clock to prepare and give us the best response,
to be able to deal with things in a common,
measured way, but also in a swift way. Thank you
very much for whatever agency you are to Queenslanders. I
know this is an unusual event. It's been a long
(11:29):
time since the cyclone across the coast this far south,
but the way that people have treated this has been
quite frankly remarkable. The vast majority of people have done
the right thing. And my view is if you give
people the information, humans rally in times of crisis, and
people really really have. My message to the people at
(11:51):
the other end of the state, thanks for your good wishes.
You went through a pretty big event within the last month,
and yet you've been reaching out to your fellow Queen's
your recovery continues in earnest and will make sure that
we'll make sure all that job is done and done properly.
And finally, in events like this, there are always little
(12:12):
moments of magic. And overnight a set of twins were
born on Dunwich Island, on Dunich on the island, and
we had paramedics and midwives who assisted the mum and
they continue to care for her. And that's one of
(12:35):
those little gems in an otherwise really really.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Stressful time for everybody. Thanks very much,
Everybody.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
Cyclone Alfred remains a Category two, continues to make its
way towards the coast, and the latest satellite imagery shows
it's expected across the Bay Islands somewhere into the early
hours of Saturday morning it will be crossing the coast.
I can announce that from now the Bureau of Meteorology
will be going to hourly updates and that'll be a
great way of sharing that track with Queenslanders and we'll
(00:23):
continue to update you regularly about what that impact means as.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Well as a reflection on what's occurred.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
I've spoken about the four challenges, the waves, the winds,
the rain and the flooding.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Queenslanders will experience.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Different impacts from that at different times, and it's important
that we continue to share this update in a timely
fashion to enable people to do so. We can do
this calmly and clearly because we've done that preparation and
therefore we can respond swiftly as well. And so far
the way that Queenslanders have prepared has given us the
(00:57):
best opportunity not just to deal with the event, but
to be able to switch from response to recovery. And
that's a really key part of it during the disaster event.
Just some overnight observations, we've seen some wind gusts between
one hundred and one hundred and fifteen kilometers from Morton
Island through to Cape Byron. That is expected to increase
(01:21):
in the hours ahead as the system moves towards the coast.
Some of those increased winds will be felt indeed to
Brisbane and to the north, but obviously those islands will
be the first that continued to experience that You've obviously
seen images in overnight and in recent hours of fallen
trees and the impact that's had on homes and cars.
(01:44):
We do expect that to see that continuing and that
has obviously made a big impact on the ability to.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
Provide electricity supply.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Will Pete will be updating you shortly from Ergon from Energex,
but that is important we keep.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
You updated on that.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Regarding the storm tide flooding, which we've spoken about as
one of those major challenges on the flooding front, the
fact that the cyclone sat at slowed before across the
coast and it didn't cross during this morning's high tide
was particularly good news for that storm surge from the
(02:21):
tide we've this morning convened a meeting and we had
representatives from all of the local governments but including Gold
Coast and Redlands. And we've got no reports this morning
of storm tide inundation.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
That is really really good news. It truly is.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Now there's another high tide this afternoon and a slightly
larger one tomorrow morning, a slightly larger one than this afternoon,
so we'll continue to watch that as the system approaches.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
But particularly good.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
News there was no inundation overnight. There were, however, some
major waves and we continue to see waves author of
ten meters off the coast and indeed some of the erosion,
some of the erosion that we've seen at Main Beach
of some incredible images that have come through this morning
and it does show you the force in which those
waves hit the coast.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
Turning to rainfall.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Some significant totals over the last twenty four hours one
hundred and sixty five mills at Lower Springbrook, and these
totals are to ten am at to nine am.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
In fact, we've only received them in the last couple
of hours.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
One hundred and fifty three meals at Currumbin Creek, one
hundred and two mills at Narrang, one hundred and thirty
six millimeters at Curlingader and one hundred and thirty four
millimeters at Binneborough. We are expecting some significant rainfall in
the next twenty four to forty eight hours right across
that system and maybe even beyond. I really want to
address that, and I want to address the significance of
(03:48):
the potential for flooding. This system remains a very broad
one and often when we see tropical cyclones as they
approach the coast, that band really does titan. In this case,
it is really large and slow moving, and that does
represent the prospect of some significant rainfall over a long
period of time, and that rainfall does bring the risk
(04:11):
of river and creek flooding. Queenslanders know how to deal
with that, and that has been proven time and time again.
And I has seen an incredible level of preparation, the
way that people have responded, the way that they have
done the little things around their property. We have seen
people heed the advice about stocking up supplies. I really
(04:32):
do have every confidence that whatever the rainfall challenges come
upon us, that Queenslanders will be able to handle that.
Across a really big section of the coast and a
heavily populated one of that. The floodwatch across the impact
zone we could see minitt a major flooding, and the
Bureau will update that. Okay, I just want to talk
to a couple of our priority areas at the moment,
(04:54):
and I'll start with power outages. Peter will update you
shortly from Energy. But there are large parts of the
population in the southeast without power, particularly some of those islands,
and indeed in the Gold Coast area. The moment it
is safe to do so, those crews will be hooking
(05:16):
into action to reconnect. We understand how important having electricity
is at all times, but particularly after a disaster when.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
You're cleaning up and you need a good night's sleep.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
We understand that twelve hundred staff have been prepositioned and
there are eight hundred ergon staff at the other end
of the state who are ready to return the favorite
of their mates down here from what we saw a
few weeks ago. So all the preparation has been done
and I can assure Queensland as the moment it is
safe to do so, they will be on the ground
(05:47):
reconnecting power to homes and we'll keep updating you about
the loss of power and as it's coming back on,
We've had a couple of questions about water. There are
thirty four different water treatment plants in that area. All
of them have been assessed and many of them have
been fortified, and by that I mean all of the
(06:07):
backup provisions things like the possibility of needing power generation.
We've done a full analysis about potential impacts on them,
so we are in as best a position as possible
to handle that and I'm very confident in the ability
to meet the water supply in the short and the
long term. Telecommunications will be a challenge, of course, it
(06:29):
always is in an event. As part of our regular meetings,
we do have representatives from the talcos there now. They
have prepositioned generators as well, following our discussions earlier in
the week, and they will do everything they can to
try to make sure that as the backup generation does
come offline, that that can be reconnected. What we'll do,
(06:51):
having done the work in working with them to make
sure that that was in place, our role will be
to make sure that we work with counsels to drawn
on in those areas if we need to get messages
out to a part of the community that isn't covered
by telecommunications. If those systems do go down, we will
have people going door to door to deliver a message.
(07:12):
Now as we speak, we're sure that those things are
still in place. We will update Queenslanders as it comes
and if that is needed, we will ramp into gear.
There are twenty eight refuge centers that have been advertised
and are online and we're very grateful to the local
(07:32):
governments for doing that. They are there as a last
resort for people who need it, but they are there
and we ask Queenslanders to stay up to date have
an evacuation plan, but overwhelmingly we have seen the way
that local government has prepared that.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
We're very grateful.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
If you want information on that, disaster dot qld dot
gov dot au. So that's the disaster website. Disaster dot
Qld dot gov dot au. Local governments dashboards are there.
They also have all the mapping for floods and we
thank them very much for it. Turning to age care,
there has been some preemptive reallocation of some residents, but
(08:13):
overall there's no reported evacuations of age care. We have
assessed all of those potential vulnerable residents. There are plans
in place if they are required to be relocated. Our
preference always is to try to care for them on site.
But all those plans have been put in place and
we continue to update those residents and you on that
(08:35):
hospitals virtual health care services which are available twenty four
to seven, have been stepped up. Whilst we aren't having
elective surgeries at the moment, those emergency departments are there
and they are there for people who need help in
an emergency. There's even the ability for some of those
(08:56):
health staff to be accommodated there if required, to make
sure that we can keep those key medical facilities open,
and we are very grateful for the fact that health
service providers would be willing to do that and come
into work at a time when they also have friends
and family that they would love to.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Be with as well. So we're deeply grateful for that.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Public transport will continue to be closed today. So we
will announce that all public transport will be closed tomorrow
from NUSA to the border, and as we do with schools,
we will make the announcement the day before to give
people the opportunity to be able to plan but we
will also continue to make sure that wherever it's possible
(09:40):
to be able to bring things back on, we obviously will.
Now we are expecting some serious rainfall as of outlined,
but we'll be back multiple times, and we'll continue to
give people as much notice as we can. In that
supermarkets they are operating on a case by case basis.
That is their decease, and we're continuing to give them
(10:02):
the information.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
And there are some that remain open.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
Their challenge will be balancing being able to get their
staff there and make sure that they have things like
power and.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
They manage their impacts.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
As we continue to say, we are most grateful for
people who are working in those frontline roles at a
time that we desperately need it, and we will continue
to work with the supermarkets to stay open for as
long as they can and then get back on their
feet as quickly as they can. And we are most
(10:34):
keen to ensure that life can go back to normal
after the event, and they are a key part of it.
Turning to schools, there are one thousand and forty nine
schools that are closed today in impacts on two thousand
and eighty one. Early childhood centers are closed. We will
be making an announcement on Monday, the day before on
Sunday to give people the opportunity to plan, and most
(10:57):
importantly to ensure we don't do it in the morning
and cause confusion. So it'll be the day before and
that will apply to Sunday as well.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
A couple of messages.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Firstly, one of gratitude to every person who has worked
around the clock to prepare and give us the best response,
to be able to deal with things in a common,
measured way, but also in a swift way. Thank you
very much for whatever agency you are to Queenslanders. I
know this is an unusual event. It's been a long
(11:29):
time since the cyclone across the coast this far south,
but the way that people have treated this has been
quite frankly remarkable. The vast majority of people have done
the right thing. And my view is if you give
people the information, humans rally in times of crisis, and
people really really have. My message to the people at
(11:51):
the other end of the state, thanks for your good wishes.
You went through a pretty big event within the last month,
and yet you've been reaching out to your fellow Queen's
your recovery continues in earnest and will make sure that
we'll make sure all that job is done and done properly.
And finally, in events like this, there are always little
(12:12):
moments of magic. And overnight a set of twins were
born on Dunwich Island, on Dunich on the island, and
we had paramedics and midwives who assisted the mum and
they continue to care for her. And that's one of
(12:35):
those little gems in an otherwise really really.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Stressful time for everybody. Thanks very much,
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