Katy Watson
Correspondent in Australia
Report from southern Queensland
Watch: the east coast of Australia is preparing for a rare cyclone
The wind struck along the Gold Coast, just like the swell. But while the authorities have warned residents to stay inside as cyclone Alfred is approaching, unconditional surfers have cautiously cautious.
“This is what we look forward to,” said Jeff Weatherall while waiting for a jet ski to come and get him to Kirra Beach and transport him to the big waves. “It’s the fifth consecutive day – I only died, sleeping, surfing and starting again.”
Kirra Beach is famous for her breakers and this week was busy that surfers are waiting for the Alfred cyclone.
The cyclone should land as a category two system Friday evening or – more probably – early Saturday morning.
Its path has slowed down in recent days and has evolved “irregularly” according to meteorological experts, which is why the earth arter has been delayed from previous predictions.
“A category two system means winds near the center up to 95 km / h (59 MPH), with gusts up to 130 km / h”, explains Matthew Collopy from the Bureau of Meteorology.
Four million people are in the Alfred cyclone shooting line. He should strike between the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast – an extent of Australia known for its beautiful beaches and its best surfing – as well as Brisbane, the third largest city in Australia.
Jeff Weatherall has been doing little but surfing for days in Kirra, who is famous for her breakers
The last days in Kirra have been “crazy,” said the resident and surf passionate Donnie Neal.
“It’s quite serious, there are people who will lose their house, but for the moment, you take good on everything – it’s just crazy surfing.”
In addition to strong winds, the Alfred cyclone is expected to pour up to 800 mm of rain in the coming days, affecting a large area in southern Queensland and northern South Wales. Flash and river floods are the greatest concern in low areas.
“These are difficult times, but the Australians are hard people, and we are resilient people,” said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese Thursday, echoing the acting mayor of the Gold Coast, Donna Gates, who said that Cyclone Alfred is a “frightening proposal” for the region.
Nearly 1,000 schools have closed, public transport has been suspended and airports are closed. Flights should not resume before Sunday at the earliest. Choice surgeries have also been canceled.
The authorities deliver sandbags to the areas on the way to cyclone Alfred in Queensland
Although Queensland is not unrelated to cyclones – this is the most subject to Australian disasters – it is rare that they come so far in the south.
The last time it happened was in 1974, when Cyclone Wanda struck in January, then two months later, Zoe crossed the coast.
The floods are however more common. In February 2022, thousands of houses were damaged in much of eastern Australia after heavy rains. The authorities wanted to prepare the communities before the Alfred cyclone. The council opened up sand bag deposits in the region to help residents protect their homes.
Donnie Neal realizes that the situation is serious and that people could lose their homes
“It’s surreal. We know it happens, but it’s very calm,” said Anthony Singh, a resident of the West End Brisbane suburbs. He waited four hours on Wednesday to pick up sandbags to protect his house.
Resident colleague Mark Clayton, helped coordinate the collection of sandbags, shoveting more than 140 tonnes of sand.
“I think people are a little worried,” he said. “Will the buildings remain standing, will the roofs stay? People expect many trees to fall and lose power for an extended period.”
With now closed supermarkets and people who refer mainly to the house, there is a lot of uncertainty when the Australians wait for the storm to strike.
