Cyclone Alfred Australia: Beaches closed and cruise ships diverted as Brisbane braces for cyclone - which areas are on alert?
Beaches are closed and cruise ships have been diverted as Brisbane in Australia braces for Cyclone Alfred.
Alfred was upgraded to a category two cyclone early on Tuesday. The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said that coastal communities in and around Brisbane could experience wind gusts up to 100km an hour as early as Wednesday, and single-day rainfall totals of up to 400mm later in the week.
Updated tracking maps from the BoM on Tuesday forecast Alfred potentially making landfall just north of Brisbane on Thursday night or Friday morning. The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, said on Tuesday the “area of interest has narrowed” to a stretch of coastline that includes the Sunshine Coast, greater Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
Crisafulli said: “[That is] a largely populated area and we’re asking Queenslanders to stay on their guard. The cyclone has firmed. All of the information does show this is something we need to take seriously.
“We’re asking a large part of the population, in a pretty big area, to be ready. There is still an element of the population that hasn’t yet fully understood the magnitude of this system. It’s been many decades since Queensland has been here. I know the people in the south-east might not have experienced a cyclone before.”
Early on Tuesday morning, Alfred was 560km east of Brisbane and moving away, to the south-east, at about 6km/h. But forecasters said with increasing confidence they expected the system to undergo a “recurvature” by late Tuesday afternoon – a sudden change of direction – as it bumped up against another weather system to the south.
Airlines have begun offering alternative flight solutions. Qantas and Jetstar confirmed those travelling to the Sunshine Coast, Hervey Bay, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Ballina this week are eligible to reschedule their flight free-of-charge within a 14-day window.
Virgin Australia has also offered flight exchanges from those travelling to Ballina, Bundaberg, Brisbane, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast airports between Wednesday and Saturday. Meanwhile, Carnival Cruise Line is waiting until the last minute before cancelling a three-day cruise set to sail on Thursday from Brisbane on the Carnival Luminosa.
The Port of Brisbane is expected to be closed from Wednesday through to Friday. Carnival will offer refunds if the cruise is cancelled.