BRISBANE, Australia — As a tropical cyclone approached Brisbane, Australia’s third-largest city, it weakened into a tropical low system, bringing heavy rain expected to cause flooding in the coastal region for several days. Initially anticipated to become a cyclone hitting the east coast near Queensland’s capital for the first time since 1974, Tropical Cyclone Alfred subsided early into a tropical low, characterized by sustained winds below 63 kph (39 mph).
According to Matt Collopy, a manager at the Bureau of Meteorology, Alfred was projected to cross the coast north of Brisbane between Bribie Island and the Sunshine Coast region on Saturday. The focus shifted from cyclone winds to heavy rainfall causing flash and riverine flooding as Alfred moved inland.
Cyclones frequently occur in Queensland’s tropical north but seldom affect the temperate and densely populated southeast of the state adjacent to New South Wales. In New South Wales, near Dorrigo, a 61-year-old man went missing after being swept away in a flood, and a woman suffered minor injuries when the roof of an apartment building in Gold Coast collapsed on Friday, leading to the evacuation of 21 individuals. The severe weather resulted in over 330,000 homes and businesses without power in the affected region, with Gold Coast recording the strongest winds at 107 kph (66 mph).
In total, 291,000 properties in Queensland, including 131,000 in Gold Coast, and an additional 45,000 in New South Wales experienced power outages. Falling trees damaged power lines, homes, and cars across the area. Due to these electricity issues, communication was hindered, leaving residents like Brazilian couple Natalie Garreta and Pedro Machado using Gold Coast’s Narrowneck Beach to connect with family back in Sao Paolo, updating them on their safety.
The coastline suffered significant erosion, turning Gold Coast’s renowned beaches into steep sandy cliffs. “We’ve never seen such weather at the coast,” remarked Machado, a Gold Coast resident for eight years. Queensland Premier David Crisafulli expressed relief that the storm’s timing spared coastal homes from tidal flooding, noting, “To have no homes reported … that have had storm tide inundation is really a tremendous, tremendous result.”
Despite rivers flooding in both Queensland and New South Wales from heavy rain, the missing man was the sole incident among 29 flood rescues conducted recently in northern New South Wales, primarily involving vehicles attempting to traverse floodwaters. Sunshine Coast Mayor Rosanna Natoli mentioned that the region, located 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Brisbane’s city center, was preparing for intensified rain and imminent flash flood threats as the weather system advanced.
While it’s rare for Brisbane to face a tropical cyclone, meteorologists say it’s not unprecedented. Weak storms have skirted nearby in the 1970s, another in 1990, and once in the 2010s, according to experts like Phil Klotzbach from Colorado State University and Kristen Corbosiero from the University at Albany. No hurricanes have tracked within 80 kilometers (50 miles) of Brisbane historically, Klotzbach stated. The main concern with Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred is the potential for stationary rainfall, similar to the impact Hurricane Harvey had on Houston, Texas in 2017, explained Corbosiero.
