Live from Queensland. This is Paul Murray Lyte Today, Australia. Welcome to the Gold Coast where right now people know that just less than one hundred kilometers from where I'm standing right now, Tropical Cyclone Alfred is about to hit full coverage in the next hour. In this special Friday night edition of Paul Murray Live, will be joined by guests around the region and reporters who are just to the north and south of where I am right now.
To those gentlemen in a moment or two time, as I say, from where I'm standing right now, which is Broadbeach on the Gold Coast, cool and gatter that way, surface paradise that way Brisbane about ninety minutes up the road seventy five kilometers out to see a little further north towards Brisbane from where I am right now is where tropical Cyclone Alfred is. That is about one hundred kilometers away from Brisbane. Now the eye of this this
thing is expected to arrive in Redcliffe tomorrow morning. The Morton Bay and the Morton Bay Islands are going to be the first in its destructive power. That said, as you can see the colors all the way up all the way down are versions of rain. It's versions of wind. I'm talking about rain from the Sunny coast all the way down to the rivers of New South Wales, where already there is a significant amount of rain, significant amount
of flooding, and communities have been cut off. Now as we speak, the expectations are that there is going to be some problems with the northern rivers of New South Wales, which brings us to two bits of breaking news before we get to our reporters here on the Gold Coast, which is that authorities do not know where at least one person is, and the expectations is that by the time the sun comes up we may not ever know
where this person is. A four wheel drive when into the water at about two thirty this afternoon, about twenty three kilometers northeast of Dorigo, the mail driver was able to get out of the car and hold onto a tree, but then he was pulled into the water. He has not been seen since he was holding onto the tree branch that was about thirty meters from the riverbank, and the rivers had been rising all afternoon. We of course
hope that there is a better end to this. We hope that something will break during this hour and certainly if there'll be a tough night, but a way for that person to survive, but the worst possible start to what is going to be a wild twenty four hours in this part of Australia. Now we are being viewed right now on Sky News Regional in much of northern New South Wales and in Queensland of course on the home plate of Voxtel, watched on flash and on the
Sky News app. A reminder that the point of this is to try to give information and understanding about what it's like to be in the middle of it. We know that there are a lot of people watching. I've got a text message before from people who are watching the Sky News coverage on everything from their phones, their tablets, obviously sitting at home, and even people who are apparently way beyond and on the other side of this tropical
cyclone out on cruise ships. So the whole point is to try and give you a picture of what's going on, with an understanding that from now until the sun rises tomorrow it's going to get pretty wild. The other piece of information, politically speaking, is that the Prime Minister has now formally announced he will not be calling an election this weekend, which means there will not be a federal election in the month of April, no campaigning officially at
least in the month of March. That means in about three weeks time we will be getting a federal budget and then it will be going off to the Governor General for a May election that'll be taking place at either the very end of March or the very early part of April. So the Prime Minister's focus is exactly the same as ours, which is on these events right now. Yes, normal politics will resume, but right now, tonight, this moment, it is about making sure that as many people make
it through the night as possible. All right, Jonathan Lee joins us right now. He's a little further south of where I am right now. How's the night rolling in? As the wind has just been relentless, hasn't it been made Over the past few hours, the rain weathered as well.
Poor good evening to you and good evening to those at home. It's gone from eerie to haunting. Many people have retreated indoors, and we've certainly done the same. There werepocats of the day today which were almost idyllic blue skies. People on the Gold Coast out exercising, but that's.
Certainly not the case. Now. You get the.
Feeling that this category two cyclone is really starting to stamp its mark on the Gold Coast. We were told there was between forty and fifty meals on the Gold Coast over the last twenty four hours into the hinterland, and also the Scenic Rim that was up around two hundred meals. That they've certainly felt.
The worst of it.
The wind gusts in excess of perhaps one hundred and twenty kilometers an hour, they're expected to get up to one hundred and fifty to one hundred and fifty five. You get the feeling now that that's certainly gone past the one hundred and twenty kilometer an hour mark.
We've come inside.
We've got no power here on the Gold Coast Burley at the moment. Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of others have also.
Lost their power.
The significance of that is more than just not having power pull. It also goes to people not having telecommunications. It was explained today at the press conference given by the Premiere that the telecommunication stations can only last so long before their batteries eventually run out, and we've seen twenty six mobile base stations now.
Lose their power.
It goes from a Blinger, a Binaborough, Burly Waters cool and Gather, o'riley's Parkwood Bundle, Reedy Creek, Mudriy Bar, corumbin Springbrook, you name it. There's plenty of people without power tonight, and they also don't have any phone signal either, so it's going to be an eerie twenty four to forty eight hours for them. Concerningly, though, we also have more reports of people swimming in the ocean.
Have a listen.
We'd ask people where there's road closure signage, please stop stealing the sandbags. People are stealing the sandbags and the signs are blowing away. We've been repeating for days now that people should stay away from the beach, stay away from the sand, stay out of the water. We've had another two teenagers rescued by surf Life Saving Queensland at Southport just earlier today, and I understand from police that there are still about four kids in the water ignoring
the warnings to get out. It's very very foolish, it's very very dangerous.
Yeah, Paul.
We're also told by police there was one incident of a glass window on the thirty thirty fourth floor of a skyscraper on the Gold Coast falling out today. The businesses here were doing it, particularly to some report it to me is being harder than COVID. There really is nobody around at the moment. We spoke to a number who've lost power and they've had to shut up. They don't know if it's going to be for hours, days or maybe even longer.
Are you worried somewhere?
Nervous here?
And everything blackout from last night thirty yesterday everything blackout, so no pay, no power, no, no no power, chice.
That's hard and bad business.
Yes, very because everything inside, everything stuck still yesterday we open, yeah, but eight o'clock light gone it thirty between and then we shut everything.
How much stock could be lost?
Maybe I have like twenty cagy chickens, twenty chicken, twenty kilos of lamb, ten kilo of beef, so much, so much, so.
Many of the tides and the swell was one of the biggest thing. That's why we have all the windows brought it up. But so far the tides have been okay, and now we're just waiting on really the wind and the rain.
It's nervous game, isn't it.
It is?
Yeah, I mean especially being this close to the water and maybe two hundred clong in our winds humbling against the windows.
So yeah, yeah, nervousness, Paul. Many people not knowing of this cyclone, Alfred will turn into their own Freddy Krueger. It will be a nervous night.
Good stuff, John, Important about that. Telecommunications made it. Energex has just got in touch to say latest numbers forty nine thousand, which it's literally been breaking as we speak. It is all different parts in and around the city
of the Gold Coast. Now, thank you for that. Let me explain partly what's happening here too, which is that, obviously, as the tropical cyclone is starting to move down, why are we on the Gold Coast because that's where all of this rain is going to start to kick in. Then it's going to start to I think the term pirouete for those that are into their ballet, is that it starts to turn and will make its way back north.
So we're in a situation where most of the rain is to the south because of obviously the swirl of these things. That rain is what is pushing deep into the northern part of New South Wales. Harry Clarke right now is in Cleveland in Brisbane. What can you see, mate.
Paul, Well, for the first time this week, I can say that we are truly starting to feel and experience cyclonic conditions. As you say, Alfred is about one hundred k's off the coast. I'm at Cleveland on Brisbane Bay side and where right in the firing line pretty much the Morton Bay Islands are the first localities that are going to start feeling the effects, and then it's going to continue to come inland and these areas such as Victoria Point, Cleveland where I am now, and further down
to Redland Bay will start to cop it. The rain certainly started to come in just in the last hour or so, and we're getting some pretty big wing gus coming through where we are right now, which is on the canal residential areas of Cleveland. The people are prepared,
that's what the authorities are saying. David Christoph fully commended the greatest Southeast Queensland community on the feedback he's getting that people have been heeding the advice and preparing their properties, but there was you've got to say, and including for news reporters, a bit of an element of frustration starting to kick in just how long this thing was taking to arrive upon us. Not just me, but everybody we've been talking to down on the waterfronts were saying, is
this tropical cyclone actually going to come? Well, the answer has come here it is. People were out having a bit of a sticky beak at the lighthouse this afternoon, which is pretty much the easternmost point of the Bayside suburbs, and just getting one last look into some pretty angry open ocean waters there. But some big lines of cars streaming past. But everybody has started to go inside now as this weather's truly started to kick in.
Good stuff. Thank you Harry, Thank you John O. We know you'll be part of our breaking news coverage which will go all night. Obviously when the sun comes up will be some of the worst effects. You will see all of that Live with Peter Stefanovic in the morning. Now. I mentioned that there's a lot happening in the New South Wales. For those that have been watching local television broadcasts.
There very much is the Queensland version of what is happening, and there very much is the New South Wales version that's happening. Of course, being a national service and a person who's got a feat in both camps and a heart in both camps, it's important, yes, for us to
talk about southeast Queensland. But that rain and there has been more than one hundred millilters which has been recorded at Lizmore alone, So imagine what is happening further up upstreams, further up into the giant areas that are there, moving through the valleys, moving through the cities. Well, our plan was to spend our day to day in Lizmore, but there was a pretty obvious reason, even when we thought the weather was okay, that we could only go so far.
While Cyclone Alfred is not due to cross until the early hours of tomorrow morning, there's a real problem in northern New South Wales. This is the problem right now. Cities like Lizmore are about to be cut off because the rain that has been falling for many is now starting to flood into the Tweed River. On our way to this point, just a few minutes ago and a couple of corners around the bend. Smaller bridges they are
now starting to be covered. Roads are being closed. People coming from the Gold Coast and tweed south down towards Byron are being told not to use things like the m one. They're already being diverted off to places like Kingscliff and the long and windy road to get to
a place like this. One of the reasons as well, that bridges like the one I'm standing on right now, which are the best of the infrastructure in this part of northern New South Wales, are going to start to get flooded debris stuff that's been flowing down the river for a couple of days. This is where it's going to stop. As you can see, it creates its own little barrier, its own little rapids, and then that is only going to slowly but surely narrow the amount of
opportunities for water to go under the bridge. It starts to push it up and over the bridge. And that's why there's real worry right now, not tomorrow morning, in northern New South Wales. This is what is guarding every nook and cranny and space under the doors in the main street of woolen bar in northern New South Wales. One of the reasons these places are closed right now is so the people who work in places like the local sushi bar, subway, Harvey Norman and everything else are
able to be with their families now. The expectation, of course, is that the water may well end up being here, but extra layers going nice and high. As you can see, the final line of defense plastic. But this thing is as best protected as anyone could imagine.
As a community in a woolenbar. We have been through so much and through floods and it's been horrific. But what is the saving grace for our beautiful community is coming together and helping each other. I was just doing the sandbags just down here, and we're all. One was holding the other, one was putting the sand in the other one was getting it and lifting it for me and putting in the car. And I think that's what how we get through these horrific events.
Places that normally on a Friday afternoon you would be maybe enjoying one or two as we start our way towards a weekend. Now underwater, the tweed is rising fast as you can see the currents are worth talking about too here. Well, obviously the bulk of it is heating out to sea. There is this little whirlpool effect where water is being drawn back towards the banks of the river and then it creates this whirlpool effect, which obviously
disturbs a few things. Some of the early structures, like the pads to wharves or those areas where picnic people would be starting to fail.
It's pretty scary.
We were here in the twenty two flood, so we've seen it all before and a little bit worried about what's going to happen again.
You've got your little ones here as well, who are awesome and doing their bit on a Friday. What's it like at telling them what to expect without trying to freak them out. Yeah, we've had that chat.
We had that chat this morning. Like I said, these guys went through the twenty two flood and we got evacuated right at the peak.
From the living level.
Is your house up high enough, right, mummy taking care of you?
Yeah?
Excellent? All right? Tim? The Jockey Club, how do you handle what is coming to tweet? Probably a little bit different this time, Paul.
We obviously it's a two prong threat this time with wind and water. We're decimating twenty two without enough notice. But we're quite thankful for the Emergency Services and the Bureau this time that we've got a sufficient notice and we've been able to prepare adequately, we hope.
So obviously there'll be no meetings this weekend. But what infrastructure have you had to either strap down put away and how many people have been doing so?
We've had our track staff team working on that as approximately five to six people. Obviously, the trainers that use the facility each morning for training of done it from endous job getting horses to safer ground or safer facilities within their precincts as well. And then we've obviously lifted all our maintenance equipment for the machinery for the upkeeps of the tracks and grounds and stuff like that.
Let's stay with the Northern Rivers right there. Shirrilee Matthews is a person who we spoke to when we were in liz More just three years ago. It's extraordinary how so much change and then we're right back to where things have been. She's a business owner and she joins us. Now, surely, whereabouts are you tonight. Have you tried to get away to higher ground when it comes to Lismore.
Oh, yeah, I'm at our home in Gane Alabas, so we're up on the hill out of danger.
So give me an idea about what this is like to face yet again, and not after ten years, not after twenty years, but just in a couple of years.
Yeah, it's pretty horrible. Hard to take actually, all like three years on. We all thought that it was a one in one hundred year flood three years ago, but clearly that's not the case. So the whole town is very on edge. You're very anxious. Grateful though that we've had so much time this time to prepare. Last time, obviously there was no time, so everybody in town was affected. This time, we started our pack up on Tuesdays and finished up Wednesday night and close the doors and now
hope for the best. So we're able to lift a bit of what we can.
This time.
Is hard in our industry to get everything out of flood level, but we've done what we can and now just wait and wait longer than we thought, but keep waiting and hope for the best.
Yeah, it has been a strange experience. Hasn't it, Because we've seen people a little further north than Brisbane saying, hey, gess nothing's going on here again. There's that sort of depending on whether you watch the Brisbane based news or the news of based news about where the focus is. But the reality for the Northern Rivers is that while the worst may still be to come, the trouble's been
there for much of the past few days. Obviously, we've spoken to the mayor, Steve Creek quite a few times on air, and he's a bloke who himself has had to go back to where he was, where he was with people for the best part of ten months. How does the family get through this? I know that you're a person and being in small business there's only one thing you do which has put one foot in front of the other. But families, mates, other people and their kids.
What conversations have you been having either texts, what's app or face to face the past couple of days.
Yeah, it's definitely hard. We've got a lot of our friends are in business themselves in Lismore and I'm grown born and bred and lizmore so I know a lot of people and everyone is just sort of really good at everyone supporting each other, so everyone is really banding together, checking in on each other constantly, which is what a
community does. It's hard for our children, like we've got two teenage girls and obviously went through twenty twenty two and lost their school and the whole world kind of change.
So obviously they are very apprehensive again and concerned at what's going to become of their town, because unfortunately, the reality is if this is as bad as what is forecast, then we're not sure what the future of Lisma will be because it's just you know, how much how many more times can people start to rebuild and keep having hope.
It's just difficult, Yeah, yeah, I mean the kids, that's the thing. For us that have been around a while, obviously it's the first time for many of us in living memory of something as serious as this. But of course for you it is the situation of a couple of years ago, a couple of years before that COVID. If there are kids that are again there've been teenagers or younger, this is their normal. It shouldn't be their normal,
but alas it is. Right now, all right, give us an idea about the next couple of days are you able to hunker down or will you know once the wind moves down while you start looking around tomorrow.
So that would just really depend on what the rainfall does overnight. So obviously, if the expected river heights do come in, it does go over the levee, we won't be able to get to our business for probably two to three days because our business is in South Lismore, and so we get cut off, so we won't know what damage has occurred or what's happened for probably a few days after the height of the flood, so we could be talking another three or four days before we
can even get there. Last time, my husband stayed at our business and became part of the Tinney Army, and you know, he tried to protect what he could. This time it was just we need to get out. It's not worth the danger this time. So he's home here too and we just have to hope and wait and see what happens.
All right, cheerily, good on you, all the best for the next couple of days. You've got everyone around the country, be they very close or all the way on the other side in Western Australia on your side. All the best for the next few days and again to Steve and everyone who is in that local government area will check in with them again as the weekend rolls on. Now there are seven rivers which currently have flood warnings
that are connected to them. There is one in Queensland that is the Logan River, but there is in New South Wales the Tweed River, the Wilson's River, the Richmond River, the Bellingen River, as well as the Brunswick, Nambucka and Borahra rivers. Now, if you know and you live in those areas, you know what's on your way. If you've visited. Certainly nambuckaheads plenty of family holidays at Vala Beach just
up the road. I know it very well. We've done plenty of our towns around these regions and the reason we're on tonight this Friday night, is because you have been so kind to us. So we want to give you the very latest information which takes us back to Queensland Brisbane, specifically the Deputy Premier there is Jared Blinde. He joins us from the Sky newsroom in Brisbane. Jared, we've seen excellent information coming from yourself and the Premiere.
Give us the latest information you have for people watching us as they might be about to go to bed and have a pretty restless night's sleep.
Well, thanks pauland thank you for hosting from Queensland. We know you love Queensland. Look, it's going to be a pretty interesting twenty four hours. I think, as you've indicated earlier, a lot of Queensland as would say how long has this taken.
For Cycle on Alfred to get here?
We've predominantly was meant to arrive here yesterday, but all indications now indicate that it will hit the Morton Bay Islands tomorrow morning and then the mainland at about midday tomorrow, so I think we've done as much preparation as we possibly can across southeast Queensland. Our biggest issue now is obviously looking the rain that will come with that and the flood risks to the river system, and that's where
the risk will be in the future. The winds are obviously strong, particularly the Gold Coast, whereas at the Sunshine Coast you're not seeing the effects because the southern end of the tropical cycle on Alfred is a bigger impact than the northern end. So it's quite different, I think odd because it's so unpredictable in its nature tropical cyclones, and this one certainly has. Bull A night ago we saw it head east again, then it started heading west, so it's been pretty unpredictable.
Well, and again the variables that depending on where you are on the map. There literally was a rainbow in Brisbane that was around this afternoon, But of course Redcliffe, which is all part of that, that's going to be where the eye goes over in the morning. The power outages is what I want to focus on as well here. Energex is the main people that will be involved in all of that. Obviously, they have to keep their crew safe, so they're not going to be doing very much through
the night. But the idea that more than a football stadium's worth of people have lost power, well, yes, there's plenty of wind and rain around, but before this thing really ramps up has to be a concern, isn't it.
It is, Paul, and I can tell you and your listeners now or your viewers that we've actually over sixty thousand residents in southeast Queensland have lost power and so you've already you know, the cyclone hasn't crossed the shore yet, we've already had sixty thous people without power, but we knew that there would be many without power. So we've got twelve hundred electricity workers ready on standby, ready to go.
And I think because the one advantage that this has been such a slow moving tropical cyclone, it has allowed us to look at the islands, particularly place generators, put
assets across, look at plans in place for tomorrow. But I think the next twenty four hours is going to be key to what happens if it intensifies overnight, if it drops off, but there'll still be what we've been told by Bomb is a heck of a lot of rain and that will put obviously pressure pall on the river systems and with localized flooding possibly that's our biggest concern at the moment, and that the concern of BOMB.
The federal government has already deployed members of the Defense Force. They'll be there in northern New South Wales. What share is being deployed in and around southeast Queensland.
Well, we've certainly been in constant contact with the federal government. The MIS has been up here and attending the state disaster coordinator meetings. We have to a day I started on the Sunshine Coast this morning. This afternoon I was with the Premier obviously updating Queenslanders from the State Disaster
Coordination Center with the federal minister as well. There's aircraft support which has been one is ready to go at Bunderberg, so that support has been given and promised by the federal government and all is being assessed at the moment what support we're going to need. The issue I deal with on a daily basis for the last few days ball is the logistics and freight and operations and getting
supermarkets stocked with food and groceries. That's been a big challenge and I think we're going to see over the next twenty four hours all the supermarkets close, which will put challenges for people needing stock. But I think again, all we've been trying to do, the Premier and I and the ministers is keep everyone updated. As soon as we've been receiving the information we've given it to Queenslanders.
Bomb has been updating everyone every hour. The Premier has made sure that all the local government mayors that are impacted by tropical cycle and Alfred are in the room twice meeting daily and anything the mayors have been requesting. We certainly have been supporting them and particularly getting them to put the flood mapping on their websites and the disaster hub, so everyone in those areas can see that the different levels of rain and whether they whether their
properties would be impacted or not. So I think in terms of preparation, we are as prepared as we can be, despite not knowing the ramifications of what's going to happen tomorrow, deciding on what the tropical cycle on Alfred decides to do overnight.
Good stuff. Thank you so much, Deputy Premier Jared Blage. I really do appreciate it. Of course, all the best to the Premier and all of the team. The information has been extraordinary. Again, as somebody who loves Queensland, but as a visitor, the amount of information that comes at you is pretty impressive. They've got a website which you should have a look at, which is disaster dot q dot gov dot Au or disaster dot QLD dot gov
dot AU. When you're on that website, you're able to go right into your local government area, a message board comes up, You're able to see what suburbs are gonna have flood mapping. You can check that out. I literally was having a look where I've got my brother up on the Sunny coast, shout out to you, Jason Nicky and the girls, and just having a look at their suburb,
their streets. What's the flooding map. You're able to see that picture a little further down, you know, mates in and around budrom having a look at what's happening there. Friends that are happening just a little further up the hill here on the Gold Coast where they are currently cut off. They're cut off because of fallen trees. So much information now again, there's a lot of people who've been saying geez, wall to wall for a week. So
much information, so many briefings. Well, the point is you want to get the message to four million people as much as possible, as frequently as possible. There are the people like yourself who lean forward, watch every little bit of detail. There are those who don't. But thankfully the message has gone as far as radio can take it, as deep as the internet, and live right now on
your television. In a moment or two's time, more information from Sky News Weather quick break back with more and believe it or not, there was something crazy that was happening that we'll give you a small smile before a worried night here in the southeast, just gone eight point thirty Here in Queensland. I've had plenty of wild nights
on the Gold Coast, but nothing like this. Thank you for watching us as we are bringing you the early moments of tropical Cyclone Alfred blowing a gale, dumping an awful lot of rain, particularly a little further south in Cooling Gata where I am right now in Broadbeach. There are these strange little stops and starts. But when it hits, it is hitting hard. It only gets harder from here in a moment, another Queensland perspective, and again, as I said before, fun to see what kids do when they've
got the day off school. They're not putting anyone in danger. Something fun in a moment or two time. But can I explain again around this more than sixty thousand homes which have now lost their power, the vast majority down here on the Gold Coast. One of the reasons that took place was because there was a giant tree which fell on a substation that knocked things out. So remember this as part of the whole picture, isn't it. It's not just about how hard the wind is, it's what
it breaks. It's not just how heavy the rain is, it's what it loosens. That, of course means why there's particular worry about a tree branch falling off a couple of doors down and coming into your house. There's plenty of examples and lots of pictures that are around today. Are the houses that have already been flattened. Certainly, the beach erosion is pretty obvious. That's been taking place here well for many a day, and it's only going to get worse from here in Any of the lifeguard towers
are teetering as we speak. All right, let's get into a chat here with Alison Osborne from Sky News Weather. Allison, what is the information that you have for us about the latest and the expect for the next little.
One, Paul.
We've already seen a noticeable escalation of whether impacts to parts of northeastern New South Wales in the last few hours. In southeastern Queensland will quickly follow. Now we have been talking about all of the trees down from damaging winds across the northern Rivers and the Gold coast more than one hundred and twenty kilometers per hour, and those winds are strengthening over the next twelve hours or so, and of course coastal erosion impacts continue as well.
Now.
Tropical Cyclone Alfred has remained a category to storm throughout the day. It did strengthen a touch in its intensity as in approach the coast. It has now made a forecast west northwesterly turn and this is going to increase the threat of impacts to Brisbane and areas of southeastern Queensland. Here at the highest wind gusts recorded so far today and as you can see, things have escalated ninety eight kilometers per hour at the Gold Coast Cape Morton Lighthouse
eighty five. Brisbane has had a relatively calmer day. That's simply due to the position of Tropical Cyclone Alfred, focusing the worst impacts over coastal areas south of about the Gold Coast, sparing Brisbane for now, but that is said to change. If we take a look at the rain rdar p or we can see the stop start nature of those squally showers for much of the day. The heavier, more persistent rain though, is starting to settle on in we can see the clockwise spiral. We can see the
storm center from tropical Cyclone Alfred. It is not far away, less than sixty kilometers.
Off the coast.
We can see those darker shades on the radar too, indicating heavier, more persistent rainfall rates. So the gauges are feeling already one hundred and twelve millimeters of Lizmore in the last twelve hours. Cops are or has seen forty fallin out twenty seven, but again Brisbane missing out on
the worst impact so far, just three point four millimeters. Now, the system is still forecast to continue on that west northwesterly track, and we can in the early hours of the morning as it crosses the coast between Noosa and Bentley. Now we can see the system likely to decay quite rapidly throughout the morning pool. But I do stress that doesn't mean that the impacts are going to be weak.
So let's take a look at what's happening. So we can see the strongest winds in those red wind arrows and the heaviest drain in the black that's focused to the south of the system. So if it passes to the north of Brisbane. This is going to drag the impacts of heaviest rain away from the Northern Rivers and then over southeastern Queensland and that's likely to be a
prolonged event, lasting most of tomorrow morning. We're looking at twenty four hour rainfall totals potentially exceeding three to four hundred and fifty millimeters in the path of the storm, so that is still including the Northern Rivers and southeastern Queensland, but heavy rainfall rates could lead to flash flooding as far north as Double Island point, as far inland as to Woomba by tomorrow evening, and then as far south as Coffs Harbor, so still quite a wide reaching weather event.
Here are the current flood warnings. We have major flood warnings in place for the Logan River in Queensland and then the rivers in the Northern Rivers, so the Tweed, the Brunswick, Richmond and Wilson's. The Wilsons River it lives more or moderate flood it is rising overnight, and then across the mid North coast the Arara River, Bellinger River and nan Bucker River also on a major flood warning.
So we're likely to see those rivers rise overnight and then throughout the day tomorrow, long after Tropical Cyclone Alfred has weakened. So we will be tracking this event throughout the day on at Skyney's Weather channel six to so one. But for now we're just watching those rain gages, Phil and the winds pick up.
Paul, Thank you so much, Alison. I really do appreciate it all right, plenty more on sky News Weather. John Paul Langebrook joins us here at the at the face of all of this. He's the local impl and Service Paradise. He's a minister in the Queensland government. Nice to see you again, mate, Good to be with you. Not your first radio lifelong here and you have seen plenty of these before.
Well we haven't seen one for fifty years, but I do remember as a child Cyclone Glinda was one that hit us in sixty seven. Population of the coast then with seventy thousand, a tenth of what it is now, and then seventy four was cyclone population one hundred thousand, So it's been a long time.
So also the I mean so much infrastructure has gone in as well in that obviously, so many people are sitting in towers like ours, much better built. The expectations is that if you built something after the nineteen nineties, you're going to be in a better place maybe than some of the older properties. But there are plenty of older properties dotted right along the coastline and further up, aren't there.
Yeah, it's not so much the structures built structures that we're worried about. It's the structures beside the beach, because that's what we saw in sixty seven when there were car wrecks thrown into the ocean to try to build the sea wall, which has been exposed today through that erosion and then the waves coming in underneath some of the structures. Some of the viewing platforms have actually undermined those.
So that's why the message has been don't go on those viewing platforms, especially up towards Main Beach and Narrowneck where the water has come in right underneath. And that's why we've been warning people about not going out there to get into the waves and the wind because we've got rain and flooding coming well.
And even if by brunch time tomorrow, breakfast time tomorrow, you feel and you start to see some of the numbers changing. All of that structural stuff is going to apply for well a very long time. But certainly the first couple of days, don't be running off to the selfies at the beach to see what happens. Stay away from it because it's literally sand underneath you.
Yeah, exactly, And that's exactly what we've seen over the last couple of days, some pretty reckless behavior from well even the premier called at Premier chrisif fully called them idiots, endangering not just themselves but the first responders who may have to go save them, and that takes them away from the other work that they'd like to be doing.
I've been talking a lot about the amount of homes that are in your electorate that have lost power. That of course means their capacity to charge their phone, which means to stay informed. Again, energet's cruise. But they're not going to be around tonight. They're not going to be around first thing in the morning. This is something to have to wait out, isn't it. Yeah.
I think there's fifty six thousand people without power, or there were a few hours ago when I was on the disaster management call. Forty nine thousand of those are here on the Gold Coast, mainly in the hinterland because there've been fallen trees, fallen power lines and it's just not safe for energetic workers to get out there.
Yeah. I like hearing as much behind the scenes as possible because we all see the briefings. Spoke about it with the Premiere about Okay, when you're looking at information at that disaster headquarters, are you seeing things that are
slightly more detailed than we're saying? He says pretty much. No, Basically, all the information is always out there, but that disaster management call key minister's constant communication give us an idea of that that all of you have different responsibilities in government. How is that working tonight?
Well, the Premier goes around the table and gets briefing from each of the ministers, from the Deputy Premier to the Energy Minister who's the treasurer, then to Health to check about health facilities, schools for me, then through to the Local government minister, Communities minister and how's and then we get reports from all of the telcos local government mayors. So all of that goes through very thoroughly, with the Premiere often saying, look, I'd like to let's get some
information about such and such. Can we have that before the end of the call, about things like recharging phones and what will happen as a result. So trying to get that info out to people as soon as we get it.
I appreciate it and thank you for the behind the scenes and that because it helps build that trust about what people are hearing. Last one hear your message to the coast that might be watching us right now.
Well, look, people have been through this before. We've given people lots of time to try to get ready. Now we need to get through what we're going to experience next, which is rainfall and flooding. We hope that we don't get this storm surge coinciding with the high tide tomorrow at three or four am, but I hear it's coming in the next twelve hours. Hopefully it'll take us beyond that and then we're going to be straight into recovery.
But taking care of each other is what we need to do and staying safe.
Good stuff. The Education minister, the local MP, John Paula, Sorry it's this occasion. Maybe we have a better Friday night on the coast into the future, all right. Peter Flannery is joining us right now here is the Morton Bay city mayor. He of course has got some territories
that are a little further off the coast as well. Peter, tell us about what is happening in your part of the world, because you are getting numbers that are even bigger than what's happening in parts of Brisbane and certainly even here on the Goaldie.
Yeah, just in the city of may we's done. I have a significant amount of rainfall in now. The winds are slowly building. It looks like the old Alfred's headed directly for the city of Morton Bay, particularly up to cabulso so somewhere between bribe Owl and Redcliffe. It looks like it's going to make land. Hopefully it'll be downgraded to a category weren't there and lost a bit of
its power that comes through over Morton Island. But we're holding our breath now waiting that this has been a huge build up for many, many days and the community has done a tremendous amount of work preparing for this event. We have our fingers crossed now that it moves quickly and at least in fact as possible for our city.
Yeah, Peter, the sense that I've got here is that the absolute advantage about the many many days of focus is preparation. The frustration with many days is that some people think, oh, well, surely it would have happened by now, But it is happening now, It is happening tonight, it happens tomorrow morning. The effects are going to be basically from this darkness to the darkness that follows a day from here.
Yeah, within twelve hours, it's likelying to be upon us. It'll be on top of people's houses here in the city Inton Bay. As John Paul said, it's been a huge build up and a great collaboration between the state government in some federal agencies and the local governments in Southeast Queenslands are all waking together try and prepare as much as possible for this. As he said, fifty years ago, we haven't had any cycle since since a lot of
people haven't experienced that. We're concerned about the wind factor here and how it's going to impact on the properties and what people are actually going and how they're going to respond to that. So our message is there is stay indoors now, stays cure.
When if you do have.
Some demishia how significant damage call trip below, but please be respectful of the staff that can out and support you over that time. They can put their leaves of risk. They want to make sure they're safe when they come and do that, so they could be a little bit of time before that happens. And dan't go out and get those they self easily put on social media because your life's not worth it and somebody else's life's not worth it to come and rescue you.
Absolutely correct. Now, give me an idea about the team that is your counsel obviously hunkering down tonight, have been doing the preparations. We're talking about people who would nine to five be doing something else. They've been focused on this. Give me an idea about how a counsel at a
time like this becomes totally focused. How you're able to say that somebody who might be so responsible for one thing is doing something else today and tomorrow to make sure that the man and woman power to be politically correct is as strong as possible.
Yeah, it's been fatigue manage. It's been a big thing because we've tried to get as much as we could to the community to get and prepared for this event. We're now down to our skeleton staff. Our disaster Coordination Center is active tonight. People are sleeping there on site because they've got to be respond whenever they need to respond. They work in collaboration with all the state agencies, whether that's the police, endblets service, the power Energex, Telco's water sewage.
The whole thing all works together in one well aided machine. But when it does hit the fan, then these people can respond no matter what time the day or night it will be. And it's about managing fatigue and also about recovery then, So once the event has come through and passed, we'll be getting teams out to do a rapid assessment of damage and then trying to get the resources in the right place as quickly as possible to get people's lives back to normal as quickly as possible.
Good on your Peter, Thank you to you and your community strength and love for the next little while. I really do appreciate it. Now. While we were out and about as best as we could today and we wanted to make sure that not only we knew what was happening in the northern rivers in Tweed, we knew that cool and Gata, which of course is just that little bit further out to if you're looking not at a
straight coastline, but the jutting coastline that is southeast Queensland. Well, we spotted something at the corner of our eyes and we thought, is it really happening? Yes, it was. Now we know times are serious. We don't want to promote people doing silly things. But these aren't people who were surfing in the water. They were surfing in mud at Cooley. This is going to be one of the places that is going to be right in the eye of things by this time tomorrow. But it isn't this time tomorrow.
So how do you spend the last day before a cyclone surfing in the mud? Today?
Mate?
What's your name? My name's Hudson. How good's that? Right? That's so fun? You gotta try it. They had a lot of fun. And I'll tell you what, I'd always be prepared like a snare, a good scout. Almost, I should say, Nick, who's our cameraman who's been bringing you all of these incredible pictures. He doesn't just bring one thing to put on the microphone because they may get dirty at any moment's time. And this thing was filthy, and while I would comically throw it off the balcony,
I will responsibly put it in my pocket. All right, no loose items while we're outside, all right, moment or two's time plenty More Here a reminder there'll be some rolling coverage in the hours after this program. Pete Stefanovic special Saturday morning edition, a first edition into Laura Jays and a whole rolling array of news coverage. Don't forget tomorrow night the Western Australian election, and politically speaking, the Prime Minister has tonight made a decision that he will
not be holding a federal election in April. It will be in May. And it's just been confirmed by the Treasurer's Office Jim Charmer that the federal budget will be handed down on March the twenty fifth. More from the Gold Coast. More from Southeast Queensland, with attention on what's happening in the northern parts of New South Wales in a moment as Tropical Cyclone Alfred is less than one hundred k's off the coast. Now, obviously you've seen plenty of pictures of the surf and it has been wild.
I don't know why people go surfing in this stuff. But some of the stats that have come out of this have been incredible. There's some wave hyd recordings I'm not joking what sixteen sixteen meters in some areas will have to be confirmed. If that's the case, it'll be one of the biggest, if on the biggest that's happened
in Queensland history. Again, Tropical Cyclone Alfred is less than one hundred kilometers off the coast from Brisbane, much closer here by the best part of what thirty kilometers a little bit closer here on the Gold Coast. The rain it'll keep lashing not just here but then further south. That causes trouble for the northern rivers of New South Wales. That rain then starts to swirl up as imagine a
clockwise direction. All of that red, all of that pink, all of that purple, that's what is lashing behind it. That's a pretty long train and a big belting caboose that's going to be coming through that rain. It whacks towards well, almost all the way down to places like Coffs Harbor. The situation tonight where a man has been swept away that happened inland from Coffs Harbor all the way through to the Sunshine Coast in the next couple
of days. Fiona Cunningham is the Brisbane Deputy Lord Mayor and she joins us now, Fiona, thank you so much for talking to us. I've got to say before we do anything else, i want to say congratulations to you and the council for the information. As a person who's a visitor in this beautiful part but loves Queensland. The information on the website, it's world class. It's something that the city and the state should be very proud of. And also the benefit of your council area is that
it basically is the metropolitan area. So give us the latest about what's happening in Brisbane tonight. While right now it's the Goldie, it's Brisbane tomorrow.
Thanks Paul. Yeah, so I'm based in Coopero my home base tonight because I'm following the advice which is to stay home, stay safe, indoors. We expect the cyclone. It's knocking on our door at the moment, but we expect it to really hit tomorrow morning at around seven am. By midday those winds will really pick up and then after that it's the rain. So we're expecting up to two hundred and fifty millimeters of rain tomorrow. And of course Brisbane knows what to do in a flood, but
this is a very different event. Okay, we're talking about two natural disasters in one. First we have the cyclone coming through and then we will have the flood. So it's really important. The key message that we need to get across to people right now is to stay indoors and to stay safe even after the cyclone has passed. Please stay safe indoors until you get the advice that it's okay to go out. Of course people will be anxious and wanting to help others, but start local. Start
with your neighbors and your family and your friends. Please don't go sightseeing. That's the last thing we need right now. We need people to stay in their home base and stay safe.
Now, Fiona, something that is always impressive is again how people are taking care of each other. And certainly something I'm trying to do in our conversation is to give people an idea of how the sausage is made. Here
at Brisbane City Council. You're well practiced in all of this stuff, But when we're talking about the type of flooding event, what are some of the things that the city itself can do in the early hours of tomorrow through the day tomorrow to start to deal to make sure that your storm water systems, all of that is working the way that it should. But obviously there's only so much water it can take.
Well.
One of the benefits that we've actually had, Paul is we've had a bit of notice with cyclone Alfred Right. He's sort of been promising to come and visit us for a couple of days now, and people have been getting perhaps a little bit complacent, thinking is he actually going to arrive. He is arriving, and we've been able to take that extra time we've had to start preparation in our city, so we're already starting to pull together
our recovery teams. We've got teams on standby ready for a rapid assessment to get out there when it's safe to understand what kind of damage we're dealing with, to then be able to support the community through the next few days. We're also got Volunteering Queensland on board where we're going to be working with them around how best to manage the cleanup effort and get people engaged in this. Brisbane, like you said, has been through floods, but this is
a very different event. There are different hazards this time around, and we need to be incredibly we can not put more importance on safety of people because of fallen power lines and trees. I mean we're talking about lives here. We must be safe.
Thank you so much, Fiona, to you and all of your team, I really do appreciate it. Thank you to everyone who's joined us on camera, to all the people that have helped us behind the scenes. Again, we will have Sky News coverage all the way through the night. I'll be here tomorrow morning again with Pete Stefanovic and with Laura. If you are watching us and you are in the zone right now, you've got to stay inside. As soon as this camera goes off, that door gets
locked and we will spend the night inside. Like you. Strength and love to everyone, To those that are sending that strength and love from around the country, keep it coming. We'll see you again tomorrow during the new special edition of Paul Murray, same time at Sunday night. That's our show, and stand by for more here, on sky News,