Already and this is the Daily This is the Daily OS. Oh, now it makes sense.
Good morning and welcome to the Daily OS. It's Thursday, the sixth of March. I'm zara, i'm emma. Millions of residents in parts of Queensland and New South Wales are bracing for the arrival of Cyclone Alfred, which is due to make landfall early on Friday morning. Authorities are warning the rare weather event could bring with it significant rainfall
and high winds. In today's podcast, we're going to explain what we know so far, what's been done to ready the communities at risk, and how residents can stay in formed.
Zara, As you mentioned, Cyclone Alfred is due to make landfall later on this week, so later to day, early tomorrow, and the destruction that it may bring remains uncertain. It's an ever evolved situation. But what do we know so far?
Yeah, So what we know so far is that cyclone Alfred is currently heading for southeast Queensland. As you said, it's expected to make landfall either late tonight or early tomorrow morning around one am. It's expected to make landfall as a Category two system in Brisbane, but the area it's expected to effect is far greater than just Brisbane. So the warning zone at the time of recording stretches from Double Island Point in Queensland to Yamba in northern
New South Wales. Now I mentioned just before that we're expecting it to land as a category two system. When it comes to categorizing systems in Australia, there are five categories. What we mean when we say category two is that we're expecting winds of up to one hundred and sixty four kilometers per hour. We're expecting significant damage to signs, to trees, to caravans, and then also minor damage to homes.
That's really interesting because I think when we hear that scale of there being five categories, you know you'd be forgiven for thinking maybe a category two isn't so intense. But imagining one hundred and sixty kilometer per hour windmen speed, it's huge. It's unimaginable. That's incredibly powerful.
It is, and authorities have warned it could make landfall as a category three, so it could be even more severe, but that this isn't highly likely. They are expecting it more around that category two level. However, right now, more than four million people are expected to be impacted by this imminent arrival of the cyclone. So that I think talks to how intense.
Exactly and a really densely populated area of the country. Southeast Queensland is a very densely populated part of Australia, and I mean it speaks to this apprehension that we're seeing right around the country as people kind of ready themselves for this one.
Yeah, exactly. And I think it's also because we've known about Alfred for a little while now. We first learned of it over a week ago, some like nine or ten days ago now, when it first started to form in the Coral Sea, which is about nine hundred kilometers northeast of Cannes, before it headed out to sea. It then over the course of a couple of days tracked south. It reached a severe Category four status east of Mackay.
But then just in the last day or so, the Bureau of Meteorology has said that the cyclone's essentially done it a bit of a U turn and that's why it's now tracking for Southeast Queensland at that category two system. Zara.
You also mentioned though, that this is a cyclone expected to impact an area that stretches from Queensland right down to New South Wales as well, so across state lines.
Yeah, exactly. So we now have this situation that the crisis is expected to hit some parts of New South Wales as well as Queensland. And to give you a sense of how serious this is, New South Wales SES Commissioner Mike Wassing said yesterday that emergency services are bracing for three natural disaster events in one. There he's talking about high winds, heavy rains and then flash flooding, all of which is expected to occur almost immediately at once.
And so even before the eye of the storm has even really been felt, there's already huge swells and high winds already being experienced in some parts of Queensland.
Yeah. One of the huge I suppose areas of concern with this kind of a system is exactly what you've spoken to, that it's this triple whammy of winds, rain storms, and especially some of these regions that have been so ravaged by floods already this year and in recent months around that southeast Queensland and far northern New South Wales area.
You know, flooding is another thing but we're talking about a whole other scale of damage, and I think that speaks to some of the commentary about this and how rare A cyclone in this part of Australia is a fairly unprecedented weather event. I've lived in New South Wales my whole life, and I don't remember there ever being a cyclone here. It feels like the kind of story we often hear in the far north of Queensland or
the Northern Territory or WA. But when was the last time we saw a threat like this in this area.
I mean, you're exactly right to not recall it happening in New South Wales recently, because the last time that there was a cyclone that affected New South Wales was in nineteen ninety. That's when Cyclone Nancy just brushed the coast near Byron, So that wasn't kind of a full on impact like we're expecting here. Yeah. The last tropical cyclone to cross the southeast Queensland coast though, was x Tropical Cyclone Zoe, and that was in nineteen seventy four. Wow, over fifty years.
It was really unusual.
It is really unusual, and so you know, there's both the intensity of the storm, but also then how we regularly something like this does occur. And those two things coupled together, I think are very concerning for emergency services as they prepare themselves and ready these communities.
Yees, So there really is that sort of element of the unpre and to nature of something like this in this part of the country. What are the preparation plans? You know, we have known about this for some time. Obviously meteorological advancements are so fantastic that now we do have all of this build up to get ready. How are residents preparing and planning to reduce the expected impact?
Yeah, So I'll start first with Queensland and then I'll move on to New South Wales because of course we've got two different governments of two different political persuasions, so I'll take one by one. So in Queensland, residents were first told on Monday to start preparing for the cyclone. So at the time that included things like getting tinned food, making an emergency kit, getting their passports together, and also
clearing debris from properties. You know, that was in anticipation of the flooding, and whatever else.
Loose items, securing things that might be in your backyard the exact flyaway and be hazardous.
At the time, Queensland Premier David chris A fully said that we are putting all preparations in place and we're asking Queenslanders to do the same. It's important that people take this event seriously now. Since that time, telecommunications companies have been instructed to increase network capacity. That's in anticipation of you know, increased demand if people trying to text
their loved ones, trying to get internet. Local supermarkets have also been told that they need to regularly restock shelves. We've already seen some items completely unavailable and like some supermarkets completely empty. So supermarkets are under instruction that they need to be restocking as much as is you know, viable and possible.
I've heard David Crucifie speaking to that point. And the unique kind of advantage of the location of southeast Queensland here is that ideally supermarkets will be able to restock because access isn't going to be cut off in any particular direction that you know, hopefully from the north and the south, that food and grocery items will still be able to make.
Their way into those supermarkets exactly and At the same time, all Brisbane ferry services have been terminated, as have curbside rubbish collections. I just thought that was interesting, like the things that you have to think about as you prepare for something like this. Very significantly, a majority of schools across the region will be closed both today and tomorrow.
In New South Wales, some of those schools were already closed yesterday, but in Queensland that is beginning today, and then in terms of New South Wales the same is mostly true in terms of that preparation, as well as that the state's emergency Service will send additional personnel, equipment and vehicles to the mid North Coast as well as the northern rivers. And I do just want to pick up on something you mentioned a bit earlier in passing. You said that you know there are areas that have
been ravaged by floods historically. Yeah, and I do just want to note that Lizmore, this city in New South Wales that was absolutely destroyed by flooding three years ago. We would all remember the really devastating vision from that time. Lizmore is once again in the firing of this cyclone, and so you know, residents who had to rebuild and have been continuing to rebuild their homes from the flooding last time, are now being told that they need to
again prepare for the worst. And you know, the New South Wales government has recognized this, has recognized how difficult this must be. We had Jihaddibb, who's the Emergency Services Minister, saying we're cognizant of what the Northern Rivers have gone through and some of the trauma that they carry. So you know, I'm sure a lot of attention will be on how we can once again help the people of Lismore rebuild.
Yeah, the Northern Rivers region has certainly been through it. We've heard now Zara from the state government's Queensland and New South Wales a bit of local government council response there too. What about the federal government. Have we heard from them on cyclone Alfred?
Yeah, we have so. Prime Minister Anthony Albernezi appeared at a press conference with the Queensland Premier yesterday. He said that the Australian Defense Forces have been engaged and that they're ready to assist. He also said that heavy lift helicopters were being deployed to help with the situation, and that the federal government was sending two hundred and fifty thousand sand bags directly to Queensland and to the government there.
And so those sandbags are helpful in extreme rain and flash flooding events. People will put them up around their shops and the houses to try and stop water inundating those properties.
Yeah, exactly. And just before we move on, I did just want to mention a quick tidbit and this is absolutely not the most important part of this story, but I do just think it's interesting given we're talking about Anthony Alban Easy. Yep, this cyclone was actually meant to be named cyclone Anthony.
This is the one.
Yeah, this is the one. And that's because of naming conventions of cyclones, which I don't know if people have ever looked into, but it is a bit interesting. So the way it works is that the Bureau of Meteorology basically cycles through an alphabetical list that alternates by gender. And so when cyclone Zelia hit that was the last cyclone Australia experience that hit wa. It was a small cyclone at the time, but when Cyclone Zelia hit, the next name on the list because Zelia obviously starts with
a Z and was a female name. The next letter on the list was A and that was to be a male name, and that name was Anthony. However, the Bureau did decide to skip that name because of the Prime Minister, because they say that they don't like to name things that coincide with high profile individuals, and therefore this cyclone is called Alfred and not Anthony.
Yes, so interesting, but obviously those quotes from the bomb were that you know this, there is a precedent for this with significant political cultural figures. Also, when I did a deep dive on the naming conventions, there are actually two alphabets so that you don't kind of cycle back to another name name within kind of a generation. So you've got the two alphabets. Very interesting for people that like learning out about that stuff. But back to cyclone Alfred.
As you said, this is an ever evolving kind of a system, a fast moving event, and we really don't know yet how it's going to evolve. How are people being advised to stay informed these communities in these impacted parts of northern New South Wales and southeast Queensland.
Yeah, I did really want to end on this note because you know, obviously we are in information service and at a time like this, getting the right information is so so important. So firstly, and you know, this is something that applies to all situations, but especially a crisis like this, it is important to seek out verified sources and that means you know, going directly to emergency services or local authorities to get your information, whether that be online,
on TV, however you are accessing that information online. There is so much missing disinformation and that just flourishes during a crisis. You know, bad faith actors tend to exploit situations like this, and so it is really important to go directly to that primary source. Local councils these really really useful and reliable disaster dashboards. So most local councils have these, and they include things like live warnings, evacuation locations,
latest road conditions, and so much more. And so it is helpful to look up your local council and see whether they do have one of these disaster dashboards because they really bring together all of the disparate information in one place, because it can be so overwhelming when you're trying to get the latest but then you're getting all
this information at the same time. Authorities are also recommending that people find or buy a battery operated AMFM radio so that if the power goes out, which we are expecting to happen. That's what a category to cyclone can create, those sort of mass power outages. And so if you can't charge your phone, having one of these battery operated radios will mean that you can still get up to date information, and I thought that's a really good thing for people to keep in mind.
It's also a good kind of fall back for if cell towers end up getting affected, if telecommunications providers can't provide coverage in certain areas.
Yeah, exactly. And I do just want to end on the note that the ABC is really vital during times like this. Local radio plays a huge role. They are all over these emergency situations and are also best place to be reporting on them at the same time. And so if you are in one of these affected areas, it is also a good idea to try and tune into your local ABC radio station to also keep on top of the latest information there.
There are a couple of apps. There's a new South Wales and Queensland sort of emergency hazard app will pop some links to resources in the show notes that's such helpful advice, Zara and really interesting information. Of course, over on the Daily os we will be continuing to keep a close eye on this one and we'll be updating
information regularly on our Instagram. And if you are listening today in one of them, please impacted zones, please take care of yourself, Please look after each other and know that you are in our thoughts over the next few days.
My name is Lily Maddon and I'm a proud Arunda Bunjelung Kalkadin woman from Gadighl country. The Daily oz acknowledges that this podcast is recorded on the lands of the Gadighl people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and torrest Rate island and nations. We pay our respects to the first peoples of these countries, both past and present.