Beachgoers during Cyclone Alfred have been labelled ‘reckless’ and could be hit with huge fines.
The category two system was about 180 kilometres off the Gold Coast early on Friday and causing huge swells. The Bureau of Meteorology says it’s likely to remain at that intensity when it makes landfall on Saturday morning.
‘There has been some really foolish behaviour and it is so important that people stay away from the beach,’ Gold Coast’s acting mayor Donna Gates said.
‘We have been declared a disaster zone that enables the police to take action and anyone performing a reckless action can actually be fined up to $16,100,’ Ms Gates said.
She said the fines were aimed to keep ‘people who are a bit stupid’ safe.
Videos on social media over the past 24 hours show Aussies getting stranded at beaches, including clips of a group standing on rocks to get a better view of the huge swells when a massive wave crashed over them, nearly pulling them into the surf.
Federal MP Andrew Wallace also shared a video on Tuesday showing a ‘selfish’ swimmer wading into the surf at Kings Beach in Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast.
Wild winds and heavy rain are expected to intensify on Friday before the cyclone crosses the coast in the evening or early on Saturday, likely between Noosa and Coolangatta in Queensland.
Cyclone Alfred’s effects will be felt for hundreds of kilometres from Double Island Point in Queensland to the Northern Rivers region in NSW.
More than 28,00 homes and businesses in southeast Queensland were without electricity on Friday morning around the Gold Coast area, Redland City and Scenic Rim.
Energex said the outages were caused by debris over powerlines and substations and warned customers to brace four outages lasting a week or more.
‘While we hope this doesn’t happen, we must be ready for serious damage to the power network and/or homes,’ the company said.
There were some 6300 requests for assistance to the SES in NSW’s Northern Rivers and Mid North Coast regions as of Friday morning, as thousands of other residents spent their first night out of home after being ordered to evacuate
Millions are bracing for the onslaught of the tropical cyclone, with more than a million sandbags distributed in Queensland alone stacked high around homes in coastal cities and communities.
Dave and Charmaine Harris’ house in Brisbane is fortressed front and back with bright yellow bags while everything inside their ground floor has been raised.
It’s not the first time the pair have experienced inundation, so they are prepared – plastic containers to store valuables, relocating cars to higher ground and emptying water tanks ahead of Alfred’s arrival.
But they are concerned amid forecasts of 130km/h wind gusts and heavy rain.
‘We’re hoping that it is not going to be as bad as they’re predicting,’ Mr Harris told AAP.
Ms Harris has lived in Sandgate her whole life and experienced multiple flood events since 2011 so she knows a storm surge can be disastrous.
‘We’re nervous about what damage is going to be caused but no one knows,’ she said.
Should the winds get too strong and floodwaters reach too high, they will make the call to leave.
Some 400mm of rain is expected to be dumped on the region on Friday, as strong winds lash coastal communities and deliver waves as high as 12m .
More than 2000 NSW SES volunteers are preparing and assisting communities amid concerns rain will fall for up to five days after Alfred lands, risking towns being cut off.
‘We cannot guarantee a boat for every house in the flood evacuation zone,’ NSW Premier Chris Minns said.
More than 1000 schools across the impacted region are shut, along with public transport, elective surgeries and non-critical government services.
Major airports in Brisbane and the Gold Coast are also shut with flights cancelled across several regional airfields.
