Cyclone Alfred live updates: Brisbane, Queensland and NSW BoM path tracking map; landfall time and category; weather forecasts TC Alfred rain and flooding warnings – latest Australia news

The company gave an update at 1.45am AEST.

More than 6,000 of them were in Nerang and the Labrador area was also badly affected with more than 5,000 people cut off.

The wind speeds packed by Tropical Cyclone Alfred have dropped again as it nears the main coastline of south-east Queensland.

The latest BoM advisory issued at 0.54am AEST says winds near the centre are 75kmh with wind gusts reaching 100kmh.

The centre of the storm is now estimated to be 45km northeast of Brisbane and 90km north of Gold Coast and is moving at 9kmh.

The bulletin said Alfred “is crossing the Moreton Bay Islands and is expected to cross the mainland coast, between Maroochydore and Brisbane during the morning. Alfred will weaken as it moves inland late Saturday and on Sunday”.

In its latest tracker map and advice, the BoM repeats that Tropical Cyclone Alfred – now a category one storm – is crossing the Moreton Bay Islands and is expected to cross the mainland coast, “between Maroochydore and Brisbane during the morning”.

It added “Alfred will weaken as it moves inland late Saturday and on Sunday” but in the meantime heavy bands of rain are continuing to move over south-east Queensland and north-east New South Wales.

It is moving noticeably more quickly than on Friday evening, with the speed increasing from 6kmh a few hours ago to 10kmh now.

The latest tracker map shows the eye of the storm just east of Moreton Bay Island and forecasts that the centre will make landfall at 6am on Saturday – earlier than predicted in friday night’s advisories.

The Bureau of Meteorology has updated its tropical cyclone advice again and says Alfred has weakened slightly to a category one storm as it crosses the Moreton Bay islands.

The cyclone has sustained winds near the centre of 85kmh at 11.08AEST from 95kmh an hour before with wind gusts to 120kmh down from 130kmh an hour previously.

It has also speeded up from 7kmh to 9kmh.

Brisbane city council has advised all residents to “take shelter now” from Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

Tropical Cyclone Alfred is predicted to cross north of Brisbane in the early hours of the morning of Saturday while the centre will make full landfall at around 10am in the area around Godwin Beach, according to latest tracker maps.

“The wind is very dangerous and will be very loud,” the statement reads.

“You will hear things breaking outside and hitting your house.

“Winds could stop suddenly if the eye of the tropical cyclone goes over. Very dangerous winds could start again quickly from a different direction.”

Brisbane City Council advises all residents to TAKE SHELTER NOW from Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

Tropical Cyclone Alfred is predicted to cross north of Brisbane overnight into the early hours of the morning of the 8th of March 2025.

DETAILS: pic.twitter.com/k07pE8ud9c

— 4BC Brisbane (@NewsTalk4BC) March 7, 2025

The city of Gold Coast has advised people in the Currumbin catchment that there is dangerous, wide-spread, fast-moving and unpredictable flooding occurring near Currumbin Creek.

It says residents should stay in place, and “it is TOO DANGEROUS TO LEAVE”.

The BoM has just issued an updated advice notice about Tropical Cyclone Alfred and it repeats the forecast that it is expected to cross the Moreton Bay Islands on Saturday morning before making landfall on the mainland coast between Maroochydore and Brisbane later in the day.

The last tracker map issued at 7.55pm AEST appeared to predict landfall at 8am around Godwin Beach.

The advice said the cyclone was now estimated to be 80km east of Brisbane and 70km north-east of Gold Coast. It is moving at 6kmh.

It remains a category two storm with sustained winds near the centre of 95kmh with wind gusts to 130kmh.

Rainfall, wind and ocean impacts are likely for southeast Queensland and northeast New South Wales tonight and over the weekend.

The cyclone is hitting North Stradbroke Island off the coast of Brisbane, according to the latest available update from the Bureau of Meteorology.

At 7.03pm AEST, the bureau uploaded its latest tropical cyclone forecast track map, which shows the centre of the cyclone hitting the island in Moreton Bay.

The bureau said the cyclone was continuing moving slowly towards the south-east Queensland coast, with rainfall, wind and ocean impacts likely to persist tonight and over the weekend.

The areas in the warning zone for the biggest weather effects were: Double Island Point in Queensland to Yamba in New South Wales, including Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Byron Bay and Ballina but not including Gympie.

The bureau said Alfred was most likely to cross over the Moreton Bay Islands Saturday morning before crossing the mainland coast, most likely between Noosa and Beenleigh later during the day.

Almost 100,000 properties are without power across Queensland and NSW as Tropical Cyclone Alfred nears, bringing with it damaging wind gusts, rainfall and flooding.

Almost 59,757 properties are affected by outages in south-east Queensland as of 6pm today, with more than 48,000 of them in the Gold Coast, according to Energex. Redlands and Scenic Rim are among other areas affected.

In NSW’s northern rivers and far north coast, 38,000 are without power, according to Essential Energy’s latest update at 4pm today.

“As Cyclone Alfred continues to linger, the heavy rain and severe winds will continue to hinder restoration efforts and customers need to be prepared to be without power for several days,” they said in a statement.

The federal government will hand down a budget on 25 March as planned after Tropical Cyclone Alfred forced Anthony Albanese to abandon plans to call an election early.

The prime minister was widely expected to call the election this weekend for 12 April, meaning the budget would be cancelled.

But as Cyclone Alfred edges closer to Queensland, Albanese has ruled out calling an early election.

Sources have told Guardian Australia that the budget will now go ahead as planned on 25 March.

Here is the Bureau of Meteorology’s latest forecast, as of around 4pm today:

Tropical Cyclone Alfred is at Category 2, with sustained winds near the centre of 100km/hr and wind gusts up to 140km/h.

It is now 115km east south-east of Brisbane, and 90km east north-east of Gold Coast, moving west south-west at 7km/h.

The cyclone is likely to cross over the Moreton Bay Islands tomorrow morning, before crossing the mainland coast likely between Noosa and Beenleigh later in the day, BoM said.

Residents from Broadbeach to Jacobs Well and South Stradbroke Island have been ordered to “take shelter now”.

Heavy rain and flooding continue after winds ease.

The alert was issued on behalf of the Gold Coast council at 3.29pm.

A search is under way after a man was washed into flood waters in northern NSW today.

At about 2:20pm, emergency services responded to reports of a 4WD being washed off a bridge into fast running water when crossing Wild Cattle Creek Bridge off Old Coramba Rd, Megan, according a NSW police media release.

The driver exited the vehicle and secured himself to a tree branch about 30m from the riverbank, and officers were able to communicate with the man, police said.

Shortly after 3pm the man was swept from the tree and seen going beneath the water, police said. He has not been sighted since.

Police and SES have conducted an initial search while awaiting aerial assistance.

Scores or hundreds of Queensland health staff will camp out at hospitals during the cyclone to keep the health system operating.

It’s not expected to be safe to drive during the cyclone itself, so many staff are remaining in place. Health staff have told Guardian Australia that there are hundreds of beds made up in some hospitals.

A spokesperson for Queensland Health said it is “taking important steps to prevent unnecessary travel”.

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This includes communicating with staff about their shifts and providing on-site accommodation to essential workers for their safety and to reduce disruption to patient care.

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This is not an unusual experience in North Queensland, but Tropical Cyclone Alfred is the first in 50 years to make landfall in Brisbane.

Tropical Cyclone Alfred remains a category 2 system, the Bureau of Meteorology’s Matthew Collopy says. He is speaking live with updates from Brisbane with the Queensland premier.

Alfred is around 125km east of Brisbane, and continues to move south-west at around 8km/h towards south-east Queensland, Collopy says.

The cyclone’s centre is still expected to approach the Bay islands early tomorrow morning, before moving across Moreton Bay in the day towards north of the Brisbane CBD.

An emergency alert has been issued by the Redland city council for islands in Moreton Bay.

It orders residents to “take shelter now in the strongest part of the building you are in”.

Bay island communities will be among the first in Queensland to be affected by Tropical Cyclone Alfred, which is expected to begin hitting them overnight.

The alert was issued on behalf of the council at 2.01pm.

Gold Coast residents are being urged to stay home from 4pm in rooms with no windows as winds are expected to strengthen.

“Real risk remains,” Gold Coast acting mayor Donna Gates says.

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From 4pm today we’d like to stress everyone should stay home. The advice is that the event will significantly increase in intensity and it’s time to be safe at home.

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The strongest winds will be occurring … from 4pm on today, and in that situation it is recommended if anyone has any concern about their safety in their home, they should go to the smallest room with no windows.

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Moving away from the cyclone for a moment, a woman has been pulled from a beach in Sydney’s south with serious leg injuries after being attacked by a shark.

NSW police said at about 1.30pm today, emergency services were called to Gunyah Beach near Bundeena after reports of a shark attack.

The woman, aged in her 30s, is being treated by paramedics at the scene for serious leg injuries.

NSW Ambulance said multiple resources were on scene and it is likely the woman will be airlifted to hospital.

Let’s check back in on the power outages across south-east Queensland and northern NSW.

According to Energex, 44,646 customers in south-east Queensland remain without power. This has grown from 39,129 earlier today.

In NSW, the latest update on the Essential Energy website says 43,000 homes and businesses are without power. But at a press conference this afternoon, authorities said this had been brought back down to just over 36,000.

This means that across the two states, about 75,000 people are without power.

Energy companies in both states have indicated crews are on standby to assess the damage and repair infrastructure, only when it is safe to do so.

E-scooters in Brisbane have been gathered in an empty lot in Perry Lane in Spring Hill ahead of the cyclone.

Unfortunately, a car was parked there as well. It had been parked in the spot for two days until Lime and Neuron moved their e-scooters to the location, according to the person who filmed the video.

The man was then forced to painstakingly rearrange the e-scooters to free his car. You can have a watch below:

Brisbane’s lord mayor, Adrian Schrinner, is providing a TC Alfred update.

He thanked business owners who have “difficult decision” to send staff home, and the broader community for taking the cyclone seriously.

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The wind will rise. The wind will come in strong. The rain will come back again and then, throughout Saturday, we will experience strong wind and heavy rain. Saturday is the danger zone in particular, when it comes to flash flooding.

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What we’re seeing from the BoM is that totals of several hundred millimetres are very much likely in south-east Queensland – but they can also potentially exceed the levels we saw in the 2022 flood. If that is not a reason to take this seriously, I don’t know what is because we know what happened in 2022.

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The Insurance Council of Australia says insurers have placed disaster response specialists on standby and scaled up their operations in preparation for TC Alfred making landfall.

In a statement, the council said its board – comprising of CEOs of Australia’s leading insurers – met with the assistant treasurer, Stephen Jones, this morning to discuss arrangements.

It said an “event of this magnitude” would require “coordination between government and industry”, including:

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  Supply chain and labour force capacity constraints

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  Temporary accommodation availability

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  Cross-border recognition of trades qualifications

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  Coordination of clean-up operations

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The statement said insurers remain in contact with MPs, agencies and LGAs to “discuss these issues and more”, and that insurers would “prioritise impacted customers in communities along the east coast”. The council’s CEO Andrew Hall said:

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A number of key insurers based in southeast Queensland with operations in impact zone are putting in place contingencies, however their own staff may also be impacted by this event …

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While it’s still too early to know what the true impact of this weather event will be, we know that due to the population density in these areas that we may be looking at a very large number of claims.

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Some images are filtering through from Brisbane today, showing an eerily empty CBD ahead of Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

Here are the scenes, which feel very Covid lockdown-esque:

Recent satellite imagery from Weatherzone shows just how huge the Tropical Cyclone Alfred system is, stretching all the way from Bundaberg to Sydney:

The NSW SES has issued a number of emergency warnings for communities to move to higher ground, amid TC Alfred-related flooding concerns. This includes:

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  Low-lying properties along Jiggi Creek and surrounds.

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  Low-lying properties along Goolmangar Creek and surrounds.

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  Low-lying properties along creeks and waterways at Upper Back Creek.

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  Low-lying properties along Terania Creek and surrounds.

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The emergency warnings says rising flood water is “making it unsafe to evacuate the area”:

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You should immediately go inside a sturdy multi-storey building with access to upper levels. Do not enter the roof cavity as you may become trapped. Move as high above ground as possible.

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You may now be trapped without power, water, and other essential services and it may be dangerous for NSW SES to rescue you.

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Footage has captured a koala high in a tree on the Gold Coast being buffeted by the high winds of Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

The wildlife team at RSPCA Queensland said wildlife, “as the name suggests, are experts at survival, instinctively seeking the safest places during extreme weather”.

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However, storms and heavy rain can leave them stranded, drenched, or injured. For example, a koala high up in a tree is in its safest position. If people gather at the base, it may feel too stressed to move to an even safer location. The best action you can take is to step back, give it space, and observe from a distance if it’s safe to do so.

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For those on the Gold Coast and surrounding areas, Wildlife Rescue Redlands remains online and available 24/7 to assist.

You can reach the Wildlife Rescue hotline on 0432 108 419; you can also call the RSPCA hotline between 7am and 7pm on 1300 ANIMAL for advice over the phone.

Sergeant Scott Allerton has warned people who have not evacuated that they should leave in the next few hours.

He said there will not be enough boats to get everyone out, if they don’t leave now.

There are 178 ADF officers already on the ground, he added, and 35 clearance vehicles which can get through flood water.

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I will strongly encourage everyone that has been living or who is in the evacuation zone to leave now. The weather will deteriorate over the next few hours, and then it may be too late to leave …

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There will not be enough boats, there will not be enough rescue people, if people don’t heed the advice. So take the time now to get out of those evacuation spaces, and we won’t need the community to step up.

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He said there were still a number of “considerable high tides” occurring and a number of beaches had been affected.

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But we’re still very early in this cyclone here, in actual fact, the cyclone hasn’t even hit landfall yet.

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The acting chief superintendent Stuart Fisher has said 29,000 dwellings are under evacuation orders.

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[There are] 18 emergency warnings to evacuate, and 24 watch and acts and prepare to evacuate.

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It is really, really pleasing for us to see that our warnings are being acknowledged and treated properly, and the members of the public are treating this seriously.

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He said as a result, there were only five flood rescues overnight.

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That goes to show us that everyone is listening to us. As the premier said, we don’t expect you to drive through flooded waters. You are heeding that advice, and we thank you for that.

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The NSW premier, Chris Minns, has also been providing an update on Tropical Cyclone Alfred. Speaking in Lismore he said:

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There has been an extension of the evacuation orders from yesterday evening into other parts of the northern rivers.

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The following locations are subject to an emergency warning to evacuate by 9pm tonight:

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  Lismore

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  Parts of Coraki

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  Parts of Kyogle

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  Fingal Head

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  Billinudgel

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  Uki

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  Bungawalbin

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  Tumbulgum

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You can check the latest on the NSW SES website.

Queensland Fire Department commissioner Stephen Smith was up next. He said the department had responded to 60 cyclone-related incidents with “no water rescues or evacuations currently required.”

However, there was a rescue this morning in the Currimbin Valley where two people were trapped in a bedroom after a tree fell on their home.

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Firefighters used saws to rescue those two people and they were handed over to QAS and we’re pleased to indicate they only had relatively minor injuries.

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He said more than 180 specialist swift-water rescue firefighters remain in place in more than 50 locations, with an additional 300 personnel engaged.

The Bureau of Meteorology’s Matthew Collopy has also been providing a Tropical Cyclone Alfred update, and outlined some key updates:

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  TC Alfred remains a category 2 system, located 160km east of Brisbane

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  It has moved erratically, but is currently tracking 7km/h towards the south-east Queensland coast

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  It is expected to approach the Bay Islands after midnight and into early tomorrow

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  It will then move across Moreton Bay during Saturday morning and to the north of the Brisbane CBD

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  He said the “exact track is still uncertain” and warnings will now be updated every hour “based on the latest radar and satellite imagery”

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  Destructive winds up to 150km/h are possible about the exposed island coasts and coastal locations

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  As Alfred moves across Moreton Bay it may drop to a category 1 system – meaning destructive winds are unlikely for Brisbane itself, but potentially damaging winds of 120km/h

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  Waves have been observed over 10m, with these conditions expected to continue as the system approaches with “extreme coastal erosion and inundation of some areas”

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  Widespread daily rainfall totals of 300mm to 500mm is possible, meaning up to 800mm may fall for the event in 48 hours

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  A number of flood watches remain in place amid this rainfall

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The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, is providing a Tropical Cyclone Alfred update.

He pointed to the four challenges the cyclone brings – waves, winds, rain and flooding – and said Queenslanders would experience this at different times.

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We’ve seen wind gusts between 100km/h and 115km/h from Moreton Island through to Cape Byron. That is expected to increase in the hours ahead.

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He said as the system moves towards the coast, increased winds would be felt by Brisbane and to the north.

An “evacuate now” emergency warning has been issued for low-lying properties in New Brighton, north of Byron Bay.

This is near South Golden beach, which was also given an evacuate now warning this morning.

The warning from the NSW SES reads:

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You must evacuate now because forecasted heavy rainfall will close evacuation routes. Cyclonic wind gusts will cause roads to be blocked and power outages may occur.

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People are urged to stay with family, friends or “alternate accommodation in areas unaffected by flooding”. An evacuation centre has been established at the Ocean Shores Country Club at 113A Orana Road.

The Japanese weather satellite, Himawari 8, has captured the path of Tropical Cyclone Alfred as it moves along the east coast of Australia.

The geostationary satellite moves with the Earth allowing scientists to observe the same hemisphere constantly. The role of Himawari 8 is to provide typhoon, rainstorm, weather forecasts and other related reports for Japan, East Asia, and Western Pacific region.

Please note: the image gets a bit jittery a couple of times – this is not an editing error, it’s a result of how the data comes through from the satellite.

Airservices Australia – the body charged with control of air traffic control – has, meanwhile, put in contingency plans to provide support for emergency aircraft.

It has also warned that with the path and timing of Alfred uncertain, delays to airborne flights as well as those on the tarmacs at airports around the country could be hit with unexpected delays.

Airservices Australia not only manages takeoff and landing movements at individual airports but the entirety of Australian airspace. It does this latter task, known as en route air traffic control, from two centres: one in Melbourne and one in Brisbane.

The body has warned there is the potential that if the cyclone causes reduced air traffic controller staffing levels, there could be potential delays around the country.

Returning to Anthony Albanese’s press conference earlier, the prime minister shot back at criticisms over Labor whipping up cash for budget night fundraisers (despite mounting speculation there may not be a budget) and rebuffing the idea of pausing political campaigning during the cyclone.

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My job is to represent Australians, and that is precisely what I’m doing and what the full force of the public service is doing as well.

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As Emily brought you earlier, Albanese would only respond that Peter Dutton’s decision to travel to Sydney for a political fundraiser earlier in the week was “a matter for him”. As my colleague Henry Belot reported yesterday, Dutton cancelled fundraisers in Melbourne on Wednesday after reportedly attending another bash in Sydney at the home of pub mogul Justin Hemmes the previous night.

But the Liberals have shot back that Labor is also advertising for their own fundraisers on budget night, 25 March – even though there is wide expectation Albanese was seeking to call an election by this coming Monday, which would have cancelled the budget. That potential timing, of course, is now in question due to the cyclone.

The deputy opposition leader Sussan Ley defended Dutton’s commitment to his community and said he was back in Brisbane now, but told ABC TV today “is the prime minister and the Labor party raising money off the back of a budget that they’re actually refusing to commit to?”

We asked Albanese about Ley’s comments and, considering the PM’s comments that “there are no politics” when it comes to the cyclone, whether there should be a pause in all campaign activity. Albanese responded:

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Sussan Ley in the Liberal party, her own party, have sent invitations, I understand as well. It’s normal that on budget night there’ll be events that will occur.

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My government is laser focused on dealing with this challenge. I tell you who’s not laser focused on dealing with this challenge – that’s Paul Erickson, the national secretary of the Labor party, because it’s not his job. He has a different job.

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Just breaking out of the press conference for a moment: Essential Energy has confirmed that 43,000 homes and businesses in NSW are now without power.

This is up from the 35,000 figure earlier this morning.

The largest impacts at this stage are in communities between Tweed Heads and Yamba, it said in a statement.

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Crews were stood down at 3am this morning … for safety reasons with no work to recommence until the weather caused by Cyclone Alfred has passed. The safety of our crews is paramount.

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This is on top of the nearly 40,000 without power in south-east Queensland.

As we flagged earlier, 35,000 in NSW are already without power. Rose Jackson said power was likely to be out for a number of days:

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As soon as it is safe they [will be] repairing those powerlines. But that is not going to be the case for a few days. People need to be clear and have clear expectations that power is likely to be out for a few days and the number of people who are without power is likely to grow.

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As we see the flood waters rise and strong winds come through, there could be more power outages … There are limits to what we can do to ensure the power is available at all times and so people can take steps to prepare themselves, and we encourage them to do that.

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Mike Wassing said that over the past three days there had been close to 3,000 incidents it had responded to – most around preparedness, “but we are starting to see flood rescues”.

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Emergency services, SES volunteers, Fire and Rescue and ambulance and other emergency services are needing to respond to people driving into flood waters. I can’t be clearer – do not drive through flood waters.

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The fact were already getting flood rescue calls this early into the incident, and the situation will deteriorate in the next 24 to 48 hours, I can’t be clearer not to do that.

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The deputy NSW premier, Prue Car, has been providing a Tropical Cyclone Alfred update in Sydney.

She said “every arm of government is working together to make sure we are prepared as possible” to support the north.

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We know there is a significant amount of anxiety in the community as we wait for this. Also, we have seen significant rainfall overnight.

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Car said there is “significant potential for future flooding” and strong winds, urging people to stay updated via the SES.

The Bureau of Meteorology’s tropical cyclone forecast track maps have been telling us where the latest models think Alfred will move, where it will make landfall, and which areas will experience the worst of the winds.

Now that the cyclone is just 165km east of Brisbane and also within reach of the bureau’s radars, BoM will now be updating those maps every hour.

The latest map, released 15 minutes ago, shows likely landfall north of Brisbane in the Redcliffe area about 10am on Saturday morning.

But we know already that impacts are already being felt well away from the storm’s centre on the Gold Coast and northern NSW. Impacts are likely to be felt very wide, with the worst close to the storm’s centre and to the south.

Let’s circle back to the power outages in south-east Queensland and in northern NSW.

According to Energex, 39,129 people are currently without power in south-east Queensland. This has grown since this morning, when 28,655 were without power as of 5.30am.

Essential Energy in NSW says 35,000 homes and businesses are without power in the north, as of 6am.

We’ll monitor this throughout the day and keep you posted with the latest data as it filters through.

An “evacuate now” emergency warning has been issued for all properties in South Golden beach, a coastal town near Byron Bay.

The warning from the NSW SES reads:

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You must evacuate now because forecasted heavy rainfall will close evacuation routes. Cyclonic wind gusts will cause roads to be blocked and power outages may occur.

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People are urged to stay with family, friends or “alternate accommodation in areas unaffected by flooding”. An evacuation centre has been established at the Ocean Shores Country Club at 113A Orana Road.

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If you remain in the area, you may become trapped without power, water and other essential services. It may be too dangerous for NSW SES to rescue you, and buildings may not be able to withstand the impact of flood water.

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“The bin chooks rule the city now,” writes Ben Smee from an eerily deserted central Brisbane. He captured these photos earlier this morning:

Anthony Albanese said that overnight he approved a request for 120 Australian defence force personnel to depart “immediately” for NSW.

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They’ll start work today supporting the local SES [with] door knocking as well as conducting welfare checks on vulnerable members of the community.

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They’ll support the SES with sandbagging, damage assessments and essential services.

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The chief medical officer has also activated the Department of Health and Aged Care’s national incident centre for TC Alfred, the PM said.

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The national incident centre is activated when there’s a significant event or an emerging threat. It’s a coordination mechanism to ensure that communication is maintained between the Commonwealth department of health, state health authorities, and response agencies, including of course here at Nema.

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The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is providing a Tropical Cyclone Alfred update from Canberra.

Joe Buffone, the deputy coordinator general of the National Emergency Management Agency (Nema), was up first and said a coastal crossing was likely tomorrow morning.

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The cyclone has slowed and is starting to have some impacts, but it is now looking that it will impact probably tomorrow morning.

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He said it was still a “very, very, very dynamic situation” and there were “probably about 4 million that are actually being directly affected by this cyclone”.

Albanese was up next and said the cyclone crossing was now less than 24 hours away, “but already we’re seeing the increased rainfall having an impact”.

The Bureau of Meteorology has just released an updated tracking map for Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

It said Alfred was currently a category 2 cyclone and was forecast to maintain this intensity as it approached the coast today and tomorrow.

Impacts were expected to increase this evening, the bureau said.

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Rainfall, wind and ocean impacts are likely to further increase during the day as Alfred gets closer to the coast.

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Alfred is located 165km east of Brisbane and 140km east-north-east of the Gold Coast.

⚠️Issued 7:52am AEST

🌀Tropical #CycloneAlfred (Cat 2) is 165km east of #Brisbane.

Alfred is a category 2 cyclone, and is forecast to maintain this intensity as it approaches the coast today. Impacts expected to increase this evening. pic.twitter.com/SCbtXRdz0m

— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) March 6, 2025

Let’s move to some political news for a moment: AAP is reporting that a majority of voters have backed Labor for the first time in eight months, amid its multibillion-dollar Medicare boost and support for Ukraine.

Fresh polling by YouGov found the federal government is ahead of the Coalition, at 51% to 49%, in the two-party preferred vote while its primary vote has risen by three percentage points.

Labor has not been ahead in the pollster’s data since July 2024. Last week, it was trailing the opposition, at 49% to 51%.

Anthony Albanese has widened his lead as preferred prime minister to six percentage points from two, with 45% of voters now backing the Labor leader compared to 39% for Coalition leader Peter Dutton.

Labor’s $8.5bn boost to Medicare, announced in late February, played a significant role in lifting the party’s primary vote to 31%, although it still trails the Coalition on 36%.

The number of respondents satisfied with the prime minister rose to 42%, from 40%, while those content with Dutton’s performance fell to 43% from 44%.

The YouGov poll of 1,504 people was conducted between 28 February and 6 March and has a margin of error of 3.4%.

Ben Holland, the head of integrated operations at Qantas, says Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Ballina airports continue to be closed.

He told the Today Show that Qantas had also extended its suspension of services through the international market for Brisbane.

But he said an aircraft is expected in Coffs Harbour “within the next hour” as it attempts to “resume services and keep passengers moving safely to their destination.”

He expects planes to resume on Sunday, but noted this is still 48 hours away:

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There’s still some variability in the model, and we expect landfall early on Saturday morning, but we need to reassess … [and] understand what the infrastructure and resource support will be prior to resuming services.

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Holland said 4,600 passengers were waiting overseas for flights – and while Brisbane is closed, the airline was looking at flights to other Australian ports:

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Maybe we can fly passengers into Melbourne, get them a bit closer to their destination and get them to Australia to support their travel and returning home.

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A teenager who allegedly tried to force his way on to a commercial flight before being dramatically overpowered by passengers will face court charged with a string of offences.

AAP reports that police were called to Avalon airport near Geelong, Victoria, yesterday afternoon following reports a male wielding a firearm had attempted to board the Jetstar flight.

Acting alone, the 17-year-old from Ballarat allegedly climbed through a hole in the airport’s security fence before making his way on foot to the plane, Victoria police superintendent Michael Reid later told reporters. The flight, which was carrying about 150 people, was bound for Sydney.

Police have charged the youth with multiple offences including unlawfully taking control of an aircraft, orchestrating a bomb hoax and possessing a firearm. He has been remanded in custody to appear in a children’s court on a date to be determined.

The teen allegedly tried to climb the front stairs into the plane cabin but was noticed by passengers carrying the shotgun and subsequently overpowered by three civilians, Supt Reid said.

Jetstar said it was working with police and the airport to understand what happened.

David Crisafulli also called out a “handful of idiots” who are heading to closed beaches amid the cyclone.

He said most people were “really doing the right thing”, but those going to the beach were putting themselves – and emergency services – at risk.

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We had someone out on a jet ski who had to be rescued. I would rather see that emergency services worker being able to go and knock on someone’s door and talk to them about preparation than having to get an idiot on the sea …

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I plead to the people who might think that now is a great time to go out on the surf – it’s not. It’s not just for you I’m concerned but for the innocent person who has to go in after you.

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The NSW State Emergency Service has sent these safety messages for those in the storm’s path:

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  If you are in the warning area – stay indoors. Destructive winds can cause injury and damage to property.

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  Flash flooding can occur suddenly and without an official warning. Monitor rainfall in your areas and avoid travelling during heavy rain.

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  People should prepare their homes for strong winds by putting away loose items around their home, trimming trees aways from properties and not parking vehicles under trees or powerlines.

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  Prepare an emergency kit with essential items including medications, documents, pet food and family photos.

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  Never drive, walk, ride through, play or swim in flood water. If you come across a flooded road, turn around and find an alternative route.

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  Raise your assets, including waste and chemical containers, above expected flood heights.

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  If you are near the beach or a coastal waterway, storm surge could cause flooding. This is dangerous. Decide now where you will evacuate to.

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  Avoid camping near water and under trees as rivers and creeks could rise quickly and without much warning.

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  If you are likely to be isolated due to flooding, stock up on essential items now.

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  Download the Hazards Near Me app or visit ses.nsw.gov.au to stay across the latest warnings and information.

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  The NSW SES is available to assist communities 24/7.

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  Call the NSW SES on 132 500 if you need assistance during a flood, storm or tsunami. In a life-threatening emergency, call triple zero (000).

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Gale-force winds accompanying the storm have already hit a large stretch of the Queensland and NSW coast. This has led to widespread power outages.

As of 5.30am, Queensland’s Energex power network was reporting 28,655 customer outages across south-east Queensland, all attributed to “damage due to cyclone”.

In NSW, the provider Essential Energy said that as of 6am, Cyclone Alfred had left more than 35,000 homes and businesses without power in northern NSW overnight after severe winds and heavy rain covered the region.

The worst hit communities were in the Northern Rivers and far north coast. The company said in an online update:

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Essential Energy crews worked late into the evening to restore what they could safely until conditions became too dangerous to work in.

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Once safe to do so, crews will continue to restore power where they can until they are able to access areas of the network that are flooded or damaged by wind or vegetation debris.

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Due to the extreme conditions, the extent of the damage and the continuing weather event it may take several days before power is restored to customers.

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The NSW SES has issued 21 emergency warnings, 36 watch and act warnings and 36 advice warnings.

They include prepare to evacuate advice for several areas in northern NSW including Murwillumbah, South Murwillumbah and Settlement Point due to flooding risk.

The SES advised people in parts of Mullumbimby to the east of the railway line to monitor the situation and prepare to evacuate. An evacuation centre has been set up at the Ocean Shores Country Club.

As we’re all now beginning to realise, Alfred is slow moving and not entirely predictable in its movements. The past few hours underline this.

At one point in the night – according to the update at 11pm AEST – it appeared to do another turn away from the coast and was 240km off the coast. At 7pm it had been 225km east of Brisbane.

By the time BoM issued its next advice at 1.34am, it appeared to have righted itself again and was heading back towards land. The BoM said:

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After being slow moving for several hours, Tropical #CycloneAlfred is moving to the west once again, towards Qld coast.

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The current tracking map shows that it will be about 25km off the coast by 1am on Saturday morning, by which time it will have weakened to a category 1 storm.

Welcome to our live coverage of Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

The latest advice from the Bureau of Meteorology at 4.52am AEST places Alfred 195km east of Brisbane. It has travelled 30km since the forecast issued by the BoM at 7pm, when it was 225km east of the city. It continues to be slow moving.

The latest advice says the eye of the storm is still tracking to cross the coast on Friday night or early on Saturday morning, “most likely close to Moreton Bay between Noosa and Coolangatta”, and will have weakened to a category 1 storm.

But the effects of the storm are already being felt over a large area – and the next 24 hours are likely to be tough for the millions in or near the storm’s path.

The BoM said there was “a very high risk of significant impacts due to widespread heavy rainfall over the coming days”.

Communities from Double Island Point in Queensland to Grafton in New South Wales, including Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Byron Bay and Ballina but not including Grafton, are all in the warning zone.

The storm will be packing heavy rainfall which could bring life-threatening flash flooding, the BoM said, along with very strong winds, storm surges and high tides.

We will be bringing you updates throughout the day.