There is a lot of noise surrounding Cyclone Alfred, which can make it difficult to know where to go for information and how to prepare when the situation is constantly changing and updating. So if you’ve got your water bottles filled, powerbanks charged and radios at the ready, but you're not sure what the next steps should be, we've gathered a list of helpful resources for you to access.
Editor's Note: This article has been updated as of 9am Friday 7 March.
Resources To Help You Prepare
As a severe weather event, particularly one that is not a common threat for South East Queensland, there has been an inundation of information over recent days. We know it can be quite overwhelming (we’re definitely overwhelmed), so listed below are the links to useful and reliable resources to check out.
- Queensland Government Disaster Management Hub: This hub has current warnings, local government disaster dashboards, and helpful information links.
- Get Ready Queensland: This is the Queensland Government’s official dashboard, which is an extensive resource including preparation steps, alerts and warnings and information for both during and after Cyclone Alfred.
- Bureau of Meteorology Cyclone Page: This page is the hub for BOM updates on the forecast and tracking of the cyclone in addition to written warning and advice.
- SES Cyclone Information: The State Emergency Service (SES) has provided an information bulletin on cyclones and how to best prepare and manage the aftermath.
- QLD Traffic: Check for road closures
- Energex Outage Finder: Outage finder map and information about your power supply
- Sign up for Brisbane weather alerts and Gold Coast weather alerts for live major updates
- ABC Live Radio: The ABC is providing live online updates from their website which includes updates from a range of sources. ABC Emergency will also broadcast regular warnings on ABC Brisbane, you can find the frequencies below.
- Brisbane: 612AM
- Gold Coast: 91.7FM
- Sunshine Coast: 90.3FM, 95.3FM or 1566AM
- Wide Bay: 855AM, 100.1FM, 88.3FM
- NSW North Coast Richmond and Tweed: 94.5 FM
- Murwillumbah: 720 AM
- Grafton: 738 AM
Where To Go For Help
Even if you have prepared as best you can, it is always useful to have the following list of emergency resources. As always, if you need emergency life threatening services, the advice is to call 000.
- State Emergency Service (SES) for non-life threatening flood and storm emergency assistance: 132 500. You can also download the SES Assistance QLD app.
- Health Contact Centre: 13HEALTH (13 43 25 84)
- Homeless Hotline: 1800 474 753 24
- Community Recovery Hotline (available 24/7): 1800 173 349
- Police Assistance Hotline (PAL): 13 14 44
- Electrical safety information
- Financial and support services for those impacted by disasters
Temporary Refuge Shelters
If you have been told to evacuate or you do not feel safe in your home, the government has advised you are in a safer place by 6pm on Wednesday 5 March, ideally with family or friends. Evacuation Centres should be a last resort, shelter with family or friends first. If you are not in a flood risk area, your best option is to shelter in your home.
Gold Coast Refuge Shelter Locations:
Runaway Bay Indoor Sports Centre (Sports Drive, Runaway Bay)
Burleigh Waters Community Centre (111 Christine Avenue, Burleigh Waters)
Pimpama Sports Hub (139 Rifle Range Rd, Pimpama)
Vonda Youngman Centre (2-4 Knoll Rd, Tamborine Mountain)
View: Gold Coast disaster flood risk map
Sunshine Coast Refuge Shelter Locations:
Nambour Showgrounds (Crossover, Nambour). Open to animals.
Caloundra Indoor Stadium (Unit 9/31 North St, Caloundra)
Landsborough Sports Complex (15 Tunnel Ridge Rd, Landsborough)
View: Sunshine Coast disaster flood risk map
Brisbane Refuge Shelter Locations:
RNA Showgrounds (600 Gregory Terrace, Bowen Hills)
More information regarding the short-term facility opening times here.
If required, two more temporary Refuge Shelters will open today (7 March) at:
- The Chandler Arena, Sleeman Sports Complex, 757 Tilley Road, Chandler
- Kedron Wavell, 21 Kittyhawk Drive, Chermside
View: Brisbane disaster flood risk map
Closures & Interrupted Services
As the cyclone prepares to make landfall, there are ongoing cancellations and interruptions to events and services across South East Queensland. You can access more detailed information relevant to your suburb via City Council Emergency dashboards.
- Queensland school closures
- Public transport closures
- QLD road closures
- Gold Coast Council service closures
- Brisbane Council service closures
If you were still planning to attend an event or had a reservation to dine out this weekend, best to check your emails, websites and social media pages of the events or restaurants to check if they have been postponed or closed (this goes for any pretty much any business that you were planning to frequent in the coming days).
Supermarkets are doing their best to rapidly restock to fill those empty shelves, but have largely indicated they are remaining open while monitoring the situation. The Queensland Premier has announced that despite interruptions to elective surgeries, emergency care in hospitals is ready and prepared for the event.
Pets And Wildlife
While your own safety is priority as Cyclone Alfred approaches, our pets are part of our family so here's what you can do to keep our pets and wildlife safe during a natural disaster.
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Get Ready Queensland's Pet Emergency Plan: a valuable resource to help pet owners prepare for disasters. It covers everything from evacuation plans to keeping pets calm during severe weather.
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Ensure your furry friends are included in your emergency evacuation plans. Make sure you have pet carriers, food, anxiety medication etc. easily accessible.
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If you come across stranded or injured native wildlife, contact the RSPCA at 1300 ANIMAL (1300 264 625) for immediate guidance.
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Wildcare is a non-profit wildlife organisations that operates in most of South East Queesland. Contact their emergency hotline on 07 5527 2444.
Be prepared and stay safe, we’re in for a wet and wild few days in Queensland.
Image credit: Josh Withers | Unsplash