NSW, Queensland floods live updates: Remnants of ex-tropical cyclone Alfred continue as heavy rainfall batters Brisbane, northern NSW
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What you need to know now
Good afternoon, and thank you for reading our live coverage of ex-tropical cyclone Alfred’s path of destruction across South East Queensland and northern NSW. If you are just joining us now, here’s what you need to know.
- Queensland’s Lockyer Valley, which was the scene of a deadly “inland tsunami” that claimed 12 lives in 2011, is facing flash flooding again. The main street of the town of Laidley, about an hour west of Brisbane, is underwater.
- Flash flooding is also hitting Ipswich and was identified by Premier David Crisafulli as another area of “major concern”.
- NSW Premier Chris Minns said the focus in the state today was the risk posed by water levels in the Clarence, Richmond and Tweed rivers. There are dozens of SES warnings in place along the rivers, with the Bureau of Meteorology advising of possible major flooding along all three, with further rainfall forecast for the Northern Rivers today.
- Lismore residents are returning to their homes after evacuation orders were lifted.
- More than 200,000 homes across South East Queensland and northern NSW remain without power.
- In Queensland, major flood warnings remain in place for the Bremer River, Warrill Creek, and the Logan Albert River basin. In NSW, a major flood warning remains for the Clarence River at Grafton. Near major flooding was occurring this morning along the Tweed River at Tumbulgum.
- Hundreds of schools are closed today – head here for a full list of NSW schools, and here for Queensland. Some public transport services are set to resume across flood-affected areas.
- A man who died after being swept into floodwaters in northern NSW on Friday was identified as 61-year-old Tom Cook.
- Thirteen people who were injured in a crash involving two Australian Defence Force vehicles near Lismore are expected to make a full recovery. All but one ADF member has been released from hospital, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles said this morning.
Stay with us for updates throughout the afternoon and evening.
Most supermarkets reopen, some with empty shelves
By Penry Buckley and Felicity Caldwell
The majority of Coles and Woolworths supermarkets which closed during the height of ex-tropical cyclone Alfred have now reopened, although supplies of some essentials remain low, to the dismay of exhausted residents.
In an update today, Coles said just two of its stores in northern NSW, and 28 stores in South East Queensland remained closed. Woolworths also said the majority of stores in flood-affected areas had reopened, with more than 300 truckloads leaving its Brisbane distribution centre in the last 32 hours in an attempt to restock shelves.
Many residents have been greeted by empty shelves. At Woolworths Montague Markets in Brisbane’s west, fruit, vegetables, milk and eggs had been replenished on Monday morning after running low on Sunday, but stock of meat remained low. Videos posted to social media claimed to show empty shelves at other reopened Woolworths in the city.
Brisbane City councillor Alex Givney posted photos to social media of empty shelves, saying the Coles in her ward remained closed while Woolworths stock were low. “It’s frustrating, but let’s stay patient,” she said.
Panic buying last week saw essentials run out quickly. Coles said it was keeping in place purchase limits on bottled water, long life milk and toilet paper.
“We ask our customers to think about their neighbours and only buy what they need for now.“
Almost 200,000 homes without internet across Qld and NSW, satellite kits provided in some towns
By Kayla Olaya
The NBN has said that power outages are the main cause for over 192,000 homes across NSW and south-east Qld losing access to the internet.
“Most of the impact continues to be related to mains power outages. Equipment connected to the NBN network will not work without power,” a spokesperson said.
“We expect the numbers impacted to continue to decrease as mains power is restored. A number of our assets remain operating on backup power.”
The provider said it will offer Wi-Fi satellite kits and charging devices to affected towns.
Six towns in NSW have locations set up with a kit, and one at Mt Tamborine in Queensland. The locations in NSW are:
- Terranora — Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School, Terranora Campus — 88/110 Mahers Lane
- Kingscliff — TAFE NSW — 806 Cudgen Road
- Mullumbimby — Ex-Services Club —58 Dalley Street
- Ballina — Southern Cross School of Distance Education — 2/40 Chickiba Drive
- Evans Heads — Club Evans RSL —11-13 McDonald Place
- South Grafton — 425 Bent Street
South-east Qld remains the most affected with 185,000 outages. Northern NSW has 11,000 outages.
Brisbane breaks rain records: Highest amount of rain ever received in one day
By Marissa Calligeros
Brisbane was lashed with intense rain throughout Sunday and into Monday morning, causing flash flooding that inundated houses, swamped cars and cut roads.
The latest figures from the weather bureau show that Brisbane received its highest ever recorded daily rainfall.
These are the 24-hour record rainfall totals for Brisbane, between 9am Sunday and 9am Monday:
- Brisbane: 275 millimetres
- Carole Park Alert: 331 millimetres
- Karalee: 296 millimetres
- Wolfdene: 289 millimetres
- Mt Gravatt: 272 millimetres
- Greenbank: 246 millimetres
Brisbane Airport recorded its highest March daily rainfall, with 176 millimetres falling, while Amberley also recorded a daily March record of 162 millimetres.
But the flash flooding disappeared as fast as it rose, as demonstrated in the photos below that were taken less than 12 hours apart in Coorparoo:
What flood warnings are still in effect?
By Nick Newling
Here is a quick wrap-up of the flood warnings that are currently in effect.
In Queensland:
- Major flood warnings are in place for the Laidley and Lockyer Creeks, Bremer River and Warrill Creek, and the Logan and Albert Rivers.
- Moderate flood warnings are in place for the Stanley River.
- Minor flood warnings are in place for the Mary River, Maroochy River, Noosa Rivers, Upper Brisbane River, and the Brisbane River downstream of Wivenhoe Dam.
- A flood warning is in place for the Nerang and Coomera Rivers.
In New South Wales:
- Moderate to major flood warnings are in place for the Clarence River at Grafton, Ulmarra and Maclean, as well as the Richmond River at Coraki, Bungawalbyn, and Woodburn.
- Moderate flood warnings are in place for the Tweed River at Tumbulgum, and the Wilsons River at Lismore.
- Minor to moderate flood warnings are in place for the Macleay River at Georges Creek, Bellbrook, Kempsey and Smithtown, and the Orara River at Glenreagh and Coutts Crossing.
- Minor flood warnings are in place for the Bellinger and Kalang Rivers at Thora and Bellingen.
The most up-to-date information can be found at the Bureau of Meteorology website.
What’s the plan for beach erosion?
By Caitlin Fitzsimmons
The ex-tropical cyclone that pummelled the NSW and Queensland coastlines with dangerous winds, heavy rain and high seas has washed away most of the sand at famous beaches such as Byron Bay and Surfers Paradise.
The coastal erosion, which extends at least as far south as Coffs Harbour and as far north as Noosa, has exposed a shipwreck at Ballina, while turtle hatchlings were washed ashore in heavy swell near Byron Bay.
Experts say the damage to sand dunes is a serious matter and could take years to recover, if at all.
Hundreds of schools in northern NSW expected to reopen tomorrow
By Kayla Olaya
Hundreds of NSW public schools are set to reopen tomorrow after ex-tropical cyclone Alfred forced students to stay home from Friday last week.
Today, 253 schools were non-operational as the NSW Department of Education assessed damage to school infrastructure and the safety of facilities. It is expected that most of them will reopen on Tuesday.
Schools that will remain closed tomorrow will be added to a department database by 6pm today.
Driver stranded in Lockyer Valley floodwaters rescued
By Rosanna Ryan
A woman has been rescued after becoming stranded in floodwater in the Lockyer Valley to Brisbane’s west.
Police said they were called last night to find an SUV trapped against trees on Forrest Hill – Fernvale Road, in Glenore Grove, near Gatton.
Two officers were able to get the 69-year-old driver out of the vehicle and bring her to safety. She was taken to Ipswich Hospital, where she was treated for minor injuries and shock.
Police said she had been trying to drive over the flooded Blind Gully bridge when she got into trouble.
Emergency services received many calls for help overnight, including in the Lockyer Valley, where the Lockyer and Laidley Creeks are on a major flood warning with levels potentially reaching as high as in 2011.
Lions to leave Brisbane early as Alfred clouds grand final rematch preparations
By Nick Wright
The Brisbane Lions will fly to Sydney on Wednesday, earlier than anticipated, ahead of their delayed AFL season launch, with the rainfall caused by ex-tropical cyclone Alfred leaving them unable to train since mid-last week.
Brisbane’s premiership defence was derailed when their Opening Round clash with Geelong was postponed until round three ahead of the cyclone’s impact, and they will prepare to challenge the Swans in a grand final rematch south of the border.
The decision to fly to Sydney on Wednesday allows the team the opportunity to train in more suitable conditions on Thursday and Friday.
“These things happen unfortunately in life, and you just need to be resilient, be calm about it and work your way through it. So, I’ve got no doubt our preparation will be spot on leading into our game against Sydney,” Lions head of football Danny Daly said.
“We have the players back in the club today [Monday] and they will have a bit of a hit-out indoors to get themselves up and going again. We will train somewhere tomorrow, whether it is the Gabba or Brighton Homes Arena, which are both pretty waterlogged at the minute as you can imagine.
“We will head to Sydney on Wednesday then get a training in somewhere on Thursday on a dry ground as preparation for the game on Saturday, so we are just working through all the logistics.“
Elective surgeries resume in S-E Queensland, M1 freight route open
By Marissa Calligeros
Elective surgeries have resumed in South East Queensland today, with the premier thanking the 2000 doctors, nurses and health workers who slept in hospitals on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights to keep emergency departments open and patients cared for.
Premier David Crisafulli also confirmed the Pacific Motorway, south of the Queensland-NSW border, is open today, to allow fuel and food supplies into the state.
In other developments:
- Across Brisbane, about one in five traffic lights are out due to flash flooding.
- 198 state schools reopened today and 27,500 children returned to school, but 463 state schools and 259 independent and Catholic schools remain closed.
- Some bus services have resumed in Brisbane, including 19 high-frequency services.
- Public transport services are not operating on the Gold Coast or in Ipswich, Logan, and the Lockyer Valley.
About 100,000 people spared losing power in Brisbane
By Marissa Calligeros
At his press conference earlier, Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said another 100,000 homes and businesses could have been blacked out if a substation at Nudgee on Brisbane’s northside went under in flash flooding.
But the premier said Energex crews, SES volunteers and council crews worked together to protect the substation in the middle of the night, in driving rain.
“The way they protected that valuable asset; that was the difference between another 100,000 people being without power this morning,” Crisafulli said.
To those still without power today, the premier said: “I understand how much this has impacted you and the impacts on food, your family, your mental health, your ability to stay connected.
“I’m mindful of how much the impact of not having electricity means on families, and I’m mindful of how you’re having to go over and above to charge your phone, get food for your family, try to somehow bring some normality in a really difficult time. We assure you that getting power reconnected is at the top of our list right now.”
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