Tropical cyclone Alfred: Impact continues in Moreton Bay

By Kylie Knight and Nick Crockford

UPDATE 3PM: The City of Moreton Bay has issued a statement saying weather conditions are easing, with rain intensity lower and heavier activity moving west.

SES, ENERGEX and Council staff continue to remove and clear debris from the severe weather conditions. 

Residents are still urged to stay safe and report major damages or obstructions.

If you face life threatening situations, call Triple Zero (000) immediately.

For flood and storm help, call SES on 132 500 or download the SES Assistance Queensland app.

Impacts

• Trees and powerlines remain down in some areas.
• Some roads could be flooded, damaged or closed.
• Some places do not have power. There may be electrical hazards.
• Floodwater is dangerous. Do not drive through, enter or play in floodwater or storm water drains.
• There is a lot of rubbish and debris on the ground outside.
  
  Should do:
• Stay away from fallen powerlines.
• Drive slowly, obey all road signs and never drive through floodwaters. If the road is flooded or damaged, go
• another way.
• Stay away from creeks, rivers and storm water drains.
• Help friends and neighbours/ clean up if you can and safe to do so
  
  For more information:
• Life threatening emergencies: Triple Zero (000).
• For local information, warnings, emergency news and sandbag station status and location, go to Council's Disaster Dashboard.
• Listen to your local radio station: ABC Brisbane 612AM, 99.7FM, 101.5FM.
• Power outage information, go to your provider’s website – Energex.
• Weather warnings, go to Bureau of Meteorology website.
• Traffic information and closed roads, go to the QLD Traffic website or call 13 19 40.
• Public transport information, go to the Translink website

UPDATE 1.10PM: State Government Traffic and flood cameras across the Moreton Bay region have been capturing the wild weather following Tropical Cyclone Alfred. Here are some examples from the last hour:

UPDATE 12.15PM: The City of Moreton Bay has just issued a statement saying today it will move from disaster operations to recovery response after Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

Current advice is to monitor conditions, especially on roads. If it is flooded forget it and drive to the current conditions being mindful of road closures and traffic light outages.

Stay informed with City of Moreton Bay’s Disaster Dashboard.

Overnight, City of Moreton Bay saw significant rainfall and minor flooding. In the last three hours rain has reduced. Winds overnight were not a concern.

More than 700 tasks have been recorded since 7pm Saturday across the City with Moreton Bay SES.

The SES is being supported by the Rural Fire Service Queensland. There were no rescue requests overnight.

There are still 33,600 power outages across the City of Moreton Bay.

There has been no over floor flooding, however fallen trees and green waste are widespread throughout the City.

All operational crews are active and working as fast as they can to manage the situations. Almost 34,000 people are currently without power across Moreton Bay region.

Refuge centres will scale back today. There were currently 74 people in refuge centres. Department of Housing is working with people who require further assistance.

All waste facilities are open from 6am to 6pm, except Woodford Transfer Station due to flooded access.

All kerbside services are back to business as usual. A number of trucks have been dedicated to general waste catch up services that missed Thursday and Friday last week.

If residents are concerned, they can take missed waste collection to any Waste Management Facilities free of charge, if safe to do so.

Green waste can also be taken to waste facilities free of charge.

For residents with sandbags, keep them until the rain and threat of flooding has passed. Then dispose of sand on your lawn or garden.

City of Moreton Bay sandbags are designed to be reused. Once dry, store them safely at home. If residents can’t store them, they can be disposed of in general waste (red top) bins after their contents have been emptied.

Services will progressively open, and this will be shared on the City of Moreton Bay website and via social media.

City of Moreton Bay thanks the team from Townsville Local Disaster Management Centre deployed yesterday to relieve the Local Disaster Management Team who have been working 24/7 for more than a week now, preparing for and managing operations and community safety for ex-TC Alfred.

Teams from Northern Territory and Western Australia are expected today.

Council will advise on further recovery details later today as they come to hand.

We applaud the resilience of our community during the evolving weather situation over the past week and ask for patience as we move into clean up, recovery and business as usual operations.

Emergency details

Watch out for fallen trees and branches on roads and paths. Report to Council on 07 3205 0555

Report fallen powerlines to Energex on 13 19 62

Life-threatening emergency? Call 000 (Triple Zero).

For storm and flood help, call SES QLD: 132 500 or use the SES Assistance QLD App.

Monitor the weather online if you can: www.bom.gov.au/

And stay informed with our Disaster Dashboard: https://disaster.moretonbay.qld.gov.au/

UPDATE 11.15AM: A Severe Weather warning remains in place for South East Queensland, including the City of Moreton Bay with heavy and locally intense rainfall which could lead to flash flooding possible.

Premier David Crisafulli has just given an update on the evolving weather situation in the wake of Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

He said it was important people low-lying areas remained vigilant and connected, and had a plan to move to higher ground if needed.

The SES has received a record 3676 calls for help in the past 24 hours and reinforcements are on their way from interstate to bolster their efforts.

About 140,000 homes and businesses have been reconnected to electricity in the past 24 hours, but more than 200,000 remain without power.

Premier Crisafulli said he understood the impact this was having on families and businesses. Crews are working around the clock to restore service.

Almost 200 schools reopened today. Principals and staff from QBuild are assessing campuses today and the School Closures website will be updated by 5pm today, to give families information about the plan for their school tomorrow.

Public transport services remain patchy but are starting to come back online. Passengers are urged to use Translink’s Journey Planner website or app to find out what is available in their area.

Premier Crisafulli said people had been affected by Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred differently, but they all mattered and the State Government would work quickly to move from response to recovery.

A Bureau of Meteorology spokeswoman said there had been significant rainfall in the past 24 hours as a result of severe thunderstorms, which have led to flash and riverine flooding in areas including Moreton Bay.

These storms have now eased but a Severe Weather Warning remains with heavy and intense rainfall, delivering 80-120mm in six hours, possible. Totals up to 150mm are also possible.

UPDATE 7.30AM: Premier David Crisafulli has given an update on the impact of Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred via video this morning.

He said it had been a night of heavy rainfall with more to come today. Premier Crisafulli urged people in low-lying areas to keep an eye on warnings for major rivers and local creeks, and to have an evacuation plan.

Power remains out for just under 210,000 homes and businesses across South East Queensland, down from over 400,000 during the height of the weather emergency.

Crews will continue to work today to restore electricity supply to as many properties as they can.

UPDATE 6AM: The Impact of Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred continue to be felt across the City of Moreton Bay, with a Watch and Act issued overnight for intense rain and more than 100 roads now closed due to flooding or damage.

See the list here

At 6am, the Bureau of Meteorology issued a Severe Thunderstorm warning. 

VERY DANGEROUS THUNDERSTORMS likely to produce intense rainfall that may lead to dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding were detected near the area southwest of Esk, the area west of Esk, the area northwest of Esk, Lake Samsonvale, Dayboro and the area west of Toogoolawah. 

These thunderstorms are moving towards the south. They are forecast to affect Gatton, Esk, Mount Nebo, Highvale, Samford and Toogoolawah by 6.30 am and Laidley, the area south of Esk, Lake Manchester, Upper Brookfield, Enoggera Reservoir and northern Lake Wivenhoe by 7am.

Just before 10.30pm last night, Moreton Bay City Council issued a Watch and Act Alert following advice from the Bureau of Meteorology that a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Intense Rainfall was expected to impact some or all of the region.

It urged residents to stay indoors now to be safe and followed a Severe Thunderstorm Warning half an hour earlier.

A Severe Weather Warning remains in place for heavy, locally intense rainfall. There is also a Flood Watch which includes the Pine and Caboolture Rivers.

The Bureau of Meteorology says heavy rainfall which may lead to flash flooding continues across the Southeast Coast this morning, including Brisbane, Ipswich and the Sunshine Coast.

Six-hourly rainfall totals of 80-120mm are likely throughout today. 24-hourly totals up to 150mm are likely. Heavy rainfall is forecast to ease over South East Queensland during this afternoon.

More than 100 roads are closed across the City of Moreton Bay, which suffered widespread damage on Saturday night with powerlines and trees coming down in multiple suburbs.

Council is urging drivers not to drive through floodwater.

A sting in Alfred’s tail brought destructive winds and heavy rain on Saturday night. Highest sustained wind speeds were recorded at 82 km/h with wind gusts reaching 104 km/h at Redcliffe at 9.30pm.

These strong winds caused major damage throughout the City of Moreton Bay, with powerlines and trees coming down in multiple suburbs.

See the photos here

Power remains out in 57 suburbs across the city.

Schools across the Moreton Bay region spent yesterday assessing whether they can reopen today.

Here's how you can check which schools will reopen or remain closed.

Those NOT reopening are being listed on the State Government's School Closures website - https://closures.qld.gov.au/schools/html

The site can also be accessed through Council's Disaster Dashboard - https://disaster.moretonbay.ql...

Those not listed on the website WILL be opening today.

Schools are also posting updates on their websites and social media pages, some explaining why they will not reopen.

For example, Clontarf Beach State High School says it will remain closed due to the impact of power outages, clearing debris and risk assessment.

Albany Creek State High School has posted it will be open for "supervision only" for children of emergency services personnel, essential workers or those experiencing vulnerability. An email has been sent to parents and students.

Morayfield State High School says it WILL reopen.