Flurry of preparation turns to agonising wait ahead of cyclone landfall

For the millions of people in Tropical Cyclone Alfred’s firing line, the flurry of preparation and activity this week has become an agonising waiting game.

Alfred’s slower-than-expected march towards the Queensland coast is a reminder of how fickle weather systems like this can be. 

And while it might’ve been more than 50 years since the last cyclone traced a path across south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales, the people in the impact zone are no strangers to the damage storms and floods can bring. 

But the delay has also given people extra time to prepare themselves for what lies ahead, as is so often the case with natural disasters of this kind, with a sense of humour and dedication to community camaraderie.

Sandbag ‘guardian angels’

Before Alfred’s edges began to bring rain, wind and fallen trees on Thursday and Friday, people in areas likely to be affected sprang into action.

Early in the week, thousands upon thousands of sandbags were filled. Despite the long queues and waits, kindness and community were on display.

In Toowong, Phillipa found herself with unexpected, but very welcome, help.

“He’s my guardian angel, he’s helping me!” she told the ABC’s Lia Walsh.

“This will be the first [trip to the car] and I trust him because I’ve given him my car key,” she laughed.

“Her first question was ‘Are you going to drive away with my car?’ and I said ‘No’,” the young man said.

“I just live up the road there and I figured I’ve got nothing to do until work this arvo.”

“What a honey,” Phillipa said.

For those in Brisbane, the camaraderie has echoes of the Mud Army volunteers and Baked Relief which sprang into action in the wake of the 2011 floods and have helped with the clean-up and recovery of disasters since.

Elsewhere, preparations had a distinct ring of 2020 COVID about them.

As supermarkets in the warning zones announced they’d shutter their doors later in the week, people responded in panic-buying frenzies, stripping supermarket shelves bare.

Much like the early pandemic days, toilet paper was once again a hot commodity, as was bottled water and long-life milk.

Streets and surf begin to empty

As the week rolled on schools, childcare centres, a raft of other retailers and services progressively shut down as the advice to get ready to hunker down at home became a reality.

Record-breaking waves generated by Alfred’s early approach lured surfers into the water, replaced by dangerous swell and a directive from emergency services for people to resist the temptation to head back out.

Similarly, the crowds of people that flocked to beaches up and down the coast to marvel at the might of Mother Nature dwindled as people heeded warnings to stay away.

In an eerie but comforting sight, roads and highways across Brisbane that would usually see bumper-to-bumper traffic were completely empty on Friday morning.

It was as clear a sign as any that, with Alfred’s arrival likely less than 24 hours away, the bunkering down was, for many, in full swing.

The anxious unknown

While many in Alfred’s path have never experienced a cyclone, the flood-battered towns and cities of south-east Queensland and the Northern Rivers region are well aware of the potential destruction ahead.

By Friday morning, 40,000 people in south-east Queensland and tens of thousands of people in the Northern Rivers area were without power, trees were down and roads closed, and beaches had been pummelled and stripped bare by increasingly strong winds.

The erratic nature of the cyclone and the changing advice about when and where the greatest impacts would be felt helped create a perfect storm of anxiety and concern for people in its path.

Particularly for those still recovering from record flooding in 2022.

In Ballina, parts of which were already starting to flood on Friday morning, some locals took the opportunity to fill last-minute sandbags.

The city flooded in 2022 but a possible storm surge this time around is expected to bring a heightened risk.

“It’s just the unknown.

“A flood’s all right, you know what’s going to happen, but with the two combined [flood and storm surge] it’s just, who knows?”

There was a similar feeling half an hour inland in Lismore, where some people are still piecing their lives back together after the 2022 floods that decimated large parts of the town.

Pub manager Britney Gwynne says the community is working together to be as prepared as possible.

“Obviously there’s a little bit of angst in the area, just unsure what’s going to happen,” said Ms Gwynne, manager of the Northern Rivers Hotel, which only recently re-opened after flood damage.

Elsewhere, people are hopeful that lessons learned during the 2022 floods — like using satellites to sure-up communications — will hold them in good stead this time around.

Sense of humour shines through

In true Aussie style though, many have found the lighter side of the situation.

After being flooded in January last year, locals in the Lockyer Valley town of Laidley have joined together for sandbagging and emergency preparations, including protecting shopfronts and pubs on its main street.

Local Thomas Nicholson told the ABC his message for Cyclone Alfred was “bring it on”.

Others shared their innovative approaches to keep pets — including pooches and poultry — safe and dry.

Redlands resident Carmel Holmes shared her essential preparations — cyclone-proofing her 15-year-old dog Jessie.

In the suburb of Lawnton, right in Alfred’s line of crossing, Nadia changed up her chook Zinger’s pen to a portable cot.

Meanwhile in Toowoomba, Sheree Kilby said hers had “checked into the Chick Inn”.

In Woodford, Ally Karin turned her shower into a temporary cyclone coop for her girls Barb and Joscelyn, saying it seemed the safest spot to house them.

“They say the safest place in your house is the smallest room, usually the bathroom,” she said.

“It will be easy to clean up too, all hail the bendy shower head hose thing.

“They’re happy enough, it’ll keep them dry.”

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