A man has gone missing in floodwaters, evacuations have been ordered in flood-prone areas, and tens of thousands of homes lost power on Friday as the Australian east coast faced heavy rain and winds ahead of its first tropical cyclone in 51 years, reports AP.
Tropical Cyclone Alfred is expected to make landfall north of Brisbane in Queensland state early Saturday, according to Bureau of Meteorology manager Matt Collopy.
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Collopy stated, “It’s important to note that the exact track is still uncertain,” adding that Alfred was moving west with winds near 95 kph (59 mph) and gusts up to 130 kph (81 mph). However, the storm is anticipated to weaken as it approaches Brisbane, and destructive winds are unlikely for the city itself. Damaging gusts of up to 120 kph (75 mph) are still expected to develop quickly as the storm nears.
The missing man was driving an SUV that was swept off a bridge near Dorrigo in northern New South Wales on Friday afternoon, a region that has seen significant rainfall in recent days. Police said the driver managed to escape the SUV and hold onto a tree branch 30 meters (100 feet) from the riverbank. Though they were able to speak to him before he was swept away, he has since disappeared underwater. Emergency teams have launched a search. At least five people have been rescued from floodwaters as rivers rise in New South Wales.
In Queensland, two people narrowly avoided being struck by a large tree that fell on their home in Currumbin Valley on Thursday night. The couple was only centimeters from where the tree landed in their bedroom, but they sustained only minor injuries, according to Queensland Ambulance Service.
Power outages have affected 46,000 homes and businesses in Queensland, mainly in the Gold Coast area, due to fallen trees. In northern New South Wales, 43,000 properties lost power, though 6,500 had their electricity restored by Friday afternoon.
State Emergency Service acting chief superintendent Stuart Fisher reported that 19,000 people in New South Wales had been ordered to evacuate their homes by noon to avoid being trapped by flooding.
Cyclones are common in Queensland’s tropical north, but rare in the state’s southeastern regions, which are densely populated and border New South Wales. Popular tourist destinations like the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast have been hit by large waves and high tides generated by Alfred, which have caused significant beach erosion.
Alfred is expected to become the first cyclone to hit the Brisbane area since Cyclone Zoe struck Gold Coast in 1974, bringing widespread flooding. The storm has been tracking south from the tropics for weeks.
Lithuanian rower Aurimas Mockus, 44, was rowing solo from San Diego, California, to Brisbane when he became stranded in the Coral Sea last week due to the storm’s conditions. An Australian warship battled 16-meter (52-foot) swells to rescue him 740 kilometers (460 miles) east of Mackay, Queensland. Mockus was finally reunited with his wife in Sydney on Friday.
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Mockus, relieved to be safe, told reporters in Sydney he thought he was going to die when he activated his emergency beacon on Feb. 28, waiting three days for rescue. He recalled the terrifying experience, saying his boat rolled 30 times in tumultuous seas, and described his boat as sinking with broken equipment, including a faulty radio. “I thought if I lost my mind, I’d have nothing left to fight for,” he added.