Some of Queensland’s most expensive real estate is staring down the storm.
Close to two million properties worth billions are in the alert zone as TC Alfred looks increasingly likely to make landfall in one of the most heavily populated parts of Australia’s east coast.
Property records show over 1.88m properties including houses, units, farms and businesses are in a wide alert zone across 14 regional and local council areas, as warnings are issued over what’s predicted to be just the third cyclone in recorded history to make landfall on South East Queensland’s coastline.
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SEQ councils as well as three to the north of the region have issued alerts to residents.
Homeowners are being advised to seek safe mooring for their vessels, which owners generally tend to do in sheltered canals and inlets away from direct wave energy.
According to property records, there are 1.17m houses across those zones, almost 450,000 units and flats, 91,000 offices, commercial buildings and business properties, as well as 173,000 farms and land sites.
Five coastal councils are on alert from Bundaberg, to the Fraser Coast and Gympie north of SEQ, dropping down to the expected impact zones of Noosa Shire and the Sunshine Coast, with five others also on notice for fallout in the most populated parts of SEQ – Moreton Bay, Brisbane, Redland City, Logan City and the Gold Coast.
Depending on how far inland the cyclone’s heavy rainbands go if or when TC Alfred makes landfall in SEQ, suburbs along rivers and waterways and those in the secondary impact council zones like Ipswich, Somerset and even south to Scenic Rim could also see some storm impact.
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Sand bagging the dunes in front of the Maroochydore Surf Life Saving club house in 1957. South East Queensland is usually spared direct landfall of cyclones.
This as comparison site Finder warned that an estimated 54,000 Queensland households were uninsured – that is one in three did not have home and contents insurance – despite 80 per cent being worried about the risk of wild weather, storms and flooding.
Finder’s insurance expert Tim Bennett said “this could be the first tropical cyclone to hit Brisbane in 50 years and households are very concerned about how wild weather will impact their homes”.
“Intense rain could lead to flooding and wind gusts could be damaging leaving them vulnerable to expensive repairs and event displacement.”
The Sunshine Coast regional council – which has almost 180,000 properties under its wing, many of which are luxury homes up and down its coastline – has named four suburbs that it’s most concerned about: Golden Beach, Pelican Waters, Diamond Head and Maroochydore.
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There was some hope earlier that the cyclone would remain offshore, minimising danger to populated areas, but the Bureau of Meteorology has now revised the trackmap to show landfall between Buddina and Warana on the Sunshine Coast.
The council called for all residents to prepare while the cyclone was still “moving slowly towards the Queensland coast”.
Noosa Shire council – where there are just under 36,000 properties on record – has issued alerts for every suburb, highlighting BOM warnings of “severe coastal hazards” for the popular holiday zone.
Councils have been distributing Bureau of Meteorology warnings from the weekend, stating: “a large and powerful to potentially damaging easterly swell as well as abnormally high tides are occurring about exposed southern Queensland beaches from Monday”.
“Heavy to locally intense rainfall is forecast for southeast Queensland and northeastern New South Wales from Wednesday as Alfred approaches the coast. Flood Watches have been issued for these areas.”
The swell at different Caloundra beaches along with the way the sand is being pushed around as TC Alfred tracks off the Queensland coast. Picture: Sonya Gelman
Warning levels have steadily escalated from the weekend when Bundaberg council warned residents to expect marine impact from Baffle Creek to the mouth of the Burrum River given TC Alfred was “generating large and powerful easterly waves”.
Fraser Coast Regional Council had properties between the mouth of the Burrum River to Inskip Point on its watchlist for coastal impact, warning of “abnormally high tides, severe beach erosion along the southern Queensland coast, and hazardous surf conditions for K’gari and other coastal areas”.
Rainbow Beach, Tin Can Bay and Cooloola Cove saw a mass effort when TC Alfred upgraded to category 3 offshore, with warnings centring on “dangerous beach conditions with extreme waves” as well as coastal erosion.
Around a dozen councils have residents on cyclone alert.
Among the preparations Queenslanders are being asked to tick off were parking cars undercover and away from trees, securing loose outdoor items like furniture and play equipment, trimming overhanging branches, avoiding the coastline.
“If you’re a visitor, camper, or caravanner, leave K’gari, Inskip, and Cooloola while it is safe to do so, secure or pack up tents and loose items, ask accommodation staff about emergency plans”.
Those with boats and jetskis have been advised to move them onto land if possible or secure vessels in safe mooring or marinas.
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