NSW SES update on Cyclone Alfred's impact on the Mid North Coast

Port Macquarie News

The NSW SES has provided an update on the potential impact of Tropical Cyclone Alfred across the Mid North Coast. Video by Mardi Borg

Transcript

00:00So the NSW SES is preparing for operations as we know in relation to Tropical Cyclone

00:25Alfred which is moving south in the Coral Sea but now heading west towards South East

00:31Queensland.

00:32We anticipate that that cyclone will cross sometime late Friday and for us here on the

00:37Mid North Coast the risk is then that it will change into a rain depression and head south

00:42along the ranges, dropping a lot of rain in those ranges as it moves south and as a result

00:48of that all of those catchments from the Nambucca right down to the Manning will see potentially

00:56from moderate to major flooding which will have some significant consequences for us

01:01here on the Mid North Coast and most likely that will be starting on Friday afternoon

01:07well and truly into Saturday, Sunday and Monday and the NSW SES with its emergency service

01:13partners, functional support areas and also our local government partners are preparing

01:19to provide assistance and support to the community when that impacts.

01:24So in terms of the Mid North Coast the real risk is going to be that heavy rainfall and

01:30it's very unpredictable at this stage just depending on how fast that rain depression

01:37moves along those ranges in that southerly direction but associated with that rain which

01:43presents its own problems will be the storm surge as well as those high waves and subsequent

01:49coastal erosion.

01:50So the confluence of those three risks provides us with a unique challenge but we're well

01:56prepared for that.

01:58For us the key focus areas are in that Nambucca catchment particularly around Maxville and

02:04Barraville, into Kempsey then around the CBD and around the Lower Maclay and the isolation

02:11potentially of South West Rocks, Crescent Head and Hat Head, into Port Macquarie, the

02:17North Shore, Settlement Point, Hibbard, Hastings River Drive, areas of concern for us and then

02:24down into the Camden Haven, Logan's Crossing, Dunbogan, Lauriton in those areas there, North

02:31Haven as well and then to a lesser extent down there in the Manning around Manning Point.

02:37Regardless we've put out people today, our community liaison officers into those high

02:43risk areas to doorknock and engage people that are at risk in those areas to ensure

02:48that people are prepared and ready to react and respond as required to meet these risks

02:54that are coming.

02:55So at this stage we have advice warnings out, 16 advice warnings out across the Mid North

03:00Coast. We have a flood watch from Nambucca to Port Macquarie including the Camden Haven

03:08for moderate to major flooding so that indicates significant impacts there and then down in

03:13the Manning it's minor to moderate flooding so again that will provide some challenges

03:18for the people in the Manning, potentially some isolations and some low lying areas being

03:23inundated.

03:25And of course the ongoing risk is in that upper catchment around those low lying roads,

03:29bridges and causeways, people moving about there over this three days, so Friday, Saturday,

03:35Sunday, so that's going to be an issue and again encouraging people to make good decisions,

03:40limit travel and stay out of flood waters.

03:42We're concerned at this stage that it's going to be very similar to what happened in 2021

03:47but we will have those issues that we didn't have in 2021 which is that significant storm

03:53surge and those highway heights. So as that water moves down the catchment and normally

03:59then discharges out into the sea, this time around there's going to be a lot of water

04:02pushing it back up again. So that's going to exacerbate things for us.

04:07As an organisation we're well prepared, we've established a Level 3 Incident Management

04:11Team down there at Metford that is coordinating operations with our emergency service partners,

04:17functional support areas and our local government partners. We've established three sector command

04:23points, one at Kempsey which will look after Nambucca and Kempsey, one at Port Macquarie

04:27looking after Port Macquarie and the Camden Haven and then one down at Taree which we

04:31are looking after the Manning. We've pre-positioned additional resources into those areas, so

04:38stormwater damage teams, flood rescue teams as well as high clearance vehicles, additional

04:45vessels to be able to provide support on water and also we've established an airbase here

04:50at Port Macquarie which will be operating 24-7. So it'll have down the wire capacity

04:55for rescues night and day. We'll also have a resupply helicopter that'll be able to transport

05:02flood rescue resources and resupply communities and transport people in need as required.

05:08So all of those contingencies are in place at this time. We're well supported by our

05:12emergency service partners, Surf Life Saving, Marine Rescue, VRA, Fire and Rescue, RFS,

05:18they've all come on board and been coordinated out of Metford right across the Mid North

05:23Coast, so we're well prepared. So for us on the Mid North Coast, the high risk areas

05:29are around Scotts Head, Lake Caddye, down in the Manning in particular, we've got some

05:37very hot spots there for coastal erosion at Old Bar, Manning Point and Jimmy's Beach.

05:43So as a storm event we'll be managing that and providing some advice in terms of emergency

05:50warnings, watch and act once we start to see those erosion issues. But people need

05:54to stay away from the beaches. We have already got most of the beaches across the Mid North

05:59Coast closed. National Parks is also closing a number of the reserves. So again it just

06:04comes back to my messaging about limiting your travel, preparing to hunker down and

06:11just ride this out. The more movements, people out and about, sightseeing etc, the greater

06:17the risk it is, the greater the demand on services then for the emergency services and

06:23it just prevents us from providing that response in a timely fashion to people who really need

06:28it. So it's about making good decisions about what you're going to be doing over the weekend.

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