Look back at Cyclone Alfred’s suspenseful approach towards QLD and NSW

ABC NEWS (Australia)

More than 300,000 properties are without power in the worst outage in a decade. Across both Queensland and New South Wales there has been devastating coastal erosion with the damaging surf expected to last till at least Monday.

Transcript

00:00Thousands spent an anxious, sleepless night as the deafening roar of tropical cyclone

00:07Alfred took over.

00:09The system howled for hours, rattling windows and testing infrastructure.

00:13I reckon I could feel the building moving last night.

00:17We're on the 12th floor, which is not really high compared to some of these places, but

00:20yeah, it was enough to keep me awake, that's for sure.

00:24We were all cooped up in one room, just looking out the window going, is this going to, the

00:29destroy the house or what?

00:31As dawn finally arrived, residents emerged to survey the damage, iconic Gold Coast beaches

00:37gutted.

00:38At nearby Ashmore, the Deshpande family awoke to destruction.

00:42A giant gum crashed through the middle of their home.

00:45Basically the living room is destroyed, both the side walls, the roof has come down.

00:50The skylight from the kitchen has gone, so there's flooding inside now.

00:54A moment of terror, while desperately searching for loved ones.

00:57When I saw the roof fall, the first thing me and my older daughter, she's 18, we both

01:02screamed was, is there anyone in there?

01:05Is there anyone behind there?

01:07Miraculously, no one was injured, but they'll likely be displaced for months.

01:11We just want to stay with some friends for the night and then we'll look for some accommodation.

01:16Scott George is counting himself lucky.

01:18He watched as this massive tree uprooted and fortunately fell away from his home.

01:23If it had come down the house, it would have destroyed it and, you know, probably could

01:26have killed the family, so yeah, I'm very grateful it went the other way.

01:30But also that it didn't hit anyone on the road.

01:32The community's resilience has earned praise.

01:35Many with no power, wind and rain, and yet they did exactly what was needed.

01:40At the worst of times, we are seeing once again the best of the Australian character.

01:46Cyclone Alfred crossed Moreton Island in the early hours of the morning as a Category 1

01:52system.

01:53Residents in its direct path had a long night.

01:56The wind, it was just howling the whole time.

01:58Like the trees brushing, you know, the bamboo behind me was hitting the windows.

02:04The cyclone then ran out of steam and stalled over Bribie Island.

02:08At 6am this morning was downgraded below tropical cyclone strength.

02:13On the mainland, trees not suited to cyclonic weather were toppled.

02:17Residents at Redcliffe, north of Brisbane, grateful things were not worse.

02:22We've had lots of time to prep, we've had lots of time to think about it.

02:26I think we slept through it, pretty much, so it wasn't too bad to be honest.

02:30As the ex-tropical cyclone moves inland, heavy rain is the main concern.

02:35With catchments already swollen, there's a risk of sudden rises.

02:39This flash flooding could pose a significant risk to life.

02:44Trees have brought down power lines all across the southeast, creating the worst outage the

02:49state has seen in over a decade.

02:52Nearly 300,000 people were cut off.

02:55Authorities say restoring it remains a top priority, warning it could be some time before

03:00the network is revived.

03:02With some households now enduring power outages, the community is pulling together.

03:08This good Samaritan taking food to an elderly neighbour.

03:11Of course there's no electricity so we have to look after each other.

03:15Others are ready for a deluge.

03:17We topped the bottom floor, sandbagged it so hopefully nothing goes too bad.

03:24Tried to empty the pool but we couldn't.

03:26I've never been more prepared, yeah, pretty well prepared.

03:30Prepared but hopeful they'll be spared this time.

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