Ex-Cyclone Alfred live updates: cyclone downgraded to tropical low; BoM path tracking map for Brisbane, Queensland and NSW; hundreds of thousands without power; weather forecast and flooding – latest news​on March 8, 2025 at 12:46 am

Rosanna Natoli, the mayor of the Sunshine Coast, says her community is “breathing a sigh of relief” they have fared better than communities to the south, but are still prepared for potential flash flooding.

Natoli has told ABC News:

On the Sunshine Coast, we are really breathing a sigh of relief because we are not seeing right now the same impact as our neighbours to the south.

We are still forecasting that there would be rain, and heavy rain this afternoon and tomorrow, so we are still advising our residents to take care, to be aware of that potential flash flooding. It can happen so quickly.

Asked about coastal erosion Natoli said “there is some erosion right up and down the coast, though it could be a lot worse”:

When you see the pictures that are coming from the Gold Coast, it is much worse there. We are hoping that we will be able to allow that sand to regenerate naturally, because there is a lot of sand in the water off the coast at the moment, so that is also a bit of a watch and wait over the next few days.

NSW police say there was a short period of time emergency services were in contact with the missing man before he was washed downstream:

Police have responded to the scene where the male had been washed downstream, there was a short period of time where they were able to engage with him, however his position inside the flooded river prevented any emergency services from getting close to him. And unfortunately he has been washed downstream.

The search and the assessment of the area has been ongoing since this incident commenced.

NSW police are giving an update on the man who last night was lost in flood waters near Dorrigo in the north of NSW, when a 4WD was washed off a bridge into fast running water.

Police emergency services, SES, fire rescue services have been unable to find the 61-year-old male.

We believe he is a local from the Megan township and we believe he was passing from one area to another.

His vehicle has entered a flooded bridge and was washed off. This highlights the public messaging; do not enter flooded roads, bridges or causeways.

Miriam Bradbury, a senior meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology, has confirmed there has not been any movement from ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred for the past six hours.

Bradbury told ABC News:

We have seen very little movement in that system from the track maps coming out of the early hours of this morning right through up into this point. So it’s still sitting just off the coast. We do expect it to make that coastal crossing today.

Essential Energy says 42,600 homes and businesses without power between Tweed Heads and Grafton

Essential Energy – a NSW-owned electricity infrastructure provider – has provided an update on the number of homes and businesses without power in the state’s north.

As at 11am, there are just over 42,600 homes and businesses without power in various communities between Tweed Heads and Grafton due to the impacts of Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

The severe winds and heavy rain have left a path of fallen trees and vegetation debris that will need to be cleaned up before power lines can be accessed or repaired.

At this stage, there has not been any major damage to zone substations and flood waters have not reached any of Essential Energy’s depots.

Weather conditions are predicted to deteriorate this afternoon and into the evening that is expected to bring more rain and hamper electricity restoration efforts.

Crews will continue to make repairs when conditions are safe enough to do so. Additional crews are on standby to assist with the cleanup and restoration efforts once ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred has cleared.

Queensland fire department urges residents to stay home

The Queensland fire department has shared images of the damage caused by wild wind gusts in the south-east of the state, while urging people to stay safe inside.

In a social media post, the department has urged people to stay off the roads and allow emergency workers to travel safely:

Our crews are out in the community assessing damage and gathering intelligence to understand the impact of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

While ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred has been downgraded, heavy to intense rainfall is expected throughout the weekend.

Flooding remains a significant risk and now is not the time to be on the roads sightseeing.

Staying home will assist to keep you safe and ensure emergency services can get to where they are needed quickly.

Parts of northern NSW may record 300mm rain in 24 hours

The Bureau of Meteorology has just issued an updated warning for people living in northern NSW from Nambucca Heads to Tweeds Heads. It says parts of the region could record 300mm of rain in just 24 hours.

Heavy rainfall, which may lead to flash flooding, is possible today about parts of the northern rivers, mid-north coast and northern tablelands, and is expected to increase through inland parts of the warning area during Sunday.

Six-hourly rainfall totals between 70 and 130mm are likely, increasing to around 200mm about the border ranges.

24-hourly rainfall totals between 120 and 200mm are likely, increasing to between 200 to 250mm about the Dorrigo range, and 200 and 300mm about the border ranges.

The Bureau says wind gusts of about 100km/h may be recorded to the north of Ballina. The northern tablelands are also expected to record 90km/h winds.

NSW energy minister says it could be ‘several days’ until power restored

We told you earlier that around 43,000 homes and businesess are currently without power in northern NSW. This number increased during Saturday morning and could climb higher later today.

The state’s energy minister, Penny Sharpe, has warned people it could be “several days” until power is restored in the region and that once it is it could be intermittent:

You are going to have to be patient. We cannot risk the lives of those workers. But know that we are doing everything we can, as quickly as we can.

Sharpe referred to the obvious dangers of travelling through flood waters and working with power lines around water.

A view from the Gold Coast

At 9am it’s still gusting like a bastard in our corner of Surfers Paradise. The street is still OK but there’s a fair bit of debris, and branches are still coming down during the more violent squalls. Quite deceptive really: one minute you think things have died down, and next minute another mini gale howls through.

We seemed to get the full force of it in the early hours of this morning. Sleep was not much of an option. Very glad not to live in a high rise – some of the social media footage from residents in towers like the Q1 (Australia’s tallest residential tower) is quite terrifying.

Of all our friends and family on the Coast we seem to be the only ones – at least of those we can contact – still with power. If the newsagent was open I’d buy a lottery ticket.

Aside from some minor water damage the house is intact, and apparently roads are still passable, so we can get out later this morning and retrieve an elderly mother-in-law who is without power and phone.

Living right near the Nerang river our hope now is the forecast rain doesn’t materialise. Already the “low” tide is one of the highest I’ve seen and the water – where I kayak most days – is a torrent.

Days of 90 per cent plus humidity means every surface in the house is damp, and the battle in the weeks ahead will be a running battle against mould.

A view from the Byron-Bangalow region

Winds are still wild and gusting here in the Byron region, and show no signs of easing. It’s too dangerous to go outdoors. We have a break from the rain right now but It was torrential again overnight, we know it will be back.

Everything feels a bit damp and cupboards are starting to smell musty. Plenty of circulation outside though – the wind is literally shredding the bark off trees. We still have no power, no internet, and one lousy bar on a 4G network, so patience is making a comeback as a virtue. Getting two bars from time to time is my only dopamine hit, but it still takes a very long time to refresh the Guardian live blog!

Zero chance to loading any weather maps. Not much else to do except sit here and wait, and try to remember what life was like before the internet. We never had a God-like view of moving cyclones, but it was good, I think.

We have some updates from on the ground from our Guardian writers in affected regions. We’ll share in a moment.

Two neighbouring old Queensland cottages, perched on 8m stilts while they undergo renovations, have survived a wild and windy night in Brisbane.

The homes, on Simpsons Road at Bardon, had become a particular point of local concern as Tropical Cyclone Alfred threatened to blow destructive winds overnight.

But the homes have survived, after builders added some additional bracing ahead of the storm.

Elsewhere there is little sign of significant damage in Brisbane. There are some trees down and some minor damage to property but the city appears to have avoided the worst winds, which hit the Gold Coast while Alfred tracked towards the coast, and Moreton Bay when the storm came closer to landfall.

The few brave retailers who have opened for coffee have lines out the door.

Even before Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred makes landfall, thousands across New South Wales and Queensland have been sheltering from the wild weather, with hundreds of millimetres of rain this week.

This map shows the total rainfall at weather stations over the past seven days, and will be updated regularly throughout the weekend. A darker shade of purple indicates higher rainfall:

Areas around the north coast of NSW have had particularly heavy falls, with Dorrigo receiving 519mm over the past seven days, while the weather station at Carey’s Peak in Barrington Tops has received 392mm.

Over the border in Queensland, areas around Springbrook national park and Lamington national park have had heavy rainfall, with 324mm and 248mm respectively.

You can see more rainfall data and a chart tracking average wind speed at locations up and down the coast in our datablog here.

Thirty flood rescues in northern NSW in 24 hours

Wassing said since the start of this event the NSW SES have had more than 5,200 incidents including 30 flood rescues in the last 24 hours.

Other than the one missing person all of those are flood rescues within good outcomes.

SES says 20,000 people under evacuation warnings

Wassing said:

Today, effectively is D-Day, if you will, irrespective of the crossing of the cyclone.

Currently in Queensland, we’re still seeing very strong winds but, more importantly, we’re still seeing very heavy rainfalls, and therefore river rises, flash flooding and continued inundation of many areas.

We currently have 131 warnings, 40 emergency warnings, and that equates to approximately 20,000 people under evacuation warnings currently.

Currently, we expect some of those to potentially increase as we see river rises and continue to rainfall today.