Authorities have urged Darling Downs residents to prepare and remain informed ahead of Tropical Cyclone Alfred making landfall.
The weather system will likely hit the state’s coastline anywhere between just south of the Wide Bay region and the Gold Coast on Thursday or Friday, according to Bureau of Meteorology modelling.
BoM forecasts show TC Alfred will de-intensify into a tropical low as it tracks west of the Great Dividing Range.
In the Southern Downs, both Warwick and Stanthorpe SES stations have been stood up and will be manned for residents to collect sandbags if required.
Sandbags can be collected at SES headquarters in Warwick at 4 Alice Street and in Stanthorpe on the corner of Mackenzie Street and the New England Highway.
In a statement to media, Darling Downs police told residents to be aware, prepared, “but not alarmed”.
Darling Downs District Officer Superintendent Doug McDonald said the weather system will likely impact the Lockyer Valley, Toowoomba and areas west throughout Friday and into the weekend.
Superintendent McDonald said the Darling Downs could expect to feel some “serious impacts” and urged residents to keep an eye on their local council disaster dashboards.
“It’s really important that we get prepared now and understand what the impacts might be for this cyclone,” he said.
“Can I just say one of the main things that we want to highlight with this cyclone is that it is very unpredictable.
“We’re likely to have protracted periods of wind, so it won’t just be gusts – it will be really sustained high winds during that period and we know that potentially impacts our power supply very quickly.”
Superintendent McDonald said residents should be prepared for potential power outages, significant rainfall and flooding.
“I want people to be prepared to keep themselves safe during this high rain period that we expect at the moment,” he said.
“If you don’t have to travel from Thursday on, don’t do it. Just stay in place, make sure you’re safe at home and that you have all the preparations in place before this event hits on Thursday.
Asked about panic buying at supermarkets, Superintendent McDonald urged the public to remain “respectful of others”.
SES South West A/Regional Director Anthony Cooper said residents should start preparing and be ready.
“Take the time to check your gutters, secure any loose items around your yard, have a think about your neighbours in terms of whether you can support them in that endeavour as well,” Mr Cooper said.
“The key message is the 132 500 number for SES – call for storm and flood related emergencies. If it’s a life threatening emergency, 000 is the place to go.
“Take the time to plan with your family and go through an emergency plan with them … make sure that you’ve got an emergency pack ready.”
HANDY RESOURCES:
To learn about cyclones, visit getready.qld.gov.au/getting-ready/understand-your-risk/types-disasters/cyclone-and-storm-surge
To learn about emergency kits visit www.getready.qld.gov.au/emergencykit
You can find the Southern Downs Regional Council’s Disaster Dashboard at disasterdashboard.sdrc.qld.gov.au/
For weather updates and associated warnings, visit www.bom.gov.au/australia/warnings
