Cyclone Alfred is currently situated 860km north-east of Mackay with a high degree of uncertainty still surrounding its trajectory.
In its latest report, issued on Thursday morning, the Bureau of Meteorology said Alfred was slowly moving south through the Coral Sea and was forecast to continue to move in a general southwards direction while slowly strengthening.
“There is high confidence that Alfred will remain well off the Queensland coast into the weekend,” the bulletin stated.
“There is high uncertainty though, in regards to Alfred’s movement beyond Saturday, with the possible risk that Alfred may move closer to the central or southern Queensland coast by Sunday.”
TC Alfred is currently a category 3 system.
As part of its position in the Local Disaster Management Group (LDMG), Bundaberg Regional Council is monitoring the situation and will provide any updates to the public in conjunction with information from the Bureau.
From today, Council will begin removing shade sails at coastal playgrounds in Burnett Heads, Bargara, Innes Park, Elliott Heads and Woodgate as a precautionary measure, prioritising the most at risk sites.
Mayor Helen Blackburn said disaster preparedness was everybody’s responsibility and it was important for emergency plans to be in place in every household, especially during storm season.
“Residents are reminded to stay informed, prepare emergency and evacuation plans, and make sure homes/businesses are weather ready,” she said.
“There is a raft of resources available on Council’s Disaster Dashboard and provided by Get Ready Queensland which can assist residents to know their risk and make a plan.”
Mayor Blackburn said in the event of an emergency, residents could utilise the available resources and tools on the Council’s Disaster Dashboard to help guide their decisions.
“Council has flood gauge monitoring and flood mapping tools available on the website which can be used when making individual evacuation plans,” she said.
“While we hope we never have to use them, it’s vitally important residents take the time to understand their risk.”
Sandbags available
Members of the public wanting to make preparations, including information on sandbags, are encouraged to visit the Bundaberg SES Facility at 7 Kendalls Road, Branyan.
The facility will be open from 9.30 am to 3.30 pm today and Friday.
Sandbags are limited and are required to be manually handled by each individual —only take what you need to ensure fair distribution across the community.
If you require special sandbag or emergency assistance from the SES, please call 132 500 or log a request via the QLD SES Assistance Mobile App.
Mayor Blackburn said Council would keep the community informed on the weather situation.
“We will continue to provide updates on Cyclone Alfred as they are available,” she said.
Find out more or register for emergency alerts here.
