Tropical Cyclone Albert is set to make landfall in southeast Queensland anytime from late Thursday into Friday.
At the time of writing (8:40 am AEDT), the cyclone remains a category 2 system and is sitting around 460km east of Brisbane according to the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM).
BOM expects the cyclone to make landfall somewhere between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast with damaging wind gusts of up to 120km/h, flash flooding and extremely heavy rainfall.
Current modelling is indicating widespread totals from 200 to 500 millimetres this week from about the Sunshine Coast to Taree.
Northern New South Wales has also issued a cyclone watch for the region for the first time in 35 years.
With more than 4 million people in the firing line of Tropical Cyclone Alfred they are relying on state-run emergency alerts as a result of delays in the deployment of a A$10 million federal government disaster warning system designed to speed up the process which was supposed to be brought in last year.
While Alfred is well below the intensity of many cyclones that have occurred over northern Australia, its path over highly populated regions of Australia has amplified the threat.
"There is significantly more exposure [people and assets] than there is further north, and so while the probability is lower, the risk is much greater," Tom Mortlock, Adjunct Fellow from the Climate Change Research Centre at the University of NSW, told ABC yesterday.
Suncorp CEO Steve Johnston said insurers are preparing for the worst where loss and damage are expected to quickly mount.
The bank said the government's cyclone reinsurance pool provides cover for damage when a storm is classified as a cyclone and for an additional 48 hours after it is downgraded.
The company noted it has a "comprehensive reinsurance program" in place to protect it against large weather events of up to A$350 million, while its main catastrophe cover provides protection up to $6.75 billion.
"Given this system is likely to affect a large geographical area, we are preparing our response and claims teams to assist impacted customers," said Johnston.
“Any customers affected by this event are reminded they can lodge their claims through our digital channels as soon as it is safe to do so.”
In 2022, the Federal Government’s Geoscience Australia conducted a Severe Wind Hazard Assessment which found that up to 660,000 homes could be in the firing line in the event of a category two cyclone in the region.
The report posed a potential scenario where a system with similar conditions to Alfred crossed the coast near Bribie Island, tearing through Brisbane and then the Gold Coast before leaving the mainland.
“The main impacts are concentrated at the southern end of Moreton Bay around Macleay and Russell Islands, and into the northern suburbs of Gold Coast City Council near Ormeau and Pimpama, with widespread areas of moderate damage,” the report read.
In the case of the scenario, the report predicted 23,000 homes in the Redlands region, roughly 250,000 homes in Brisbane, and 155,000 homes on the Gold Coast would sustain damage.
People are warned it may also be too late to take out any new insurance policies.
David Koch, Economic Director at Compare the Market told 7News , “When disaster strikes, insurers usually put the sale of new policies on hiatus, to prevent people buying cover only when there is a much higher risk, without ever having any previous plans to be insured. Once a weather warning is in place, it’s usually too late to secure or upgrade a policy.”
If people are still able to get new insurance, a no-claims period may be imposed along with embargoes from insurance companies that typically affect home, contents and car insurance.
Compare the Market said it was aware of embargoes 170 between Bundaberg and south-east Queensland and another 30 odd in northern New South Wales.
Energex regional field delivery general manager Kev Lavender said yesterday that more than four million residents could go without power for at least three days after the cyclone hits and should prepare accordingly.
“Energex has been preparing for Cyclone Alfred since last week and the community can rest assured that we’re ready to respond to anything Mother Nature throws at us,” said Lavender.
Major airlines Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin Australia have already cancelled all flights in and out of Ballina Byron Gateway Airport on Wednesday.
Jetstar also said it was forced to cancel two flights from Sydney (JQ459, JQ461) and one from Melbourne (JQ465) to the region due to “strong winds from the cyclone”.
The airline’s three flights departing from Ballina will also not go ahead as Qantas and Virgin also follow suit.
Virgin has also already cancelled its services for Thursday.
More to come
