Residents prepare as cyclone approaches Australian coast near Brisbane

Residents are stacking sandbags to protect their properties ahead of a tropical cyclone forecast to become the first in 51 years to hit the Australian east coast near Brisbane, the nation’s third-most populous city.

Tropical Cyclone Alfred is forecast to cross the coast between the Queensland state capital Brisbane and the tourist city of Gold Coast to the south late on Thursday or early Friday, Bureau of Meteorology manager Matt Collopy said.

Brisbane and Gold Coast are a continuous urban sprawl. Their centres are 50 miles apart.

Alfred was over the Pacific Ocean 250 miles east of Brisbane and tracking west on Wednesday with sustained winds near the centre of 59mph and gusts of up to 81mph.

“That is destructive winds,” Mr Collopy said. The cyclone was expected to maintain that strength until reaching land.

“Large swells and powerful waves have been observed along the Queensland coast for several days now with severe coastal erosion and inundation happening,” Mr Collopy told reporters in Brisbane.

“This will continue and likely get worse as the system approaches and makes landfall.”

Heavy rain and life-threatening flooding were expected in the days ahead, he said.

“The wave, wind, rainfall and particularly the storm surge present significant risks,” Mr Collopy added.

Cyclones are common in Queensland’s tropical north but are rare in the state’s temperate and densely populated south-east corner that borders New South Wales state.

Cyclone Zoe crossed the coast at the southern end of Gold Coast on the New South Wales border in March 1974, causing extensive flooding.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government was providing the Queensland government with 250,000 sandbags in addition to 80,000 the military had already delivered.

“This is a rare event, to have a tropical cyclone in an area that is not classified as part of the tropics, here in south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales,” Mr Albanese told reporters in Brisbane.

“That is why this preparatory work is so important,” Mr Albanese added.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said modelling showed that up to 20,000 homes in his city of more than three million people could experience some level of flooding.

A cyclone refuge centre would be established at Brisbane’s show grounds for people who had nowhere else to shelter during the storm. Evacuation centres for longer-term stays would also be opened, Mr Schrinner said.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said boats moored in the region would not be allowed to move without the permission of the Brisbane harbour master from Wednesday afternoon due to the cyclone danger.

From Thursday, schools will be closed, hospitals will not carry out non-urgent surgeries and public transport will not run in the affected area, he said.

Mr Crisafulli urged the public to prepare their homes and plan evacuation routes.

He said 68 people had been evacuated from South Stradbroke Island, which lies off the coast between Brisbane and Gold Coast, on Tuesday night and evacuations continued on Wednesday.

“This is a very rare event for southeast Queensland, I acknowledge that, but I’m asking Queenslanders to take it seriously and I want you to know that we are taking it seriously,” Mr Crisafulli said.