Cyclone Alfred Update
This website is being updated by the Fingal Head (SES) Community Action Team (CAT).
The information provided here is specifically for the Fingal Head Community and does not supersede any information you may receive from Authorised Agencies. If you want to be part of the FHCAT WhatsApp with mobile updates please forward your details to fhcamail@gmail.com.
The warnings for Tropical Cyclone Alfred are constantly updating so there is no excuse for not preparing for this event.
Thursday 6 March – 6pm.
Hi All, once again a quick update.
Cyclone Alfred is taking has slowed and will now cross the coast Friday afternoon at this stage.
At 3.00am thigh tide this morning was a non event however the SES Unit has advised that the 4.15am (Friday morning) high tide could be about +/- at 1.6m which is a Medium Flood level and Fingal road is flooded at about 1.25m.
During the day please watch the flood camera on Fingal Road to confirm safe passage.
At the Fingal Sandbag station the community used 700 sandbags so we hope we are all a little better prepared.
We note there is already considerable beach erosion on Dreamtime beach and Fingal beach will be more exposed to beach erosion as the winds turn easterly as Cyclone Albert crosses the coast.
There has been a sizeable response to the call for evacuation to safer locations, and the evacuation centres have been very busy. An extended power outage in Kingscliff and Chinderah this morning prompted this evacuation decision for many people particularly from the Chinderah caravan parks.
On the “Hazards Near Me” app An Emergency Warning – Fingal Head Evacuate before 9:00 pm Thu 06 Mar has been issued. All residents should consider their circumstances to make the best decision for themselves particularly in light of the Medium flooding that will occur overnight.
The SES Tweed Heads Unit has advised that they already have 71 Storm jobs outstanding from the last few days so things are already busy. I have been advised a good number of interstate crews are now in the Tweed to support our local team.
For those that stay, time to sit tight and stay safe.
Wednesday 5 March – 4pm
- Weather Update:
- Tropical Cyclone Alfred is tracking towards the coast and will cross sometime after midnight tomorrow.
- During Wednesday night and Thursday Fingal will experience winds up to 86km/hr with possible gusts up to 120km/hr Thursday afternoon. Wind direction Wednesday night and Thursday will remain southerly however change to easterly to north-easterly as Cyclone Alfred crosses the coast.
- Hourly rain levels will continue to vary as they are doing currently from 5mm/hr up to 50mm/hr.
- High Tide (Old Fingal boat harbour) will occur about 2am and the river level will be affected by a significant storm surge which will cause Fingal Road flooding and therefore road closures.
There are no detailed projections of the height of the storm surge but it will be measured to provide insight to what will happen Thursday night. - On Friday high on-shore easterly winds combined with 6m waves with 4m swells may cause severe beach erosion to Fingal beach and Dreamtime beach, possibly close to the surf club, similar to the 2013 storm event.
The SES sand station was a success with 700 sand bags filled by the Fingal Head community. We will run out of bags this afternoon, with no more available.
Emergency Evacuation centres have been established and details found here. Evacuation Centre Information
Council bin services have now been cancelled. This service will resume when safe to do so.
Tuesday 4 March – 4pm
An SES Sandbag Station has been setup in the new boat harbour with the sand provided by the TSC. BRING YOUR OWN BAGS AND SHOVEL. Alternatively go to Club Banora where they may still have bags. We may have bags tomorrow, however they are in short supply.
Portable Generators: The FHCA generators will be located at 15 Fingal Road, with Paul Dale and at 54 Fingal Road, with Larry Woodland. If we loose power these small generators may be used to charge phones and other small batteries.
Emergency Evacuation: With the storm surge + high tides beach evacuation along Dreamtime Beach is very unlikely, leaving only a SES boat rescue in an absolute emergency.
Evacuation Centres: No advice has been received about opening an Evacuation Centre, at this time.
Tuesday 4 March 25 – 8 am
The current situation:
The BOM modelling shows that Cyclone Alfred will be turning east towards the coast sometime between today and Wednesday and then move to cross the coast north of Brisbane on Thursday night Friday morning. Cyclone Alfred will continue to travel west. The impact on areas in NSW are expected down to Port Macquarie.
Cyclone Alfred is still rated to be Cat 2 with possible maximum mean wind speeds of 89 – 117 km/h with typical strong wind gusts from 125 – 164 km/h. As Fingal is on the southern side of Cyclone Alfred, we will experience both high winds and higher tides, with a massive sea surge driven by the high winds and waves between 6 – 8 m with possible rogue waves up to 10 m. This is not another riverine flood that we have experienced.
Clear explanation of the current modelling go to: Cyclone Alfred (Tuesday)
The last cyclones that came over us were in 1974 Cyclone Zoe and 1990 Tropical Cyclone Nancy and the flooding impact was very different from 2017 and 2022.
We can expect major beach erosion along Fingal beach and Dreamtime beach, which may include sand dune erosion and possible damage to infrastructure close to the beach.
It is important that everybody secures their property to ensure it is cyclone ready, which means prepared for high winds, possible storm damage, excessive rainfall and possible flooding. This means lift-up everything that could be flooded and tie-down everything that could be blown away.
The FHCAT will continue to provide Cyclone Alfred updates focusing on the impacts to Fingal Head. We do have a WhatsApp Group currently, if you wish to join please download the App provide your contact details to fhcamail@gmail.com.
Cyclone Preparation: Consider the following: FLOOD PREPARATION