Tropical Cyclone Alfred is expected to make landfall within 24 hours and Queensland residents from K’gari (formerly Fraser) Island down to the border are being urged to finish preparations and stay connected.
How to Prepare
While it’s important to not panic, there are things we can do to prepare ourselves and our homes.
Preparing Your Home
The Queensland Government has provided tips on how to prepare your home or workplace for a severe weather event such as a cyclone, including:
- Removing and packing away loose items from yards, roofs and decks
- Clearing overhanging branches
- Clearing gutters
Preparing for an Emergency/Blackout
- Stock up on bottled water or fill bottles, buckets and bathtubs for access to safe drinking water
- Fill up your car or charge your EV battery as another source of power during a blackout
- Ensure gas cylinders are full, BBQ’s can be a great alternative for cooking
- Prepare an Emergency Kit that would ideally include what items your family might use if you had to stay at home for three days
Sandbags
Update as at Friday 7 March: Sandbag locations are now closed.
Brisbane City Council supplies pre-filled sandbags to residents and businesses, available 24/7. There are five collection stations at Darra, Morningside, Newmarket, Zillmere and Lota. Check your local council for areas outside of Brisbane.
Staying Informed
Check out the Brisbane City Council Emergency Dashboard or find your local council’s Emergency Dashboard which links to weather warnings and use the Bureau of Meteorology’s website for weather warnings and to follow the tracking map.
Emergency alerts may be sent by the national telephone-based system that the State Disaster Coordination Centre use to send messages to landlines and mobile phones to warn people of dangerous weather and possible severe impacts.
You do not need to register to receive an emergency alert and the messages are sent from: +61 444 444 444. These messages are not a scam and are official text messages from the Queensland State Disaster Coordination Centre as part of the national geo-targeting emergency alert system.
For information about power outages, visit the Energex website or stay up to date via official social media channels.
Information about school and road closures can be found online.
Help is Available
We understand that this can be an overwhelming time for many in our community. If you need support, please reach out to our free Careline Connection and let us know if we can pray for you.
Feature Image: Wes Warren on Unsplash
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