Gold Coast Braces for Impact as Cyclone Alfred Approaches
Tropical Cyclone Alfred threatens the first direct hit on the region since 1954, leaving many residents unaware of the potential devastation.
Cavill Mall, the vibrant heart of Surfers Paradise, should have been bustling this week. Thousands had flown in to see US rock band Green Day perform, and the Gold Coast Suns were set to host the AFL season opener against Essendon on Thursday.
Instead, the city is in lockdown. Coolangatta Airport closed at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, and businesses along Cavill Mall—one of Australia’s busiest tourist precincts—either shut down or fortified their premises. Store owners taped up windows, stacked sandbags, and sent employees home, while police moved door to door in lower-lying areas, urging residents to evacuate before it was too late.
For those standing on the surf club balcony watching the massive waves batter the shoreline, the reality hit: this isn’t just another storm. The footy match, the concert, and even the front entrance of the Paradise Centre shopping mall were all closed off with security tape and barriers.
Across the 30-kilometre beach strip of a city home to 750,000 residents and countless visitors, construction crews worked frantically to secure high-rise developments against the incoming gale-force winds. Schools shut their doors, public transport ground to a halt, and the Gold Coast entered a quasi-lockdown, reminiscent of the Covid pandemic, with authorities urging people to stay indoors unless absolutely necessary.
Long lines of cars stretched around council sandbag depots, while the city’s extensive network of canals—boasting more waterways than Venice—grew eerily empty, save for debris beginning to drift in from upstream.
Like much of southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales, the Gold Coast has seen supermarket shelves stripped bare of essentials. Bottled water, pasta, batteries, and canned goods vanished within hours, and the now-infamous toilet paper hoarding trend made an unwelcome return. For some, the rush to stockpile seemed to defy logic—after all, if conditions deteriorate to the point of needing 100 rolls of toilet paper, there may not be water available to flush toilets anyway. Meanwhile, securing a gas bottle for a barbecue was as unlikely as winning the lottery, and by mid-morning Wednesday, even a simple loaf of bread was nearly impossible to find.
The Gold Coast has faced severe weather before—most recently in the devastating 2022 floods—but this is different. The last serious cyclone struck in 1974, and the city has not seen a direct hit since 1954, when it was little more than a sleepy coastal town.
Today, the landscape is vastly different. The city’s 400 km of canals and thousands of waterfront homes are now at risk. Entire suburbs have been developed on what was once swampland. With the region’s booming population—including interstate migrants, overseas arrivals, and sea changers from Brisbane—many have never experienced a cyclone and have little understanding of its dangers.
This unfamiliarity has bred a mix of complacency and panic. Some dismiss it as “just a big storm,” assuming it will bring little more than strong winds, heavy rain, and an impressive lightning display. Others, more attuned to the risks, have directed frustration at Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate, who remains overseas following last weekend’s NRL event in Las Vegas.
For long-time locals, explaining the gravity of the situation to newcomers without inciting fear is proving difficult. Many residents have never faced days without power, water supply disruptions, flooded roads, or shortages of basic necessities. Some rely so heavily on modern conveniences that the idea of living without Uber Eats is unthinkable—let alone remembering to fill a bathtub with fresh water as a precaution.
Despite the uncertainty, the community is coming together. Residents are checking on neighbors, helping one another prepare, and, above all, hoping for the best while bracing for the worst.
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