LABRADOR, Australia: Ex-Cyclone Alfred stalled off the rain-and wind-lashed coast of eastern Australia on Saturday (Mar 8), threatening to unleash floods after blacking out more than a quarter of a million homes and businesses.
The former tropical cyclone – now downgraded to a tropical depression – has battered the coastline with gale-force winds that toppled trees, brought down power lines, and damaged buildings.
It was still creating heavy rainfall, swelling rivers in parts of a 400km stretch of the coast straddling southeast Queensland and northeast New South Wales, government forecasters said.
Utility companies said 295,000 properties in southeast Queensland and another 42,600 in New South Wales were without power, warning that floods could hamper repairs.
Although the weather system “stalled and began weakening”, the bureau of meteorology warned that intense rain and damaging wind gusts were a risk throughout the weekend.
“Rivers are already starting to respond to the heavy rainfall, with many Minor to Major Flood Warnings current,” the bureau said in a statement.
One man was missing after his four-wheel drive pick-up truck was swept off a bridge into a rain-engorged river the previous day in northern New South Wales.
He clambered out of the vehicle and tried in vain to cling to a tree branch in the river.
“The man was swept from the tree and seen to go beneath the water where he has not been sighted since,” police said in a statement.
Flooded roads and high winds made it too dangerous to send in crews or helicopters to search for him.
