Cyclone Alfred has created quite the spectacle on the Gold Coast this week, sending an all-time run of waves to places like Kirra before it makes landfall. Tubes aside, Alfred is exceptional because a storm of this size hasn’t touched the region for at least 50 years.
Infrastructure isn’t built for the rare level of winds, high seas, and flooding that may come with the cyclone’s arrival, and so the combination of all these things has had some Australians prepping and protecting their homes, packing sandbags, while it’s sent others to the beach with surfboards under arms or cameras (read: smartphones) in hand. Gold Coast city councilmembers have decided to deter the latter groups — the beachgoers and surfers — by threatening a $16,000 fine for anybody hoping to surf or capture footage of Alfred’s waves.
Emergency warnings were given out overnight for Gold Coast residents to prepare to take shelter. Alfred was originally expected to make landfall late Thursday and into early Friday morning, but the storm slowed down on its track for Australia and its arrival is now expected late Friday or early Saturday. The change is part of what experts are calling “erratic” movement by the storm.
Meanwhile, Gold Coast City Council says two people required hospitalization this week from incidents that happened near the water’s edge, rock walls, and piers, prompting their warning of fines for “reckless actions” by surfers and beachgoers moving forward.
