The NSW SES has provided an update on the potential impact of Tropical Cyclone Alfred across the Mid North Coast. Video by Mardi Borg
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00:00So the NSW SES is preparing for operations as we know in relation to Tropical Cyclone
00:25Alfred which is moving south in the Coral Sea but now heading west towards South East
00:31Queensland.
00:32We anticipate that that cyclone will cross sometime late Friday and for us here on the
00:37Mid North Coast the risk is then that it will change into a rain depression and head south
00:42along the ranges, dropping a lot of rain in those ranges as it moves south and as a result
00:48of that all of those catchments from the Nambucca right down to the Manning will see potentially
00:56from moderate to major flooding which will have some significant consequences for us
01:01here on the Mid North Coast and most likely that will be starting on Friday afternoon
01:07well and truly into Saturday, Sunday and Monday and the NSW SES with its emergency service
01:13partners, functional support areas and also our local government partners are preparing
01:19to provide assistance and support to the community when that impacts.
01:24So in terms of the Mid North Coast the real risk is going to be that heavy rainfall and
01:30it's very unpredictable at this stage just depending on how fast that rain depression
01:37moves along those ranges in that southerly direction but associated with that rain which
01:43presents its own problems will be the storm surge as well as those high waves and subsequent
01:49coastal erosion.
01:50So the confluence of those three risks provides us with a unique challenge but we're well
01:56prepared for that.
01:58For us the key focus areas are in that Nambucca catchment particularly around Maxville and
02:04Barraville, into Kempsey then around the CBD and around the Lower Maclay and the isolation
02:11potentially of South West Rocks, Crescent Head and Hat Head, into Port Macquarie, the
02:17North Shore, Settlement Point, Hibbard, Hastings River Drive, areas of concern for us and then
02:24down into the Camden Haven, Logan's Crossing, Dunbogan, Lauriton in those areas there, North
02:31Haven as well and then to a lesser extent down there in the Manning around Manning Point.
02:37Regardless we've put out people today, our community liaison officers into those high
02:43risk areas to doorknock and engage people that are at risk in those areas to ensure
02:48that people are prepared and ready to react and respond as required to meet these risks
02:54that are coming.
02:55So at this stage we have advice warnings out, 16 advice warnings out across the Mid North
03:00Coast. We have a flood watch from Nambucca to Port Macquarie including the Camden Haven
03:08for moderate to major flooding so that indicates significant impacts there and then down in
03:13the Manning it's minor to moderate flooding so again that will provide some challenges
03:18for the people in the Manning, potentially some isolations and some low lying areas being
03:23inundated.
03:25And of course the ongoing risk is in that upper catchment around those low lying roads,
03:29bridges and causeways, people moving about there over this three days, so Friday, Saturday,
03:35Sunday, so that's going to be an issue and again encouraging people to make good decisions,
03:40limit travel and stay out of flood waters.
03:42We're concerned at this stage that it's going to be very similar to what happened in 2021
03:47but we will have those issues that we didn't have in 2021 which is that significant storm
03:53surge and those highway heights. So as that water moves down the catchment and normally
03:59then discharges out into the sea, this time around there's going to be a lot of water
04:02pushing it back up again. So that's going to exacerbate things for us.
04:07As an organisation we're well prepared, we've established a Level 3 Incident Management
04:11Team down there at Metford that is coordinating operations with our emergency service partners,
04:17functional support areas and our local government partners. We've established three sector command
04:23points, one at Kempsey which will look after Nambucca and Kempsey, one at Port Macquarie
04:27looking after Port Macquarie and the Camden Haven and then one down at Taree which we
04:31are looking after the Manning. We've pre-positioned additional resources into those areas, so
04:38stormwater damage teams, flood rescue teams as well as high clearance vehicles, additional
04:45vessels to be able to provide support on water and also we've established an airbase here
04:50at Port Macquarie which will be operating 24-7. So it'll have down the wire capacity
04:55for rescues night and day. We'll also have a resupply helicopter that'll be able to transport
05:02flood rescue resources and resupply communities and transport people in need as required.
05:08So all of those contingencies are in place at this time. We're well supported by our
05:12emergency service partners, Surf Life Saving, Marine Rescue, VRA, Fire and Rescue, RFS,
05:18they've all come on board and been coordinated out of Metford right across the Mid North
05:23Coast, so we're well prepared. So for us on the Mid North Coast, the high risk areas
05:29are around Scotts Head, Lake Caddye, down in the Manning in particular, we've got some
05:37very hot spots there for coastal erosion at Old Bar, Manning Point and Jimmy's Beach.
05:43So as a storm event we'll be managing that and providing some advice in terms of emergency
05:50warnings, watch and act once we start to see those erosion issues. But people need
05:54to stay away from the beaches. We have already got most of the beaches across the Mid North
05:59Coast closed. National Parks is also closing a number of the reserves. So again it just
06:04comes back to my messaging about limiting your travel, preparing to hunker down and
06:11just ride this out. The more movements, people out and about, sightseeing etc, the greater
06:17the risk it is, the greater the demand on services then for the emergency services and
06:23it just prevents us from providing that response in a timely fashion to people who really need
06:28it. So it's about making good decisions about what you're going to be doing over the weekend.