Cyclone Alfred LIVE updates: Storm set to lash Brisbane for 12 hours despite slowing in first direct impact in 50 years; NSW Northern Rivers’ schools, supermarkets close amid flood preparations

NSW Premier Chris Minns has compared Tropical Cyclone Alfred an “unwanted houseguest”, arriving late and staying later than expected.

“It’s told us that it’s going to be late, but linger even longer, and unfortunately, that means the window for destruction in our community, heavy rains, winds, powerful surf is longer than we would otherwise like,” he said.

Alfred had initially been forecast to make landfall near Brisbane in the early hours of Friday, but is now expected to cross the coast about 10pm on Friday, almost 24 hours later than first forecast.

Speaking in Lismore in NSW’s Northern Rivers region, Minns said it was “regrettable” that the town had gone through so much across the past few years, but added that the community knew how to prepare for natural disasters.

“Fire and Rescue NSW have a big job ahead of them in the next 72 hours [and] we owe them a huge debt of gratitude,” he said.

Late on Wednesday, the SES issued flood evacuation warnings for dozens of communities, covering 15,000 homes in NSW’s north-east.

Minns said any evacuation orders would be issued during daylight hours.

NSW SES acting Chief Superintendent Stuart Fisher said Alfred’s late arrival meant those in the firing line had an extra day to prepare but warned it would be short-lived.

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“Today is the final day we believe for you to prepare your homes, and if you cannot prepare the homes, or you feel unsafe to leave, you need to leave by tomorrow,” he said.

“It is not like 2022 where we had a single event … we’ll have the very strong, dangerous and destructive winds over the next 24 to 48 hours, followed by the torrential rain,” Fisher said.

Minns said $1 million announced this morning by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was just the beginning of financial support for impacted communities.

“This is just the beginning. We know the scale of potential impact as a result of these natural disasters … so the message is to prepare for the worst and hope for the best,” he said.

“We don’t want to see councils left out of pocket because they’ve done the right thing, acted early, put precautions in place, and we want to incentivise the kind of preparedness that we’ve seen right across the Northern Rivers … that’s why we’re here and have deployed resources.”