With Tropical Cyclone Alfred expected to make landfall in southeast Queensland on Friday, there’s a proverbial battening down of the hatches taking place across the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and down into northern New South Wales.
On the Gold Coast, GCCEC has confirmed it will close this afternoon at 5pm, with one event at the convention centre ending early yesterday while another one, due to begin on March 8th, has been cancelled.
Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary has confirmed it is closed from Wednesday to Saturday, while the Gold Coast Airport is shutting from 4pm today. In Northern NSW, Ballina’s airport has cancelled all flights on Thursday and Friday.
Warner Bros. Movie World, Sea World, Wet’n’Wild, Paradise Country, Australian Outback Spectacular and Dreamworld on the Gold Coast are all closing from Wednesday to Friday. Top Golf will also close while the Sea World Resort will remain open.
The Star Gold Coast has confirmed it will close down everything that it operates within its precinct, except for The Star Grand Hotel, from midnight tonight. The Star Grand is to stay open for existing reservations only. In Brisbane, at Queen’s Wharf, The Star closed its Sky Deck at midday today and will shut down its Event Centre, casino, several restaurants and its carpark from midnight.
Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre (BCEC) has confirmed it will close on Thursday and Friday.
“In the lead-up to this significant weather event, our team has worked closely with all clients holding events over the affected period and we’re pleased to have successfully rescheduled or postponed every impacted event, ensuring the best possible outcome for everyone involved,” the convention centre said in a statement provided to micenet.
Other closures in Brisbane include the Story Bridge Adventure Climb from today, hoping to reopen on Saturday, and Howard Smith Wharves on Thursday and Friday. The Princess Theatre and Tivoli have both cancelled shows scheduled for Friday night. The opening round AFL match slated for The Gabba on Thursday night has been postponed.
Brisbane Airport is operating as normal at this stage, as is Sunshine Coast Airport.
On the Sunshine Coast, the Mooloolaba Triathlon, scheduled to be held this weekend, has been cancelled.
The Events Centre Caloundra has also advised that it will be closed on Thursday and Friday, with one show cancelled.
The latest update from the Bureau of Meteorology predicts the cyclone will most likely make landfall between Maroochydore and Coolangatta. It is currently a category 2 cyclone.
This story was edited on March 6 at 7:52am to reflect the later time TC Alfred is expected to make landfall.
