The Australian Prime Minister has issued a warning that the worst effects of a severe weather event are yet to come, following the impact of Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred along the country’s east coast. As a tropical low, the weather system is causing heavy rain, strong winds and flooding in parts of Queensland and New South Wales, with further downpours expected in the coming hours and days.

The Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, advised the public to remain vigilant and take necessary precautions, as the weather is expected to intensify and continue causing strong winds, heavy rain, flooding, and dangerous conditions over the weekend and beyond.

Rescue operations have been in progress, with the news of a 61-year-old man still missing after being swept away by a river near Dorrigo, New South Wales.

An estimated 19,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying homes and over 330,000 homes and businesses have lost power, which is the largest power outage ever recorded in the region due to a natural disaster. The Mayor of Byron Shire in New South Wales stated that the region “dodged a bullet” but remains in a tense situation.

The Bureau of Meteorology has warned of heavy rainfall, with areas potentially seeing up to 200-300mm in the next 24 hours and isolated wind gusts of up to 90kph (55mph). A severe weather warning is in effect for “heavy to locally intense rainfall” and “damaging winds” across parts of Queensland and New South Wales.

The Bureau also stated that a gradual easing of intense rainfall is expected by Monday night, depending on the movement of the system across the country.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/cyclone-alfred-worst-is-yet-to-come-warns-australian-pm-as-heavy-rain-and-flooding-batters-east-coast-13323931