The Queensland Government has said its focus is “squarely on recovery” following ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
Power has been restored to hundreds of thousands of homes, schools have begun reopening, and recovery hubs have been set up as residents return home.
On Tuesday, Qld Premier David Crisafulli said: “Rainfall is easing, rivers are receding, and the threat of heavy rainfall is disappearing.”
Flood warnings remain in place for parts of the state.
Ex-Cyclone
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) downgraded Tropical Cyclone Alfred on Saturday, after it made landfall on outer Qld islands as a Category 1 system.
While the BOM says “widespread heavy rain” across Qld and NSW has eased to showers and isolated thunderstorms, flood warnings remain in place, and strong winds continue to pose a risk.
The BOM said it forecasts “calmer and drier” conditions later this week.
Blackouts
During the ex-cyclone’s peak destructive period, more than 450,000 properties lost power.
As of Tuesday morning, most have had power restored, while around 120,000 homes and businesses are still without electricity.
Qld’s state-owned energy company Energex said “it’s all systems go” to restore power.
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Closures
Hundreds of Queensland schools have reopened, while around 150 are still closed.
Some public transport services, including trains, buses, and light rail, have also resumed.
Crisafulli said most public transport is now operational, though services will remain limited.
Financial aid
Federal and state governments have agreed to provide emergency relief payments to impacted residents.
On Tuesday, Crisafulli announced the opening of six cyclone recovery hubs.
“This is not meant to be a one day effort or a one week effort. Recovery takes time but if you are focused and you have people at the heart of what you do, communities bounce back from disaster,” Crisafulli said.
NSW
In NSW, 120 weather warnings remain in place for northern parts of the state.
Premier Chris Minns said on Tuesday that while “the immediate threat to the community has been reduced,” residents in flood-prone areas must not remain complacent.
“We want to make sure… we are in a position to say that there’s been no further loss of life, no unintended terrible accidents, as we head into the final hours of this emergency,” Minns said.
