Bottled water stripped from supermarket shelves, panic buying spotted in some Qld stores as threat of Tropical Cyclone Alfred looms

Supermarket shelves across South East Queensland are being stripped bare amid fresh forecasts Tropical Cyclone Alfred will cross the coast later in the week – bringing intense rainfall and winds in its wake. Footage captured by 10 News First reveals bottled water has been stripped off the shelves in a Woolworths store in Ashgrove, a suburb of Brisbane. Other shelves are similarly shown being empty. Some social media posts have warned of eggs, milk and bread already being in low supply, as shoppers raid the shelves in preparation for possible supply outages ahead of the category 1 system intensifying off the coast. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), 6 News Australia chief reporter Roman Mackinnon posted a photo of another Woolworths aisle being stripped of bottled water. “Panic buying has started in SEQ, this water aisle was full 24 hrs ago,” he wrote on the site. But others on social media have mocked the sudden surge in panic buying, with users joking “liquor store sales are up by 4000 per cent!” The post continued: “When you live in a country like Australia … you learn how to be prepared for anything!!” Millions of people in Queensland and NSW are being warned to prepare for Tropical Cyclone Alfred’s crossing, forecast to occur on Thursday. The system is situated 465km northeast of Brisbane and 410km east northeast of Maroochydore – in the Sunshine Coast region – and is moving southeast at 20km/h. The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast Alfred will continue moving towards the southeast through the day, slightly away from the Queensland coast. It is then forecast to slow down and turn westward back towards the coast on Tuesday. “Alfred is currently a category 1 cyclone but is expected to intensify to a category 2 cyclone tonight (Monday),” the bureau’s latest warning states. “It is likely to maintain a category 2 intensity as it approaches the South East Queensland coast late on Thursday.” The unusual weather system has prompted multiple warnings for the east coast, with Queensland Premier David Crisafulli urging people to be prepared. Speaking on Sky News Australia about the crossing, Mr Crisafulli said: “It is something that rarely happens, but it’s not unprecedented. “What we want from Queenslanders is to just be ready, so we’re doing our bit, we’re preparing to make sure, and we’re getting this messaging out early; we just want Queenslanders to do the same.” “We are a resilient state; we handle disasters well, and we just want people to be ready and absorb the messaging.” Severe coastal hazards, including abnormally high tides and hazardous surf, are expected to continue over the southern Queensland and northeastern NSW coasts. Gales with damaging wind gusts of up to 120km/h are expected to develop along the South East Queensland and northeastern NSW coastal and island communities between Tewantin and Grafton during Wednesday. These gales may extend north to Sandy Cape – on the most northern point of K’gari (Fraser Island) in Queensland – from late Wednesday onwards. Heavy rainfall is forecast for both states from Wednesday as Alfred approaches the coast.