Sydney, Mar 5 (UNI) Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Wednesday the government was delivering 250,000 sandbags to the state of Queensland from the national supply while the Australian Defence Force has been put on standby as severe tropical cyclone Alfred approaches.
A range of measures were being taken including pre-positioning heavy lift helicopters from the National Aerial Firefighting Fleet, and activating the Australian Government Disaster Response Plan, Albanese told reporters.
Cyclone Alfred is expected to make landfall between Queensland's Brisbane and the Gold Coast on Thursday night, bringing extensive flooding, powerful winds, and hazardous ocean conditions, as well as heavy to intense rainfall across southeast Queensland from Thursday through Saturday, according to the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM).