Cyclone Alfred threatens rare Brisbane landfall

By Scott Vincent

March 5 - (The Insurer) - Cyclone Alfred continued to track towards the South Queensland coast on Wednesday ahead of its expected landfall near Brisbane on Friday.

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology has warned of potential for destructive wind gusts of more than 130 km/hour on Thursday and Friday as the storm approaches.

Total rainfall from the event could be as much as 800 mm (31.5 inches) in some regions, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

This is more than the typical March average, with the potential for life-threatening flash flooding.

Cyclone landfalls are rare as far south as Brisbane. The last storm to cause notable impacts on the city was Cyclone Zoe in March 1974.

The Australian government introduced a cyclone reinsurance pool in 2022, backed by an A$10 billion ($6.7 billion) annually reinstated Commonwealth guarantee and covers household, strata and small business property insurance policies.

The pool is operated by the Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation (ARPC), and last month reported that it now covers more than 3.1 million buildings against financial loss from cyclones with an aggregate building exposure of just under A$2.17 trillion ($1.37 trillion).