A man is missing and thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate from eastern Australia before the arrival of a tropical cyclone that has already brought heavy rains and strong winds.
Nearly 100,000 homes and businesses have lost power, beaches have been eroded and airports shut down as the storm approaches.
Tropical Cyclone Alfred – which will be the first to hit Brisbane and Australia’s east coast in more than 50 years – is expected to make landfall on Saturday.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had been expected to call national elections on Sunday or Monday but has now ruled this out to focus on the response to the cyclone.
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Read more: What we know about Tropical Cyclone Alfred
Coastal regions have been smashed by wind gusts of more than 100kph (62mph) on Friday, despite the storm sitting around 200km (124 miles) offshore, the government’s weather agency said.
Television footage showed surfers riding in the huge seas and people strolling near the beaches, forcing officials to warn residents to stay indoors or prepare to evacuate when asked.
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“This isn’t a time for sightseeing or for seeing what it’s like to experience these conditions firsthand. Please stay safe. Be sensible,” Mr Albanese said.
Five people rescued but one remains missing
In northern New South Wales, heavy rains lashed down with more than 15.8 inches of rainfall in just 48 hours, as residents scrambled to save their homes.
At least five people have been rescued from floodwater as rivers rise in the region, while a man whose SUV was washed off a bridge remains missing.
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Brisbane Airport, which serves Australia’s third-most populous city, shut down operations on Thursday afternoon while public transport in the city has been suspended.
Officials have described Tropical Storm Alfred as a “very rare event” for Brisbane, Queensland’s state capital, with the city last hit by a cyclone more than half a century ago in 1974.
Discussing the delayed election announcement, Mr Albanese said: “I have no intention of doing anything that distracts from what we need to do. And what we need to do is to look after each other at this difficult time.”
A national election must be held by mid-May, but had been expected to happen early so the government could avoid delivering a budget forecast that could show a deficit.
“It is our intention to serve a full term,” Mr Albanese said in a television interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
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Warship rescues rower in peril
Lithuanian rower Aurimas Mockus, 44, was rowing the 7,500 miles from San Diego, California, to Brisbane by himself when he became stranded in treacherous conditions generated by the storm last week.
As he rolled 30 times in his partially enclosed boat – in his own words, “like a cat in a washing machine” – an Australian warship battled 16-metre (52-foot) swells to rescue him on Monday.
A relieved Mr Mockus told reporters in Sydney he thought he was going to die when he activated his emergency beacon on 28 February and waited three days to be rescued.
“I have a lot of problems in my body,” he said. “And then I think if I lost my mind, if I lost my belief, what I can fight for my life (with)?”
