The wind has been kicking up along Australia's Gold Coast and so too has the swell. But while authorities have been warning residents to stay indoors as Cyclone Alfred approaches, die-hard surfers have been throwing caution to the increasing wind. "This is what we look forward to," said Jeff Weatherall as he waited for a jet ski to pick him up from Kirra beach and carry him into the big waves. "This is the fifth day straight — I've done nothing but eat, sleep, surf and do it again." Kirra beach is famous for its breakers and this week has been busy as surfers wait for Cyclone Alfred. The cyclone is expected to make landfall as a category two system on Saturday morning. Its path has slowed in recent days and has been moving "erratically" according to weather experts, which is why landfall has been delayed from earlier predictions. "A category two system means winds near the centre up to 95km/h (59mph), with gusts up to 130km/h," says the Bureau of Meteorology's Matthew Collopy. Four million people are in the firing line of Cyclone Alfred. It's expected to hit between the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast - a stretch of Australia known for its beautiful beaches and top surf – as well as Brisbane, Australia's third-biggest city. Jeff Weatherall has been doing little but surf for days at Kirra, which is famous for its breakers The past few days in Kirra have been "crazy", said resident and keen surfer Donnie Neal. "It's pretty serious, there are people that are going to lose their houses, but at the moment, you're taking the good of it all - this is just crazy surf." As well as strong winds, Cyclone Alfred is expected to dump as much as 800mm of rain in the coming days, affecting a large area of southern Queensland and northern New South Wales. Flash and riverine flooding is the biggest concern in low-lying areas. "These are tough times, but Australians are tough people, and we are resilient people," said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday, echoing the Gold Coast's acting Mayor Donna Gates, who has said Cyclone Alfred is a "scary proposition" for the region. On Friday, more than 80,000 people in the two states were without power, and tens of thousands more were under evacuation orders. Nearly 1,000 schools have closed, public transport has been suspended and airports are shut. Flights aren't expected to resume until Sunday at the earliest. Elective surgeries have also been canceled. — BBC
