Cyclone Alfred Hits SouthEast Queensland! Oh DEAR!

Cyclone Alfred Hits SouthEast Queensland!

 

Cyclone Alfred — the first cyclone to hit the southeast coast of Queensland in 50 years has kept Australia on my mind all week. For days and days.
It pains my heart to have a cyclone headed here!

Why is this cyclone so important?  Why Cyclone Alfred?

All cyclones and hurricanes have major impact on people’s lives, no doubt. Hurricane Milton was a recent October 2024 example of a hurricane who deeply impacted many people I know and love. It hit the coast of Florida, a few days before our P4 DID Retreat, and ol’ Milton had a big ol’ horrible  impact on several of our retreat attendees. Our forum community huddled around those folks, waiting and watching, hoping and praying for their safety and well-being.  Our dear friends made it to the retreat safely after all! It was such a relief to see them, of course.

And now, Cyclone Alfred has hit another area very dear to me. I worry about the damage, as we wait to see the unfolding story of what’s happened. Or what will happen, now what has happened as the deeper layers of damage may be revealed slowly over time.

As many of you know, I spent about 10 years in southeast Queensland. It was my true-new-home away from an old home. It was the tropical paradise I came to know and love. The land of the people who took me in, who cared for me, who helped me a long my journey during a very complicated time of life. I was that clunky American who couldn’t even order a cup of coffee right, or walk on the correct side of the footpath, or understand slang conversations in a pub. I didn’t know the names of the birds, or the flowers, or the trees. I was not comfortable with all those snakes!  ooooh my! 

But the Aussies took me in. And the animals, and the birds, and the kelpies, even the goannas and kangaroos, all welcomed me. The beauty of the land and the ocean reached deep into my soul. For years, Queensland in all its grandeur, sheltered me, comforted me, amazed me, inspired me, and taught me things that are hard to explain.

Those years in Queensland absolutely impacted this blog, the stories that were written, the words that were said, the life that it has had. Queensland deeply impacted my spirit, which in turn, impacted this blog, of course.

If you are reading here, you too, now have a link to Queensland!

 

• Most of the Discussing Dissociation YouTube videos were created in QLD.
• You’ve seen many pictures of Queensland in articles here, even if you didn’t realize what you were seeing.
• I haven’t done the math, but I bet at least half of the Discussing Dissociation articles were written in south east Queensland.
• I re-emerged from my burn-out phase, and began taking Phone Consultations due to a business mentorship course that happened in Queensland.
• The Saddest Little Bear was lost and found in SE Queensland.
• Both forums, DDCF and DDEF were started from SE Queensland.
• Maizy came from Queensland! Maizy is a very important little Maizy. I still have her today, and if you don’t know the Maizy stories, I hope you read them.
• Of course, Pinky, and JoeJoe and Pixie — the Australian kelpies — came from south east Queensland. Life hasn’t been the same since they joined in, that’s for sure.

 

South East Queensland forever changed my life, and I will be forever and ever grateful for that.

I have a few million stories to tell about southeast Queensland so it hurts my heart to know this area is being ravaged by a storm bigger than the locals usually had to manage. Surely it will be okay. A category 2 is more than big enough, but if Florida can survive a Category 5 (then 3) Hurricane Milton, then surely Queensland can manage Alfred.  Slow-moving Alfred.

But then again, Florida is prepared for hurricanes, and southeast Queensland is not so prepared. Those who experienced this 50 years ago may or may not be as helpful in 2025. The trees will remember. Many of the trees in this region were there 50 years ago. Lots of the old houses too. Wait. Northern Queensland has plenty of cyclones — they will teach the southerners how to manage.


South east Queensland may survive the intense winds, but the heavy rains. Oh dear, oh dear. The torrential rains and the rains and the rains will create floods, and the flooding is such a big problem for both southern Queensland and northern New South Wales. Anyone from these areas already knew the flooding would be such a huge problem. Maybe the biggest of the problems.

I heard the news about potential landing crossover spots for the eye of Alfred. All too many of those places are near and dear to me. Familiar spots. Favorite spots. Places where I’ve stood, sat, read, written.

 

Caloundra
I know Caloundra — and the rocks there, the coastline, the coffee shops. The coastal edge of rocks and walkways are absolutely gorgeous. The ocean spray that’s created from regular sunny days is awesome, and fun. I cannot even imagine a cyclone-sized waves pouring over those rocks. There’s no spray — just torrents of water rushing in.

 

Brisbane.

Oh man. Hours and hours of driving around Brisbane, year and year, and I still can’t find my way without a map. I can barely do it with a map! My opinion is — Brisbane street makers took a plate of spaghetti, threw it on the ground, and decided that pile of ‘skettie was their city street “grid”. Every other street goes every other way! This direction, that direction, half ways over, not back.

In reality, I know the river and the mountains and the coastal edges and the old cattle trails and the paths walked by elders of the land have had a little more to do with Brisbane streets than spaghetti, but even so, it’s embarrassing for someone who usually has a good sense of direction, that after 10 years, I still can’t easily find my way around that city.

 

The Gold Coast.

Okay, so if you’re a surfer, or a beach-goer, you’ve heard of the Gold Coast. Surfers Paradise is not just the name of a town — that area really is a surfer’s paradise. Big waves, amazing sands, humpback whales, every water sport you can imagine.

At night, there is lots of sparkle and glitter, glitz and glam everywhere — it’s really a gold coast kind of place. 

But wow.

Did you hear this news?

A cyclone brought in waves that measured over 12.3 meters in height! For those of us not familiar with metric system, that’s over 40’ waves!  That’s a wave that is around 3-4 stories high! VERY tall, indeed!

Cyclone Alfred out busted windows from those skyscrapers and tossed away roofs, took away the beach, and now, flooding is a real problem as well.

And on top of all that, the Gold Coast now has 6′ drop off “cliffs” in their beach.  The sand was washed away by the cyclone.  Instead of being able to just walk to the water, there is an enormous drop-off.  Like a cliff on the beach.  Or instead of the beach.  Bizarre, and that’s really kinda scary in itself.  How do those buildings stay there?!

 

North Stradbroke Island

Of course… there’s North Stradbroke Island.

I hold North Stradbroke Island even more dear than these other places. Point Lookout and Amity were towns that I walked in many times.

You will have seen pictures of Straddle here in this blog. The DDCF folks have seen a video I created that most certainly featured many of the Straddle animals. Kangaroos hop right by you there. Little joeys peeking out the pouches of the mommas. Koalas hide in the gum trees, and the seas are full of dolphins and turtles. The ocean water there is usually the most gorgeous shades of blues, teals, turquoise, and aqua. Lake Karboora or Blue Lake is one of the clearest, most prettiest lakes in the entire world, contrasted with the golden tea-colored waters of Brown Lake. Such an interesting island.

Besides… North Stradbroke Island is the island I looked at every single day for years. Straddle sits right across the bay from my little Island House. I look out my front yard, and I see Straddie.

JoeJoe’s favorite swimming spot is in direct view of Straddie. My living room window sees the lights of Dunwich in the evenings. Straddle is the big island that protects the group of little islands behind it. It is the island that so many people in Moreton Bay think of as “the” island. It’s a local treasure, sacred land, and we know it.

And somehow, the island of Straddle provides the drinking water for lots of the other local islands. How amazing is that?!

 

Areas of Flooding

Even after the cyclone, there’s all the flooding.   The flooding is such a problem.  It ruins more houses, more cars, more businesses…. causes more damage.

Ipswich
I worry about Ipswich. Floods are notoriously horrible for Goodna and Ipswich. I used to take the train all the way to Ipswich when I lived near Wivenhoe Dam. Ipswich was the end of the line. Errors in Wivenhoe Dam management created a massive flood in SE QLD back in 2011, right before my arrival into Brisbane. The flood stories go back a long ways around here.

Hervey Bay
Hervey Bay (pronounced Harvey Bay) is near and dear to my heart.  I went there a few times.  Saw the humpback whales up there, and walked with dozens of kangaroos in a cemetery.  Do you know you can even swim with the whales up there?  Hervey Bay is a lovely little town.  I hope the floods flow right back out to the ocean soon! 

Lismore NSW
Lismore gets flooded so many times.  It sits in the beautiful Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, and when you visit there, you see lots of trees, big hills, forested areas.  It doesn’t seem like a flood area at first sight.  But the rivers flow strong, and all those little mountains send all the rains to the lower areas, and ka-bamm!  Lismore gets it.

 

Cyclone Impacts

Of course, the days and days without power, for hundreds of thousands of homes all over the region of Queensland and New South Wales.

The fallen trees, broken limbs, busted gardens and vegetation strewn everywhere.

And the serious sand erosion issues at the coastlines.

The flooding, the flooding, the flooding…  So much loss through flooding.

Closing of schools, businesses, public transportation, road blockages, etc.

And any loss of life, or threats thereof… 

All big painful, complicated problems to manage, as you know.

So you see….

I didn’t want Cyclone Alfred to destroy any of these areas of south east Queensland.

I didn’t want any of the people hurt, or any of the trees broken.

I didn’t want any animals caught in the floods or anything or anyone damaged by the winds.

 

Especially not this week.

This week, March 9th, in the middle of Cyclone Alfred’s landing and full impact, marks the anniversary of when I got on a plane, leaving Brisbane, leaving Queensland to head to Dallas Texas for a short 3-week trip in the USA. March 9 of 2020. We all know about the pandemic that started in March of 2020. I was suddenly overseas and far far away from where I considered my home (Queensland), and then stranded in Texas, with zero airlines flying back to Australia. Yes, Texas had been a home to me, but one I had moved from. I wasn’t planning on returning there.

Yet. Suddenly, unexpectedly, there I was.

This month of March marks when that “Covid-Cylone” totally spun my life in a different direction in 2020. It sent me sailing back to Texas, and left me there for so long that I became deeply rooted back in America again. Covid restrictions just lasted forever, especially with oversea complications. It was nearly impossible to get back to Australia.

I still feel sadness and heartache over that Covid-Cyclone of March 2020. I recognize it as Cyclone Alfred blasts through on the same days of the year in March 2025.

Five years later, I still feel how my heart is connected to Queensland, but my life has been fully replanted and kept extra busy in Texas. And… for once, thankfully, Texas has been kind, and things have flourished there. That’s good. I’ll admit — it took a world pandemic to get me live there again, lol.

 

 

Connection to Land and Country

In Queensland, I learned the importance of the connection to land. And country.

That connection stays strong.


My connection to the lands of Queensland will not ever fade from me.


Be okay, Queensland, as Cyclone Alfred passes through you.

Stand strong, bend with the winds, let the waters flow, and stay determined to be beautiful.


Heal afterwards — you can. Your wounds will fade. Your heart will return. You showed me how to do that.

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~



 

To help the people and communities impacted by Cyclone Alfred, please look up the following resources:

• Australian Red Cross, Brisbane
• Vinnies — St Vincent de Paul Society for QLD
• Wesley Mission Queensland

 

~ ~ ~ ~

 

My journey through Queensland changed my life forever. It gave me hope, healing, health, and happiness.



May your journey also have deep and healing impact for you.

Warmly,

Kathy

 

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