Gold Coast beaches are already experiencing the brunt of the winds, and the enormous swell has already caused extensive erosion along the coastline.
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00:00Now that Cyclone Alfred has slowed down and is due to hit hours, even days later than
00:06first predicted, locals here in Southport on the Gold Coast, which is towards the northern
00:12end, have made their way to the beach here and they are shocked at what they're seeing.
00:17The wind is incredibly strong and there's no rain at the moment, but they say the difference
00:23at this beach is extraordinary compared to what they're used to.
00:27Locals have said that usually you'll be able to see around 80 metres of beach out there.
00:33Well, as you can see, this is low tide.
00:36It's not expected to be high tide for hours yet and the water has already been crashing
00:41into the sand dunes.
00:43There is an extraordinary amount of erosion hours before the cyclone is due to hit.
00:49Locals say that's really disturbing.
00:51They're not sure what will be left of the beach by the time the cyclone's passed, but
00:55the Acting Mayor has already said there's just no point in doing anything about that
00:59until the cyclone's passed.
01:02Locals here say they're anxious, but they feel quite prepared as the cyclone heads their way.
01:08Take a listen to what a few of them had to say a bit earlier.
01:11There's heaps, there's big as waves and there's like big as winds blowing the sand through our eyes.
01:19Yeah, it's quite sad to see all the sand washing away as it is already and we're not even,
01:24you know, in the eye of the storm yet.
01:26It's hectic.
01:27I reckon the erosion, there's going to be no beach left by the end of it.
01:30It's just crazy.
01:31Never seen anything like it before.
01:33It's rough, it looks angry, yeah, it's another level.
01:39I've lived on the Gold Coast my whole life.
01:40I was born here in Southport, 33, and yeah, never experienced anything like it.
01:46Now this beach is just down from the Southport Spit, which is a few hundred metres in that
01:51direction, but we can't have any access to it at the moment because that has been flooded out.
01:57It is the beginning of what's expected to be an enormous flooding event here on the
02:02Gold Coast.
02:03Up to 800 millimetres of rain expected over coming days and of course this wind.
02:08It's incredibly strong at the moment and it's only going to get worse.