Terri Irwin has given followers an update on the state of Australia Zoo as the south east coast of Queensland waits for Cyclone Alfred to make landfall.
The Wildlife Warrior, 60, shared a bird’s eye view of the 700-acre zoo, located on the Sunshine Coast, to Instagram on Friday.
She announced the sanctuary would stay closed during the impending storm, revealing several staff members were ‘sheltering’ with the animals to keep them safe.
‘For the next couple of days, @australiazoo will be closed while we wait for cyclone Alfred to pass through,’ she said.
‘When our skies are blue again, we’ll be ready to welcome you back.
‘Our animals are safe, and there are a few of us sheltering here with them to make sure they stay snug and comfy.’
Terri Irwin, 60, has given followers an update on the state of Australia Zoo as the south east coast of Queensland waits for Cyclone Alfred to make landfall
She continued: ‘A special thank you to our doctors and nurses caring for wildlife that need help at our Hospital.
‘Open around the clock since 2004, our Wildlife Hospital treats animals in need until they can be released back to the wild.’
Terri finished her message with: ‘Stay safe everyone. We’ll take care of the critters!’
It comes as Cyclone Alfred has been downgraded to a tropical low, with 55km/h winds near the centre, and gusts of up to 85km/h.
As of 6am, the ex-tropical cyclone was 65km north of Brisbane and 40km south of Maroochydore.
It is expected to cross the mainland this morning, with winds weakening as it moves inland.
Authorities are warning heavy rainfall is still likely to continue over southeast Queensland and northern NSW during the weekend.
Authorities are warning residents to brace for devastating floods despite Cyclone Alfred being downgraded to a tropical low.
The Wildlife Warrior shared a bird’s eye view of the 700-acre zoo, located on the Sunshine Coast, to Instagram on Friday
She announced the sanctuary would stay closed during the impending storm, revealing several staff members were ‘sheltering’ with the animals to keep them safe
The Bureau of Meteorology says the category rating system only relates to wind speeds, and has nothing to do with the amount of rain that will be dumped across the impact zone in the coming days.
‘In this case, Alfred is going to bring a lot of rain, whether it is a tropical cyclone or whether it is a tropical low,’ the Bureau’s Angus Hines tells the ABC.
‘Tomorrow, it will be inland areas which start seeing severe falls and so the hinterland, the Scenic Rim, parts of Darling Downs and Queensland, and then parts of the Northern Tablelands.’
He also predicts regions south of the eye of the storm will be hardest hit by the storm and its torrential downpours.
His warning comes amid fears the Wilsons River will break its levee in South Lismore in the next couple of hours amid widespread flooding throughout northern NSW.
Lismore Mayor Steve Krieg says it is distressing news for a community still trying to rebuild in the wake of the devastating 2022 floods.
‘If our levee overtops especially, our town’s in a lot of trouble—just emotionally, financially, people are really struggling before this cyclone,’ he says.
