A British traveller has labelled Queenslanders “unhinged” due to their wild acts amid threats of Tropical Cyclone Alfred approaching.
The tropical cyclone came to a “near staggering halt” off the coast of Queensland overnight, with landfall now significantly pushed back to the early hours of Saturday morning.
According to experts, the slowing down of the cyclone means bad news as the delays would “allow for continued large and powerful waves to coincide with abnormally high tides” creating the potential for severe beach erosion and mass destruction.
Several regions in Queensland have been told to prepare on the state government’s disaster website. Locals have especially been advised to avoid beaches and surfing due to the cyclone bringing in abnormally high tides.
Many beaches from Sunshine Coast down to the Gold Coast have been closed, but that hasn’t stopped die-hard surfers from taking on the wild waters with their boards.
The act has caught the attention of Raxu, a solo traveller visiting Australia, who took to social media to express her confusion towards Australians’ attitudes towards natural disasters.
“Tell me why there’s a cyclone about to hit the Gold Coast and everyone’s surfing,” she said.
“They’re saying the swells are good, they’re saying the surf is good, they’re saying the waves are good but there’s literally a cyclone coming their way.
“Everyone’s been told to stay in and evacuate, but they don’t seem to take it seriously.
“They’re a little bit unhinged. I wouldn’t be surfing, bro.
“The Australians are confusing me.”
Thousands of Aussies rushed to the comments to explain their “laid-back” attitude with one user poking a joke at the nation’s current housing crisis leaving residents with “nothing to lose”.
“We are concerned but not alarmed. We are resilient. We can’t stop it so we might as well have some fun,” one user commented.
“The swell is good because it’s days before the cyclone, so the waves are big but the cyclone is still 500km away,” another said.
“When you live in a place with so much danger from natural disasters, dangerous animals you tend to think of things a little differently, why waste today when tomorrow may never come?” a third wrote.
