Sandbag ‘contamination’ caution as ex lover-Cyclone Alfred clean-up starts

As ex lover-Cyclone Alfred come close to Australia’s eastern shore, greater than 1.5 million sandbags were dispersed throughout Queensland and NSW. Now the system has actually passed, one council has actually provided a caution not to merely clear them right into the atmosphere.

With disintegration an obvious concern on 500km of shoreline from the Sunshine Coast to Coffs Harbour, some residents assumed clearing sand onto coastlines would certainly assist. But Byron Shire Council has actually recommended doing so might be extremely harmful.

Related: Ex-Cyclone Alfred reveals 2 shipwrecks over 100 years of ages in Australia

Why is unloading sandbags on the coastline a trouble?

Its biodiversity police officer Chloe Dowsett claimed council has actually obtained numerous questions concerning what to do with the sand, and unloading it on the coastline is not the response. Instead, it’s asked locals to hang onto them for 2 weeks in situation there is one more severe climate occasion, and up until a disposal strategy is settled.

“Sand can be dirty and contaminated from flood or stormwater with weeds, pests and even chemicals posing an environmental risk for marine life and the birds and insects that live in the dunes and on our beaches,” she claimed.

“While it’s likely most sand for bags has come from quarries and is clean, we don’t know for sure so the best thing to do is to not inadvertently contaminate our already depleted beaches.”

Downgraded climate system leaves thousands without power

As the system came close to the shoreline on Saturday early morning, it was devalued from a cyclone to an exotic reduced.

But the tornado has actually been extremely harmful in southeast Queensland and north NSW. On Monday, 238,000 homes and services lacked power and emergency situation flooding notifies had actually been provided.

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