Our thoughts with those preparing for Cyclone Alfred. Radioinfo will keep this page updated with details from stations for their staff and communities. Please email [email protected].
ABC Radio Queensland has moved its staff out of the Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast buildings as of today March 5 to work from home where possible or to other accommodation for those required for emergency and radio programming.
ABC Emergency will broadcast regular warnings with more information, including a map here.
ABC stations and frequencies below:
- Brisbane: 612AM,
- Gold Coast: 91.7FM
- Sunshine Coast: 90.3FM, 95.3FM or 1566AM
- Wide Bay: 855AM, 100.1FM, 88.3FM
- NSW North Coast Richmond and Tweed: 94.5 FM
- Murwillumbah: 720 AM
- Grafton: 738 AM
You can also find these stations on the ABC Listen App
ARN have prepared to keep audiences informed and connected during with adjustments to their Queensland schedules below:
In BRISBANE on KIIS973:
- 100% local programming from 3pm today Thursday March 6, with the following line up:
- 5:30AM – 11AM: Robin, Kip & Corey Oates
- 11AM – 4PM: Drew Chapman
- 4PM – 9PM: Zach & Dom
- 9PM – Midnight: Music
- News updates every 30 minutes from 5 AM Friday through at least Saturday night, with Alana Riley (main image) and Jessica Kennedy reporting live from our Milton studios.
- Hourly updates from the Traffic Network, providing the latest on road closures, fallen power lines, and tree damage.
- Comprehensive social coverage
Robin Bailey getting ready to camp out at Milton
Robin, Kip & Corey and the entire KIIS 97.3 team have set up camp at the station’s Milton studios ensuring they remain on-air no matter how quickly conditions escalate. The trio will be broadcasting throughout the weekend. Yesterday, Corey hit the streets to lend a helping hand, filling sandbags for local residents preparing for the storm:
On the Gold Coast on 102.9 Hot Tomato and in Ipswich on River 94.9:
- 24-hour on-air coverage Thursday through Saturday
- Critical content staff have volunteered to sleep at station should access be impacted
- Comprehensive social coverage
On the Sunshine Coast on HOT91.1:
- 24-hour coverage as the cyclone hits Thurs/Fri
- Journalist Bruce is staying onsite overnight should access be impacted
- All announcers covering on socials from their respective locations across a 124km stretch of the region
- With severe flooding expected in the aftermath, the Hot 91.1 team are on standby to continue 24-hour live broadcasting over the weekend
ARN News teams across all locations;
- National news will be replaced by all-local bulletins in impacted markets
- News bulletins delivered at least every half hour from 5am today until overnight Friday (and will be continued across the weekend pending the storm’s movements)
- Extended local bulletins across the weekend
- A mix of journalists onsite (living at the station) and working remote, depending on location of studios
4BC has begun 24-hour coverage for Queensland to provide the latest around-the-clock updates.
Listen Live on the 4BC App, DAB or 882 AM.
Download this podcast here
Switch Brisbane
Community station Switch Brisbane (1197AM and DAB+) have been broadcasting 24 hours live and local all week with announcers Matty, Craig, Steve, Jace and Matt spread across SE QLD in virtual studios. They have regularly updated emergency details on their website (https://switchbrisbane.com.au) and Facebook page with a sandbag update below:
101FM Logan City is keeping their local community fully updated on Cyclone Alfred. Updates from Bureau of Meteorology, Channel 9 News weatherman Gary Youngberry, Logan City Council Mayor Jon Raven, and a great mix of music to help maintain some sense of normality.
Peter Taylor from the station said:
“When it comes to connecting with community in times of crisis and need, you simply CANNOT beat local radio!”
Great Southern Land Media Group owned 92.7 MIX FM and 91.9 SEA FM provided these details for the Sunshine Coast and surrounds:
Sunshine Coast Disaster Hub – https://shorturl.at/EZUVI
Noosa Disaster & Emergency Info – https://www.noosa.qld.gov.au/community/disasters-emergencies
Gympie Disaster Dashboard – https://disaster.gympie.qld.gov.au/
121 schools across the Northern Rivers in NSW from Clarence Valley north of the Queensland border to inland near the Kyogle Shire are closed for the rest of this week and 660 schools in southern Queensland.
Sandbag locations for the Gold Coast courtesy of Sea 90.9.
For Northern NSW with thanks to 2GF.
KIIS 97.3 shared Queensland event cancellations:
The Brisbane emergency dashboard with sandbag locations and regularly updated information is here: https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/community-and-safety/community-safety/disasters-and-emergencies/emergency-dashboard
Stay safe. Keep updated with local radio and be prepared.
In a disaster related conversation at Senate Estimates last week, the Ms Margaret Lopez, the Assistant Secretary of the Department of Communications’ Media Industry and Sustainability Branch told Senators about how additional funding has helped the ABC make some of its transmission facilities more resilient in the face of emergencies such as the current cyclone.
The Broadcasting Resilience Program is providing $20 million over three years to improve the resilience of 98 ABC broadcast sites which are used for emergency broadcasting and which are at greater risk of failure due to natural disasters. This includes emergency power backup batteries and upgraded satellite inputs for ABC AM and FM radio sites across Australia. The BRP is also funding five mobile broadcast assets that can be transported to affected sites at short notice in the event that broadcast transmission fails. This includes during power outages caused by severe weather. The NBAs also serve as a power supply to charge essential devices, and will be housed at five strategic locations across the country. This includes: Bald Hills, Brisbane, which will serve south-eastern Queensland and north-eastern NSW; Gungahlin, Canberra, which will serve the Australian Capital Territory, southern New South Wales and eastern Victoria; Hamersley, Perth, serving Western Australia; Mount Bellenden Ker, northern Queensland, serving northern Queensland and the Northern Territory; and Pimpala, Adelaide, serving South Australia and Western Victoria.
Senator, these sites were chosen based on previous natural disasters and ease of access to the region, as well as the ability to service and store these units between events. As at 31 December 2024, 124 projects have been completed over those 98 sites. These upgrades, when completed, will impact a population of more than 800,000 residents in regional and remote areas across Australia.
As at January 2025, the program has already ensured over 4,500 hours of additional content making it to air. For example, in October 2024 a major storm, with high-speed winds and large hail, damaged critical infrastructure leaving Broken Hill and surrounding communities without power. The BRP upgrade provided an additional 56 total hours of support for the Menindee community and also 60 total hours for Wilcannia.
It is amazing how little broadcasters know of how their signal gets to air.
All Brisbanewide ABC, commercial as well as Switch community station are DAB+ digital transmitted from TXA T-Site Tower 445 Sir Samuel Griffith Drive Mt COOT-THA as well as a repeater for Caboolture on Mt Mee.
ABC Gold Coast DAB+ BAI Communications Site cnr North & Freemans Rds LOWER BEECHMONT
Gold Coast Commercials DAB+ 103m Tower 133 Golf Course Road Mt TAMBORINE
The following are powerful FM transmitters
Gold Coast: 91.7MHz as for DAB+
ABC Sunshine Coast Nambour 90.3 MHz 93 Dulong Road DULONG, Gympie 95.3 MHz Black Mountain
ABC Wide Bay/Bundaberg/Hervey Bay 100.1 MHz MT GOONANEMAN, Miriam Vale 88.3 MHz West wood Range. (Very low Power)
ABC NSW North Coast: 94.5 MHz Mt Nardi
ABC Coffs Coast 92.3 MHz Mt Moonbil West of Coffs Harbour
The following are AM stations. If the water is in contact with the insulator at the bottom of the tower, the transmitter automatically switches off to prevent electronic damage.
• Brisbane: 612 KHz BAI Communications Kluver St BALD HILLS on wetlands which fed the Pine River.
• Sunshine Coast: 1566 kHz 77 Noosa Rd MONKLAND low power
• Wide Bay: 855 kHz Sorrensons Rd Dundowran
• Murwillumbah NSW: 720 KHz 800 Terranova Rd Terranova low power but elevated site
• Grafton NSW: 738 kHz Merton St Lawrence on the banks of Clarence River
The broadcasters need to find out how their signal gets from the studio output to their transmitter(s)
How vulnerable is the connection from flooding or/and electricity blackouts?
For the population and for broadcasters, the internet both fixed and mobile is susceptible from blackouts and in some areas flooding.
StJohn
Switch Brisbane is an AM station with DAB, we have live visual feed monitoring to our site, tower and Broadcast equipment with remote restart capabilities, full fiber to our facilities with backup power and contingencies in place in the event the worst happens. Our announcers, myself included are in different locations around southeast QLD with fiber internet, 4G backup and backup power. Our staff have done some amazing work preparing and adjusting our operations thoughout this event.
Our Web Stream and DAB are able to be patched to a backup feed location and playout system in short notice. definitely prepared if our main systems are impacted, worst case, we loose the AM.
It is great to see a broadcaster who as ensured that they can provide a continuous service during an emergency.
I should congratulate a Perth company which produces a popular codec to produce broadcast quality link between a broadcasters' home and the studio.
I have an EV which shows the DAB+ on the home screen as standard equipment. It will receive AM as well but it doesn't appear to be very sensitive.
It has a shark fin antenna along with the usual demister grid in the back window.
The 2020 European Union requirement for new passenger vehicles must be able to receive terrestrial digital radio is compulsory seems to be rubbing off here. Since the UK and Australia drive on the same side of the road, we tend to get the UK version of Asian cars.