Around 2,000 Olympic swimming pools worth of sand is estimated to be gone – 80% of Gold Coast’s beaches, according to city mayor Tom Tate. Much of it was gone before Cyclone Alfred even hit, giving the coast a double blow by making it more vulnerable to erosive storm surges when it finally did make land.

Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred has eroded a significant stretch of Gold Coast beaches, leaving escarpments of roughly two meters while sparking calls for major repair efforts.