A woman has drowned in rough surf off the NSW coast as ex-tropical Cyclone Seth drives hazardous surf conditions and forces beaches to shut.
A woman has drowned in rough surf at a beach on the NSW Mid North Coast as ex-tropical Cyclone Seth drove hazardous surf conditions and forced beaches to close along Australia’s east coast.
The weather system has not made landfall but has caused treacherous waves and is set to bring days of storms and dangerous winds along the east coast.
Lifeguards and emergency services responded to calls at Park Beach at Coffs Harbour, where the 47-year-old had been on holiday with her family, just before 1pm on Monday.
Surf Life Saving volunteers found the swimmer after she had been swept away in “very severe water conditions” and gave her CPR until emergency crews arrived.
“Unfortunately, even with all the resources down here at the beach, the 47-year-old has passed away, she was unable to be revived,” NSW Ambulance Inspector Joel Casey said.
Inspector Casey warned people to stay safe, only go to patrolled beaches, and not to head out into the water alone.
Most beaches in the region were closed on Monday due to a severe weather warning in place for damaging surf, as huge seas and abnormally high tides battered coastal areas in the Northern Rivers and Mid North Coast, as well as much of Queensland.
The system formed off the coast of Mackay on Friday as a category 2 before moving south.
Despite the cyclone being downgraded to a Category 1 system on Saturday and then to a subtropical low by Monday, in the Sunshine State all of the Gold Coast’s more than 40 beaches were closed due to dangerous swells.
“All Gold Coast and Stradbroke Island beaches, some Sunshine Coast & Wide Bay Capricorn Beaches are closed due to dangerous surf,” Surf Life Saving Queensland posted on Twitter.
“Please follow lifesavers and lifeguards’ advice by not swimming at a closed beach.”
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) warned dangerous surf and abnormally high tides would continue in the southeast for the next few days.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll urged swimmers and surfers to follow the advice of lifesavers and avoid venturing into rough seas generated by the system.
“Now is the time not to go into the surf. Beaches are closed. Please do not put your life at risk, or the lives of lifesavers having to go and get you out of the waters,” Ms Palaszczuk told reporters.
Comm Carroll said she’d witnessed concerning behaviour at Gold Coast beaches over the weekend.
“The system is generating increasing seas and swells, which will coincide with an astronomical peak high tides over the coming days. It is a severe weather system and there are abnormally high tides and dangerous surf,” she said.
“I spent the last two to three days down on the Gold Coast and the beaches were all closed but the amount of people still in the water was extraordinary.
“Surf lifesavers were constantly driving up and down the beaches telling people to get out and immediately the second they drove past, people were back in the water.”
Tides could exceed the highest astronomical tide of the year by more than 0.5 metres in several areas today, including northern NSW, where water has inundated sand dunes and dumped debris along the shores.
“Along with the heavy seas and dangerous conditions, we’re going to also see some very strong tides, large tides and erosion along our coastline,” Surf Life Saving NSW state duty officer Jimmy Keough said.
“We’re asking people to stay well away from the coastal areas, because we are going to see deteriorating conditions going forward into the week.
“If you are attending the beach, be mindful of where you are, what you’re doing, and follow any directions given by lifeguards or lifesavers.”
Originally published as Woman, 47, drowns in NSW as ex-tropical Cyclone Seth forces Qld beaches to shut
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