No one is sleeping in Murwillumbah. All we can do now is wait for Tropical Cyclone Alfred, the malevolent beast

Music blares, sirens wail and the wind roars as the flood-weary northern NSW town braces for another anxious night

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In the anxiety of Thursday night as Tropical Cyclone Alfred neared Murwillumbah, a surprising number of people turned up the music and danced. You could hear it coming from houses across the northern New South Wales town. “It helped,” says Connor Hartog. On Friday evening, the wind rose to a hiss and a roar; soon it will be a shriek.

Trees bend down, the ground sodden with rain and the town deserted. Sirens wail in the distance. Electricity and phone reception are going in and out at a time when communication is survival. Water is restricted.

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