Before and after pictures of Australia’s east coast show the true scale of devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Alfred. What was once a paradise for surfers, with golden, sunlit sands, became a battleground as waves as high as ‘three or four-storey buildings’ slammed into the coastline.

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.

For many people, the most visible impact of Cyclone Alfred was the damage big waves and storm surge did to their local beaches.