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.

Eighty per cent of the tourist strip's famous beaches have been carved away by Tropical Cyclone Alfred but the mayor says they will be back to their best for the Easter holidays.