Chris Hemsworth and Karl Stefanovic among the A-listers preparing their multimillion-dollar properties for the worst weather in 70 years as Tropical Cyclone Alfred bears down

As Tropical Cyclone Alfred tracks towards Australia’s east coast on Wednesday, some of Australia’s biggest celebrities are bracing themselves for the worst.

Hollywood star Chris Hemsworth and Channel Nine’s Karl Stefanovic both have multimillion-dollar properties at risk.

Former tennis champ Pat Rafter also has an A-list property in the path of the cyclone, as well as US Ambassador Kevin Rudd and his wife Therese Rein.

The worst of the weather is expected to hit the South East Coast of Queensland, which takes in the Gold Coast, home to some of Australia’s most sought after beachside real estate.

And now it appears that the region around Byron Bay in far north NSW, the stamping ground of Chris Hemsworth and his wife Elsa Pataky, is now under the threat.

The couple own a mega-mansion worth $50million, near Seven Mile Beach, which is 111 km south of the Gold Coast.

They originally purchased a house there in 2014 for $7milliion and proceeded to tear down the existing eight-bedroom home to begin construction, in 2017, on their sprawling property.

Taking two years to complete, the home features six bedrooms, a spa, games and media rooms as well as sprawling outdoor living areas.

The couple reside in the property with daughter India, 12, and twins Sasha and Tristan, 10.

Also in Byron Bay is 52-year-old former tennis champ Pat Rafter, who lives with his family on a 28 hectare spread at Broken Head which he bought for $1.35million in 2016.

He later built a home – complete with tennis court and clubhouse- on the property for an estimated $1.5million. 

Further north Karl and Jasmine Stefanovic have their Noosa property to protect.

The Today show host, 50, and his designer wife, 40, are currently renting out their five-bedroom, five-bathroom holiday house for $1,000 a night.  

Dubbed Villa Isabelle, the amazing spread, which they bought in 2020 for a reported $3.6million sits on a cliff overlooking the popular shoreline in southeast Queensland.

Spread over three levels the home boasts outdoor entertaining decks, a BBQ area, private balconies and an undercover garage. 

Meanwhile, Rudd, Ambassador to the US, and his wife Therese Rein own a $17million beachfront mansion in Noosa that was once owned by Pat Rafter, which they snapped up in 2022.

The seven-bedroom home on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast is in the path of the cyclone.

The house boasts panoramic views of the ocean and also comes with a 12 metre pool, a cinema room, five bathrooms, a study and climate controlled wine cellar. 

Rafter had first bought the home, which sits on a 1,285-square-metre block, in 2006 for $9.6million. 

The former tennis world No.1 and his wife Lara Feltham put the home on the market in August 2016 – where it remained for 580 days. 

Mr Rudd grew up on the Sunshine Coast and was Prime Minister from 2007-2010 and briefly in 2013. 

Rafter meanwhile snapped up an investment home at Tweed Heads West, NSW, in 2020 for $540,000. 

The house includes an open-plan living area to entertain guests, with gaping windows giving the space an abundance of natural light. 

It is located just minutes away from the stunning beaches of Kirra, Coolangatta, Rainbow Bay and Duranbah, with a family park located just down the street. 

The property, which is being rented out, faces being battered in the storms. 

Justin Hemmes splashed out a record-breaking $17million for a beachfront Byron Bay pad in 2023. 

The Sydney pub baron bought the two-bedroom property at Byron Bay’s Belongil Beach in an off-market sale, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

It was previously owned by Stephen Hains, the son of billionaire businessman and horse breeder David Hains.

MasterChef Australia star Shannon Bennett lives in a sprawling $2million six-bedroom mansion which enjoys direct access to picturesque Belongil Beach. 

Shannon’s home is a modern, architecturally designed oceanfront compound that enjoys direct access to picturesque Belongil Beach.

According to Urban, Shannon bought the land – a five lot 4,588 square metre block – from entertainment industry entrepreneur John Cornell in 2020 for $2million.

Tropical Cyclone Alfred is tracking west towards Australia’s east coast.

The category two system is headed towards southeast Queensland’s coast and is expected to make landfall either late Thursday or early Friday morning, most likely between the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast.

A warning zone stretching 650km has been issued from Double Island Point in Queensland to Grafton in northern NSW. The zone includes Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Byron Bay and Ballina, but doesn’t include Grafton.

‘People between Double Island Point and Grafton should immediately commence or continue preparations, especially securing boats and property,’ the Bureau said. 

Gold Coast Acting Mayor Donna Gates says modelling now predicts the cyclone’s stormfront could reach almost 150km inland, stretching as far west as Toowoomba and called it the ‘most significant’ event in 70 years.