Australia braced for a rare east coast tropical cyclone that is swirling towards Brisbane, its third-most populous city, with authorities urging residents in flood-prone suburbs to evacuate soon.

Millions of residents along Australia’s eastern coast are preparing for the impact of the most southerly cyclone to threaten the region in more than five decades. Tropical Cyclone Alfred, with strength the equivalent of a category 1 Atlantic hurricane,

The tropical cyclone's western edge is already is already having an effect on Australia's east coast. Weather experts are predicting it will cross the coast early on Friday morning with damaging wind gusts, storms, and heavy rainfall expected to impact a large warning zone spanning Queensland and NSW.