Four million people are in the firing line of Cyclone Alfred. It's expected to hit between the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast - a stretch of Australia known for its beautiful beaches and top surf – as well as Brisbane, Australia's third-biggest city.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), said warnings remained in place for heavy rainfall, locally intense rain fall leading to dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding, a dangerous storm tide, abnormally high tides, damaging surf, damaging wind gusts and destructive wind gusts.

The fringe of a tropical cyclone started whipping eastern Australia on Thursday (Mar 6), bringing drenching rains and record-breaking waves to a heavily populated region rarely hit by typhoons.