Australian authorities have ordered thousands of residents of eastern regions to evacuate before Tropical Cyclone "Alfred" makes landfall on Monday, Reuters reported, BTA reports.
The storm has already brought torrential rain, powerful waves and hurricane-force winds that have caused power outages, flooded beaches and led to the temporary closure of airports.
Because of "Alfred"'s slow movement towards the Australian coast, meteorologists warn that it could hit land as a category two storm north of Brisbane – the country's third-largest city and the capital of Queensland.
Overnight, coastal areas of Queensland and New South Wales were battered by winds of more than 100 km/h. According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, the storm is currently about 120 km from Brisbane and 85 km from the tourist city of Gold Coast, moving slowly west.
The storm has left more than 80,000 households in both states without power, energy companies said. In northern New South Wales, more than 400 mm of rain has fallen in the past 48 hours - an amount that exceeds the average monthly norm for March. Local residents continue to fight flooding, trying to save their property.