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.

Alfred is expected to become the first cyclone to cross the coast near Brisbane since Cyclone Zoe hit Gold Coast in 1974 and brought widespread flooding.

Conditions are intensifying across the south-east Queensland and northern NSW coast, with the Bureau of Meteorology warning Tropical Cyclone Alfred's slow track will bring a "very high risk of significant impacts".