Tropical Cyclone Alfred was 285 kilometres (180 miles) east of busy Brisbane city after unexpectedly slowing above the Coral Sea overnight, government forecasts said.
“We’re already seeing gales developing on the coastal fringe,“ Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Sarah Scully told AFP.
A 12.4-metre (40-foot) wave was recorded on the Gold Coast south of Brisbane, Scully said, the largest swell ever picked up by that monitoring station.
While this gave coastal hamlets more time to stack sandbags and stockpile food, Scully warned it also left them exposed to wild weather on the storm's outer edges.
Some towns had already seen “well over” 200 millimetres (8 inches) of rain, Scully said.
It would be the first cyclone to make landfall in the area for more than 50 years.
“It’s rare for a cyclone to be this far south and to threaten such a huge population area.”
American rap star Ice Cube was caught in the storm ahead of concert dates in southern cities Sydney and Melbourne.
“I’m right here on the beach. The beach looks like it is going to be in the lobby in a minute.”
More than 900 schools across Queensland and the flood-prone northern rivers region of New South Wales were closed on Thursday morning, education department officials said.
Tropical Cyclone Alfred would be the first to make landfall in that part of Australia since 1974, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
Researchers have repeatedly warned that climate change amplifies the risk of natural disasters such as bushfires, floods and cyclones.
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