Brisbane [Australia], March 6 : People along Australia's eastern coast are preparing for the arrival of a slow-moving storm, which marks the most southerly tropical cyclone to threaten the area in over 50 years.
According to Brisbane Times, the track map released by the Bureau of Meteorology shows the cyclone's landing time further delayed until 7am (local time) on Saturday. Cyclone Alfred has dropped in speed to 6 kilometres per hour, and has remained the same distance from land since 5pm.
The storm is predicted to have the strength of a category 1 Atlantic hurricane as it moves westward toward Brisbane, a city of 2.5 million residents, and surrounding coastal suburbs.
Reports by CNN claim that Alfred is threatening a region where cyclones are not usually experienced as they typically form much further north, over warmer waters in the tropics. The delay in the storm's arrival has given officials more time to issue warnings. According to Australia's Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), as of Thursday, Cyclone Alfred was around 245 kilometres (152 miles) off the coast, moving west with damaging winds of around 100 kilometres per hour.
Schools, public transport, major roads and airports are closed with elective surgeries also put on hold, but emergency departments remain open, Brisbane Times reported.
Reports suggest that the cyclone has already whipped up hazardous waves along the coast, including one measuring a record 12.3 meters on the Gold Coast, a popular tourist strip south of Brisbane. In northern New South Wales (NSW), around 4,000 homes were without power on Thursday due to downed power lines. Heavy rain was reported in some areas, and riverine flooding was already threatening low-lying communities.
Authorities have warned millions of residents in the storm's path to prepare for destructive wind gusts, flash flooding and storm surges that may combine with high tides. Flood watches have been issued across the coast, where rainfall of 200 to 400 millimetres is expected, and isolated totals nearing 500 millimetres are possible.
"There are waves, there is wind, there is rainfall, and there will be flooding, but none of those challenges are insurmountable, and I have every faith in the work that has been done to date," Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said, warning on late Thursday of the four key challenges.
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