Australia braced for a rare east coast tropical cyclone that is swirling towards Brisbane, its third-most populous city, with authorities urging residents in flood-prone suburbs to evacuate soon.

Weather conditions are expected to deteriorate rapidly on Thursday before the category 2 storm makes landfall on Friday afternoon.

Residents are stacking sandbags to protect low-lying properties ahead of a tropical cyclone that is forecast to become the first in 51 years to hit the Australian east coast near Brisbane, the nation’

Damaging winds, heavy rainfall and life-threatening floods are expected after the storm made a sudden shift toward Queensland.

Millions of residents along Australia’s eastern coast are preparing for the impact of the most southerly cyclone to threaten the region in more than five decades.

Millions of Australians are bracing for a direct hit from a tropical cyclone heading toward the nation’s third-biggest city, with the storm already forcing evacuations and closing ports and schools throughout Queensland.