Tropical Cyclone Alfred has turned west and is heading towards Australia’s east coast as residents in NSW’s Northern Rivers region prepare for the “great unknown” of another natural disaster. Alfred is expected to make landfall as a category 2 storm near Brisbane late on Thursday or early Friday,

Cyclone Alfred has intensified to Category 2 as it barrels towards Australia’s southeastern coast, prompting evacuation orders and a state of emergency. The storm is expected to make landfall on Thursday or Friday between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast and could be one of the most destructive in the region in decades,

Alfred's intensity may fluctuate in the coming days, but it is expected to make landfall at category 2 strength late Thursday or early Friday morning. It will be the first time the south-east has been in the direct firing line of a tropical cyclone in several decades.

The cyclone was upgraded to a category two system overnight and is expected to turn west “directly” towards the coast of Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast later on Tuesday, with it about 560km east of the capital as of that morning.

Tropical Cyclone Alfred is expected to hit Australia’s east coast later this week. Here's where it is likely to strike.

More than 4 million people are in the firing line of Tropical Cyclone Alfred as it tracks towards the south-east Queensland and northern NSW coast. About 20,000 homes in Brisbane alone are at risk of storm surge and flooding impacts associated with the system.

Millions of residents along Australia’s east coast are on high alert for the arrival of Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

As tropical Cyclone Alfred is expected to make landfall in Queensland later this week, councils in the state’s southeast have begun to reduce services including ferries and kerbside collection. The cyclone is currently approximately 560 kilometres off the east coast of the state,