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.

A rare tropical cyclone veered towards Australia's densely populated eastern coast on Wednesday, sparking emergency warnings, closing hundreds of schools, and threatening to flood thousands of homes.

Alfred is forecast to make landfall near Brisbane, the capital of Queensland and Australia’s third largest city.

Tropical Cyclone Alfred is expected to make landfall in Brisbane on late Friday or early Saturday, causing several ships from Carnival, Royal Caribbean and others to stay far from the area until the storm passes.

Tropical cyclone Alfred is a reminder that powerful storms have the power to show up in some surprising places.

Katie Bunton shared a video of the scene of "apocalypse" at a supermarket in Australia as Tropical Cyclone Alfred approaches the country's east coast.

The tropical storm, named Alfred, is on track to bring dangerous winds and flooding along the coast of southeastern Queensland, including the country’s third-largest city.