Millions of residents along Australia’s eastern coast are bracing for the arrival of a very slow-moving storm, the most southerly tropical cyclone to threaten the region in more than 50 years.

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Schools are closed, public transport has stopped and desperate residents are getting around shortages of sandbags by buying sacks of potting mix as a region of eastern Australia is lashed by wind and rain from a rare approaching tropical cyclone.

Cyclone Alfred stalled off Australia's east coast on Thursday (March 6) but its presence could be felt as it brought heavy rain and high winds to northern New South Wales. Greenland: Why is it valuable?

Cyclone Alfred is set to bring damaging winds and heavy rain to Australia's east coast when it makes landfall as a category 2 storm later this week. It's the first cyclone to hit the region in since Cyclone Zoe in 1974.

An "erratic" tropical cyclone lingered off Australia's eastern coast on Thursday, bringing drenching rains and record-breaking waves to a heavily populated region rarely hit by typhoons.

A category two storm heading for the east coast of Australia has forced airports to close and airlines to cancel flights in preparation for up to 80 mph winds.

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’s third-most populous city.