Tropical Cyclone Alfred is expected to make landfall on the Queensland coast in the next 72 hours, bringing gale-force winds, intense rain and possible flash-flooding.
Australians living in southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales have been warned to prepare for the worst, with Queenslanders scrambling to buy toilet paper and water from their local supermarket.
Here, Daily Mail Australia shares how you can stay across Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
Where should we be looking?
The cyclone is expected to head towards Brisbane on Tuesday, and re-intensify into a category two system before making landfall between Brisbane and Noosa overnight on Thursday or early on Friday, bringing destructive winds of up to 120km/h, heavy rainfall and hazardous surf conditions.
The best way to keep across the changes is checking maps from the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM).
The organisation publishes tracking maps which show the forecast route for the cyclone and the areas that are due to be hit by damaging winds.
A new map is issued every six hours after the Bureau's cyclone team analyses the output of models from Europe, the US, Japan and Australia.
Tropical Cyclone Alfred is expected to turn towards the Queensland coast today and arrive within the next 72 hours, bringing gale-force winds and intense rainfall
BOM cross-checks models of tropical cyclones from Europe, the US, Japan and Australia to forecast the route
What can we expect?
A cyclone hasn't crossed the southeast Queensland coast in 51 years when Cyclone Wanda caused catastrophic floods in January 1974, before ex-Tropical Cyclone Zoe wreaked more havoc across two states two months later.
The forecasts are changeable, the Bureau says, as there is some uncertainty associated with tropical cyclone prediction.
At the moment, warnings from the Bureau highlight damaging wind gusts up to 120km/h along the southeast Queensland and northeastern New South Wales coastal fringes and island communities between Tewantin and Grafton on Wednesday.
It also expects heavy to locally intense rainfall from Wednesday which may lead to 'dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding' near and south of the cyclone centre on Thursday or early Friday.
Abnormally high tides may cause minor flooding at the coast between Sandy Cape and Yamba until at least Friday.
Northern NSW is likely to experience gale-force winds over the next two days.
Daily totals of between 200mm and 400mm of rain are expected to cause flash-flooding in impacted areas on the east coast.
Flooding in the aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Zelia in February. The system impacted much of northern Australia and cut off roads and left supermarket shelves empty for weeks
Tropical Cyclone Alfred off the east coast of Australia has halted a Lithuanian rower's solo quest to cross the Pacific Ocean. Pictured is HMAS Choules during the rescue mission
What do we know about the expected damage?
Up to four million Queenslanders have been warned that they could be without power for at least three days once Alfred makes landfall.
A Severe Wind Hazard Assessment conducted by government agency Geoscience Australia in 2022 revealed the extent to which a category two cyclone could ravage the densely populated region, including a detailed scenario similar to that facing south-east Queensland.
Such a cyclone, according to the report, could wreak havoc on up to 660,000 homes with the damage ranging from minor to extensive.
A flood watch is on south-east Queensland with a marine wind warning for gale force winds.
The Queensland SES has also issued a three-step plan for those in potential impact zones.
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