The outer bands of Tropical Cyclone Alfred are lashing Australia’s east coast with wind and rain as the rare southerly storm’s eye inches closer to landfall expected on Saturday morning.

Australia ordered thousands of people in its eastern regions to evacuate before Tropical Cyclone Alfred hits land on Saturday, as the storm brought heavy rain, huge waves and strong winds that cut off power,

Significant damage and power outages are possible in the densely populated region of Queensland, where tropical cyclones impacts are not uncommon but direct landfalls are.