Thousands of residents in eastern Australia were ordered to evacuate as Tropical Cyclone Alfred's heavy rains and powerful winds blast two states ahead of it's expected landfall near Brisbane, the country's third-largest city.

Millions of residents along Australia’s eastern coast are bracing for the arrival of a very slow-moving storm, the strongest tropical cyclone to threaten the region in more than 50 years. Tropical Cyclone Alfred is expected to make landfall late Friday or early Saturday with the strength of an Atlantic tropical storm.

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