Ice Cube has found himself caught in the chaos of Cyclone Alfred, with the rap icon stranded at his Gold Coast hotel as the storm barrels toward Australia’s southeastern coast.

Cyclone Alfred has struck eastern Australia, leading to school closures and halted public transport. It is expected to reach Queensland’s coast by Saturday, affecting nearly 4 million residents and potentially flooding 20,

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.

Millions of residents along Australia’s eastern coast are preparing for the impact of the most southerly cyclone to threaten the region in more than five decades.

The outer fringe of a tropical cyclone started whipping eastern Australia on Thursday, bringing drenching rains and record-breaking waves to a heavily populated region rarely hit by typhoons.

Alfred is expected to become the first cyclone to cross the coast near Brisbane since Cyclone Zoe hit Gold Coast in 1974 and brought widespread flooding.

Tropical Cyclone Alfred is approaching Australia’s east coast, bringing destructive winds up to 100 mph. Residents are urged to evacuate and prepare for potential flooding and prolonged impacts.

Nationals Senator Matt Canavan discusses Tropical Cyclone Alfred and how the residents of Queensland and northern New South Wales are “anxious” about its arrival.