Tropical Cyclone Alfred live updates: Fears for Brisbane CBD, northern NSW

Authorities have offered frightening new details on what can be expected from Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

Residents in Cyclone Alfred’s danger zone have been warned they only have hours to escape, while there are fears an entire coastal city in northern NSW will be inundated with water.

But the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has noted a major change in Alfred – it appears to have slowed down. It’s now travelling westwards at 10km/h.

It had been expected to make landfall potentially as early as late Thursday. However, it is now forecast to cross the Queensland coast in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Currently at category 2, early on Thursday afternoon it was 245 kilometres east of Brisbane. There are concerns it could reach category 3.

The BOM has said its far western edge is already causing “significant impacts across the coast from about Coolangatta to Ballina in NSW.

Evacuation centres are opening in Thursday, while schools in the impact zone are closed and public transport has been cancelled. Grocery stores in affected parts of Queensland will also close from Thursday.

A warning sign in front of a flooded road can be seen on the outskirts of the coastal town of Ballina, NSW. Picture: David Gray/AFP

Hair customer Georgie Buckton looks on as hair salon worker Mikayla Gushal and salon owner Susanne Nicholson tape and protect windows at Thorneside, Brisbane. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen/Courier Mail

Members of Eastern Suburbs Soccer Club fill sandbags at Heath Park in Brisbane, Australia. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty Images

Read on for more updates.

Originally published as Tropical Cyclone Alfred live updates: Fears for Brisbane CBD, northern NSW