A slow-moving tropical storm has crossed Australia’s heavily populated eastern coast, lashing the region with damaging winds and heavy rain that’s forecast to fall for days to come. Cyclone Alfred,

Ex-tropical Cyclone Alfred has been downgraded to a tropical low, as it approaches Australia’s eastern coast. Although the speed at which Alfred is travelling has slowed, Brisbane locals have been sent a stark warning of what might be to come.

Residents are stacking sandbags to protect low-lying properties ahead of a tropical cyclone that is forecast to become the first in 51 years to hit the Australian east coast near Brisbane, the nation’