Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated and some 84,000 households left in the dark as a rare tropical cyclone approaches Australia’s eastern coast.

Cyclone Alfred is expected to make landfall on Saturday morning between the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast – known for beautiful beaches and top surf – as well as Brisbane, Australia’s third-biggest city.

The cyclone, the first to hit the area in 50 years, is expected to land as a category two system with wind speeds of up to 130km/h.

It has already caused flooding which authorities fear could worsen over the weekend. New South Wales police said on Friday that one man was missing after his vehicle was swept into a fast-flowing river.

Four million people across Queensland and northern New South Wales are in the firing line of the storm.

But its slow progress, described by weather experts as “walking pace” and “erratic”, has raised concerns of flash and riverine flooding in low-lying areas.

It is expected to dump as much as 800mm of rain in the coming days.

Stephen Valentine and his wife, who live in Logan city south of Brisbane, have prepared some 30 litres of water, food for themselves and their pets, and set up “protected rooms” in their home situated away from windows.

“At the moment we are as prepared as we can be for something that none of us have been through… Nothing has come this far south across the south,” said Mr Valentine, who grew up in the city.

“We would get the edge of a cyclone ever so often, but not to this level,” he added.

While Queensland isn’t a stranger to cyclones – it’s the most disaster-prone state in Australia – it’s rare they come so far south.

“These are tough times, but Australians are tough people, and we are resilient people,” said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday, echoing the Gold Coast’s acting Mayor Donna Gates, who has said Cyclone Alfred is a “scary proposition” for the region.

Nearly 1,000 schools have closed, public transport has been suspended and airports are shut. Flights aren’t expected to resume until Sunday at the earliest. Elective surgeries have also been cancelled.

The last time a cyclone of Alfred’s magnitude hit was in 1974, when Wanda hit in January and then two months later, Zoe crossed the coast.

Flooding though, is more common. In February 2022, thousands of homes were damaged along much of Australia’s east after heavy rain.

Authorities have been keen to prepare communities ahead of Cyclone Alfred. The council opened sandbag depots across the region to help residents protect their homes.

“It’s surreal. We know it’s coming, but it’s very quiet,” said Anthony Singh, a resident of the Brisbane suburb of West End. He waited for four hours on Wednesday to pick up sandbags to protect his home.

Fellow resident Mark Clayton, helped to co-ordinate the sandbag collection, shovelling more than 140 tonnes of sand.

“I think people are a bit apprehensive,” he says. “Are the buildings going to stay up, are the roofs going to stay on? People expect a lot of trees to come down and to lose power for an extended period of time.”

With supermarkets now shut and people mostly sheltering at home, there’s a lot of uncertainty as Australians wait for the storm to hit.

But some die-hard surfers have thrown caution to the increasing wind.

“This is what we look forward to,” said surfer Jeff Weatherall as he waited for a jet ski to pick him up from Kirra beach and carry him into the big waves. “This is the fifth day straight – I’ve done nothing but eat, sleep, surf and do it again.”

Kirra beach is famous for its breakers and surfers have been busy this week seizing the strong winds.

“There are people that are going to lose their houses, but at the moment, you’re taking the good of it all. This is just crazy surf,” said surfer Donnie Neal.

Meanwhile Albanese have warned people to take the cyclone warnings seriously.

“This isn’t a time for sightseeing or for seeing what it’s like to experience these conditions firsthand,” he said.

“Please stay safe. Be sensible.”

Additional reporting by Kelly Ng