Australia’s east coast is closely watching Tropical Cyclone Alfred, which has been churning and strengthening over the Coral Sea. Although the storm is expected to stay offshore for now, it’s still set to bring gusty winds, rising swells and hazardous surf conditions to Queensland’s heavily populated coastline in the coming days.

Evacuation from a popular tourism destination in Australia's Queensland state began on Thursday as Tropical Cyclone Alfred has intensified into a category three system, public broadcaster ABC reported.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Alfred has strengthened into a category three system, with winds of up to 150 kilometres per hour at its centre.

Tropical cyclone is the catch-all term for the powerful, spinning storms that feed off warm oceans and the strength of which is determined by wind speeds. The strongest are known as hurricanes in the Atlantic and typhoons in the Western Pacific and simply tropical cyclones in the South Pacific.

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