But while authorities have been warning residents to stay indoors as Cyclone Alfred approaches, die-hard surfers have been throwing caution to the increasing wind. "This is what we look forward to," said Jeff Weatherall as he waited for a jet ski to pick him up from Kirra beach and carry him into the big waves.

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.

The fringe of a tropical cyclone started whipping eastern Australia on Thursday (Mar 6), bringing drenching rains and record-breaking waves to a heavily populated region rarely hit by typhoons.