Labor Party President Wayne Swan’s claims that Tropical Cyclone Alfred no longer poses an immediate threat to millions of people in Brisbane has been contradicted by the Bureau of Meterology, as the weather bomb puts plans for an April 12 election at risk.

Alfred is forecast to make landfall near Brisbane, the capital of Queensland and Australia’s third largest city.

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.

Cyclone Alfred's wrath is already impacting both sides of the Qld-NSW border, with 30,000 properties losing power amid heavy rain and wild gales.

Tropical Cyclone Alfred has slowed its approach and is now expected to cross the south-east Queensland coast on Friday afternoon.

People along Australia's eastern coast are preparing for the arrival of a slow-moving storm, which marks the most southerly tropical cyclone to threaten the area in over 50 years.According to Brisbane Times,

BoM senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury gives an update on Tropical Cyclone Alfred. Qantas hopes to resume flights into and out of Brisbane on Sunday after Tropical Cyclone Alfred. It could take months or even years for the Sunshine Coast's beaches to recover from Cyclone Alfred.

Residents in more regions of northern NSW towns have been told to evacuate as Cyclone Alfred makes its way to the east coast. Follow our live coverage.

Authorities say rainfall and flooding will be the most significant threat, with 300-600mm of rain expected in some areas and localised totals reaching 700mm. Flood watches are in effect from Bundaberg to Port Macquarie, and Brisbane City Council has warned that 20,000 homes could be impacted by flooding.

The Bureau of Meteorology is now predicting Cyclone Alfred to cross the coast Friday night or early Saturday morning, most likely between Noosa and Coolangatta.

The current modelling shows that Cyclone Alfred will make landfall somewhere between K’gari Island (formerly Fraser Island) and the Queensland-NSW border, with Brisbane in the firing line on Thursday and Friday. Here is the latest map from the weather bureau, showing Alfred’s predicted path:

As millions wait for Cyclone Alfred to make landfall, not everyone is looking to the Bureau of Meteorology for their information.