tropical cyclone

When Brisbane-based Prof Angus found himself caught up in the heavy rain and flooding brought on by Tropical Cyclone Alfred also in February, he preferred to follow official advice from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, as he believes they still provide the most accurate forecasts and warnings.

"It really doesn't matter to us whether it's been downgraded from a tropical cyclone to a weather event," he said.

Four million people are in the firing line of the region's first tropical cyclone in more than half a century, which is expected to make landfall on Saturday.

The tropical cyclone left more than 180,000 homes without power and 170,000 without running water after making landfall on Friday morning.

The system is expected to slowly intensify over the next 24 hours to tropical cyclone status while approaching the coast of Mozambique.