Cyclone Alfred stalled off Australia's east coast on Thursday delaying landfall as officials shut airports, schools and public transport and residents stockpiled supplies and sandbagged homes against floodwaters expected when the category-two storm hits.

Schools are closed, public transport has stopped and desperate householders are getting around shortages of sandbags by buying sacks of potting mix as a region of eastern Australia is lashed by wind and rain from a rare approaching tropical cyclone.

As Cyclone Alfred slowed it’s track to southeast Queensland to a crawl overnight, pushing out its expected landfall to later Friday or even Saturday, we asked four experts what that could mean for the system’s impact.