BYRON BAY: A rare tropical cyclone veered towards Australia's densely populated eastern coast on Wednesday (Mar 5), sparking emergency warnings, closing hundreds of schools and threatening to flood thousands of homes. Tropical Cyclone Alfred would strike on Friday morning near bustling Brisbane city, forecasters said, the first typhoon to hit the region in more than 50 years. Flooding rains, destructive winds and violent waves were expected to batter a densely populated 300km stretch of