Ice Cube has found himself caught in the chaos of Cyclone Alfred, with the rap icon stranded at his Gold Coast hotel as the storm barrels toward Australia’s southeastern coast.

Schools are closed, public transport has stopped and desperate residents 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.

Cyclone Alfred has struck eastern Australia, leading to school closures and halted public transport. It is expected to reach Queensland’s coast by Saturday, affecting nearly 4 million residents and potentially flooding 20,