Cyclone Alfred: Rapper Ice Cube stuck in Gold Coast hotel room as unprecedented storm hits Australia

Ice Cube is hunkering down in a Gold Coast hotel during Cyclone Alfred. Photo / The Project

American rapper and actor Ice Cube has revealed he’s trapped in his hotel on Australia’s Gold Coast as Cyclone Alfred prepares to make landfall.

The star, 55, appeared on Wednesday night on Australian show The Project, where he revealed that he’d been staying at the beachside property when the emergency warnings began rolling in.

The tropical cyclone has been described as the region’s worst in 70 years and is expected to make landfall between Coolangatta and Maroochydore on Friday, despite previous reports it would arrive late on Thursday.

The cyclone, currently a category two, is forecast to bring winds of up to 155km/h.

It’s causing plenty of concern in Queensland and the north of New South Wales – but in his interview, Ice Cube (real name O’Shea Jackson snr) sounded fairly unfazed by his proximity to the action.

“I’m staying clear of it. It is pretty cool. I haven’t been through a cyclone before, I can check this off my bucket list for sure,” he said.

“You know, I’m right here on the beach. The beach looks like it is going to be in the lobby in a minute.”

The US star is currently on tour in Australia and is scheduled to play in Sydney on Friday and Melbourne on Sunday.

It comes as residents in the danger zone prepare for the impending cyclone, with the Bureau of Meteorology announcing on Wednesday that its far western edge had already begun impacting the coast from Coolangatta to Ballina.

Tropical Cyclone Alfred satellite image on March 4, with pictures of large surf as the storm approaches. Photo / NZME, JMA

Meanwhile, Ice Cube is not the only high-profile personality caught up in the impending natural disaster.

Celebrities and well-known Aussies including Karl Stefanovic, Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky, Pat Rafter, and former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and his wife Therese Rein all have properties in the region and are among those bracing for impact.

Hemsworth’s lavish home in Byron Bay, worth around A$50 million ($55m), is in Alfred’s path, as is Today host Stefanovic’s A$3.6m holiday home in Sunshine Beach in Noosa.

Actor Chris Hemsworth also has a home in Byron Bay, which is set to see increased swells. Photo / Instagram @chrishemsworth

Meanwhile, Rudd and his wife now live in Washington, but own a breathtaking beachfront home in the region, which was originally built by Rafter.

While the tennis star has since moved, his new home – across the border in New South Wales, just south of Byron Bay – would also need to make preparations for the cyclone’s landfall.

The Bureau of Meteorology has said that Ballina is forecast to receive 35-110mm of rain on Thursday, with gusts of up to 130km/h.

That’s far more than the 8mm to 20mm expected in Brisbane, but there could be similar gusts in Queensland’s capital.

On Friday, a washout is expected across the danger zone from north of Grafton to Sandy Point in Queensland.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli warned on Wednesday the “window is closing” on making preparations.

“By tomorrow afternoon, preparing your house will be very difficult. That window is now. So, get in and do the little things.”