It could intensify as early as this afternoon, with residents told to prepare for high winds and flash flooding.

Residents in Western Australia have been warned to prepare as Tropical Cyclone Hayley bears down on the Kimberley coastline, while flooding is expected to continue in parts of Queensland.

Tropical Cyclone Hayley has been downgraded to a category three system as it approaches the coast of Western Australia's Dampier Peninsula, where residents have been told to prepare for "severe ...