Ominous storm clouds appear over Australian town before Cyclone Debbie

Time-lapse footage has emerged of purple tinged clouds appearing over Townsville, Queensland the night before being hit by Cyclone Debbie.

The video, captured by a resident, shows the ominous clouds rolling in, before the category 4 cyclone makes landfall.

According to local reports, 25,000 people were told to evacuate far north Queensland as the storm was upgraded.