Flood risks across Australian coast as ex-tropical cyclone Alfred batters country and millions stay indoors

By Josef Al Shemary

A tropical cyclone has weakened into a tropical low weather system but is still bringing destruction across the Australian coast as it approaches Brisbane, Australia's third-most populous city.

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It is expected to bring flooding rain which is expected to lash the coastal region for days, after already damaging power lines, homes, cars and trees.

Australia’s famous Gold Coast and its broad beaches have become steep sandy cliffs after days of relentless erosion.

Tropical Cyclone Alfred had been expected on Saturday to become the first cyclone to cross the east Australian coast near the Queensland state capital since 1974.

It weakened early in the day to a tropical low, defined as carrying sustained winds of less than 39 mph.

But Anthony Albanese, Australia’s prime minister, warned there was still ‘worse to come’ from the weather event as it batters the country’s eastern coast.

"We must remain vigilant. This is a very serious weather event," he said on Saturday morning.

"The impact will be serious and will intensify over coming hours and coming days. [It will] still bring strong winds, heavy rain, flooding and dangerous conditions over this weekend and the days beyond.

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"Now is the time to remain alert, stay inside and look after each other."

The system is expected to cross the coast north of Brisbane between Bribie Island and the Sunshine Coast region later, Bureau of Meteorology manager Matt Collopy said.

"Heavy to locally intense rainfall leading to flash and riverine flooding now becomes the major concern as the ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred moves inland," he said.

Cyclones are common in Queensland's tropical north but are rare in the state's temperate and densely populated south-east corner bordering New South Wales.

A 61-year-old man remains missing after being swept away in a flooded river near the town of Dorrigo in New South Wales, and a woman sustained minor injuries when an apartment building lost its roof in the Queensland border city of Gold Coast on Friday, police said. The woman was one of 21 people who were evacuated from the building.

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More than 330,000 homes and businesses lost power on both sides of the border, a large proportion of them at Gold Coast, which recorded the strongest gusts of 66mph on Friday night.

Of those, 291,000 premises were in Queensland, including 131,000 in Gold Coast, officials said. Another 45,000 were without power in New South Wales.

Queensland premier David Crisafulli said he was grateful the risk had passed of the storm crossing the coast at high tide, which would have flooded coastal homes.

"To have no homes reported... that have had storm tide inundation is really a tremendous, tremendous result," he said.

Rivers were flooding in Queensland and New South Wales after days of heavy rain, the meteorology bureau said.

The missing man was the only failure among 29 flood rescues carried out by emergency teams in northern New South Wales in recent days, most involving vehicles attempting to cross floodwaters, police said.

The Sunshine Coast, an area popular with tourists 60 miles north of Brisbane city centre, is preparing for increasing rain and the associated risks of sudden flooding as the weather system approaches, mayor Rosanna Natoli said.