One man died in floodwaters, the authorities said, and over 330,000 customers were without power in South East Queensland.

Cyclones typically form in tropical northern Australia, but Alfred is hitting the cooler centre of the eastern coast. The last cyclone to impact Brisbane was Cyclone Zoe in 1974, which caused severe flooding.

Thousands of residents have been ordered to evacuate ahead of the storm's expected hit near Brisbane, Australia's 3rd-largest city.

The slow-moving tropical storm, named Alfred, is on track to bring dangerous winds and flooding along the coast of Queensland and New South Wales, including Brisbane.

Significant damage and power outages are possible in the densely populated region of Queensland, where tropical cyclones impacts are not uncommon but direct landfalls are.

Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred continues to unleash destructive weather across South East Queensland and northern New South Wales, with forecasters warning of flood risks and severe conditions persisting over the coming days.

Hundreds of thousands of people are under a blackout in Queensland, while flood warnings remain in place across New South Wales, after ex-Cyclone Alfred left a trail of destruction along Australia’s east coast.

Tropical Cyclone Alfred weakened into a tropical low Saturday as it neared Brisbane, Australia, bringing heavy rain and flooding risks to the region, according to officials. Initially expected to make landfall as the first cyclone to strike southeast Queensland since 1974, Alfred's winds dropped to under 39 mph (63 kph) as it shifted inland.