Torrential rain from Cyclone Alfred floods Australia's east coast, leaving thousands without power and prompting flood warnings.

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

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

Australia braced for a rare east coast tropical cyclone that is swirling towards Brisbane, its third-most populous city, with authorities urging residents in flood-prone suburbs to evacuate soon.

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.

Residents are stacking sandbags to protect low-lying properties ahead of a tropical cyclone that is forecast to become the first in 51 years to hit the Australian east coast near Brisbane, the nation’s third-most populous city.

A slow-moving tropical storm crossed islands off Australia’s heavily populated eastern coast late Friday, lashing coastal suburbs with destructive winds and dumping heavy rain across the region.

Cyclone Alfred - which has been downgraded from a cyclone to a tropical low - has caused flooding, damage to buildings and left thousands without power across the eastern coast of Australia. Millions of people across Queensland and north New South Wales have been affected.