Australia's east coast has been pounded by rain, wind and surf for a week, with Brisbane recording its highest daily rainfall in half a century.

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.

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.