The same energy that brought Kirra to life last week has slowly morphed into a more malevolent force. Cyclone Alfred was downgraded from a Category 2 cyclone to a tropical low before it made landfall on Saturday into Southern Queensland and Northern New South Wales.

Ex-tropical cyclone Alfred caused huge swells and flooding as it hit Australia's east coast over the weekend. Footage shows beach erosion at the Gold Coast's Surfers Paradise, a car windscreen impaled by a tree and damage to property caused by the storm.

Tropical storm Alfred could cause significant flooding in eastern Australia despite the slowly moving storm no longer being a cyclone.

Ex-tropical cyclone Alfred lingered off the south-east Australian coast on Saturday and forecasters said Brisbane is likely to miss the worst of the storm, a relief for millions of residents in the region who have been staying indoors.

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.