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.

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

Former Tropical Cyclone Alfred continued to dump heavy rain across large parts of southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales (NSW) while moving inland, inundating roads and leaving tens of thousands of households without power as hundreds of schools remained shut, local media reported Monday.

Rapid creek rises and dangerous flash-flooding is impacting parts of South East Queensland and Northern New South Wales.

Hundreds of thousands of people in Australia's Queensland state were without power on Sunday after Alfred, a downgraded tropical cyclone, brought damaging winds and heavy rains, sparking flood warnings.

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

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

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.