With all eyes on Tropical Cyclone Alfred as it continues to move down the Queensland coast, the Bureau of Meteorology has released its latest tracking map: Premier David Crisafulli said given that millions of Queenslanders were potentially in the firing line,

The south-east is at risk of potentially deadly flooding as the Qld premier and Brisbane mayor urge residents to batten down the hatches.

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

Tropical Cyclone Alfred is forecast to cross the coast between the Queensland state capital Brisbane and the tourist city of Gold Coast to the south late Thursday or early Friday, Bureau of Meteorology manager Matt Collopy said.

Tropical Cyclone Alfred is gaining in strength, but the weather bureau has gone to lengths to point out that it is far off the coast.

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.

Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred is dumping heavy rain across large parts of South East Queensland and northern New South Wales as it moves inland after crossing the Queensland coast this morning.

Meteorologists say the tropical low is still packing a punch in parts of south-east Queensland and northern NSW ahead of the new working week.

Acting Police Commissioner Shane Chelepy has defended the warnings issued by police to the community, after residents in Brisbane were caught off guard by cyclonic level winds overnight to Sunday.

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.