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.

This is the sting in Alfred’s tail. These storms are drawing down very warm, moist air from the Coral Sea in the north. If you happen to be under one of these slow-moving thunderstorms, they are getting ready to dump a lot of rain. The situation is very volatile, as the atmosphere is very unstable.

Brisbane Tongan community leaders Sulieni Layt says Pacific Islanders have been supporting each other as the city catches heavy rain from outside of Cyclone Alfred.

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.

Ex-cyclone Alfred crossed the islands off the coast of Queensland as a category one system early on Saturday morning, but it has now been downgraded to a tropical low and is moving slowly north. Alfred is currently sitting off Bribie Island and is expected to cross the mainland coast between Maroochydore and Bribie Island during the morning.

Ex-tropical cyclone Alfred has officially reached the mainland in Queensland's south-east bringing with it intense winds and fears of flooding.