Hundreds of thousands of people are under a blackout in Queensland, while flood warnings remain in place across New South Wales, after ex-Cyclone Alfred left a trail of destruction along Australia’s east coast.

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.

Residents are stacking sandbags to protect low-lying properties ahead of a tropical cyclone that is forecast to become the first in 51 years to hit the Australian east coast near Brisbane, the nation’

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.

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.