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.

A tropical cyclone weakened into a tropical low weather system on Saturday as it approached Brisbane, Australia’s third-most populous city, bringing flooding rain that was expected to lash the coastal region for days.

Ex-tropical Cyclone Alfred has been downgraded to a tropical low, as it approaches Australia’s eastern coast. Although the speed at which Alfred is travelling has slowed, Brisbane locals have been sent a stark warning of what might be to come.