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’s third-most populous city.

Tropical low Alfred has hit Australia's southeast coast, bringing heavy winds and rain. One person is dead, police report, and hundreds of thousands are without power as the storm knocks down trees and power lines,

One person has been confirmed dead and several injured as rain lashed the Australian east coast, even though it avoided the destructive winds of its first tropical cyclone in 51 years. Tropical Cyclone Alfred had been expected to become the first cyclone to cross the Australian coast near the Queensland state capital of Brisbane,