Tropical Cyclone Alfred has spent the night creeping towards Queensland’s coast and northern NSW. Despite authorities downgrading the cyclone to a tropical low early Saturday morning, locals have been warned not to be complacent with serious flooding risk remaining despite wind speeds slowing down.

Cyclone Alfred has been downgraded to a tropical low and is currently moving slowly north from Bribie Island. Source: Getty / James D. Morgan

New Bureau of Meteorology projections estimate Cyclone Alfred will reach the coast around midday on Saturday and may bring life-threatening winds, rain, and flash flooding.

Tropical Cyclone Alfred has hit Queensland‘s outer islands and is set to smash the coast at around 6am on Saturday morning.

Sunshine Coast Mayor and Local Disaster Management Group Chair Rosanna Natoli urged the community to prioritise their safety, and that of others."Now

South East Queensland and northern NSW are in it for the long haul with ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred, forecasters have warned, with severe weather and flood warnings still in place for large parts of the east coast.

Tropical Cyclone Alfred was 65 kilometres north northeast of Brisbane and 45 kilometres south southeast of Maroochydore at 6am this morning.

Hundreds of thousands of residents in northern NSW are anxiously waiting for the full impact of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred, as rescue teams continue their search for a man washed away in floodwaters.

Millions of residents along Australia’s eastern coast are bracing for the arrival of a very slow-moving storm, the most southerly tropical cyclone to threaten the region in more than 50 years.