Rare cyclone weakens to a tropical low weather system as it approaches the Australian east coast

Owners work to protect their cafe with sandbags and plastic sheets in the Brisbane suburb of Rosalie, Australia, Friday, March 7, 2025. (Jono Searle/AAP Image via AP)

BRISBANE, Australia — A tropical cyclone weakened to a tropical low weather system on Saturday as it approached Brisbane, Australia’s third-most populous city, bringing flooding rain to the coastal region.

Tropical Cyclone Alfred had been expected to become on Saturday the first cyclone to cross the east Australian coast near the Queensland state capital since 1974.

On Friday, it was moving west toward Brisbane with sustained winds near its center of 95 kph (59 mph) and gusting to 130 kph (81 mph).

But it had weakened early Saturday to a tropical low, which is defined as carrying sustained winds of less than 63 kph (39 mph).

The system was expected to cross the coast north of Brisbane between Bribie Island and the Sunshine Coast region later Saturday, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

Cyclones are common in Queensland’s tropical north but are rare in the state’s temperate and densely populated southeast corner that borders New South Wales state.

“Despite its weakening and moving inland, heavy rainfall and coastal surf impacts are expected to continue over southeast Queensland and northeast New South Wales during the weekend,” the bureau said in a statement.

Rivers were flooding in Queensland and New South Wales after days of heavy rain, the bureau said. In New South Wales, 39 people had been rescued from flood waters and a man remained missing after being swept down a river on Friday , officials said.

More than 19,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying homes.

More than 250,000 homes and businesses had lost power in the region, mostly in Gold Coast city south of Brisbane.

John Pye And Rod Mcguirk, The Associated Press

McGuirk reported from Melbourne, Australia.