One man died in floodwaters, the authorities said, and over 330,000 customers were without power in South East Queensland.

Thousands of residents in eastern Australia were ordered to evacuate, as Tropical Cyclone Alfred's heavy rains and powerful winds blast two states ahead of it's expected landfall near Brisbane, the country's third-largest city.

Cyclones typically form in tropical northern Australia, but Alfred is hitting the cooler centre of the eastern coast. The last cyclone to impact Brisbane was Cyclone Zoe in 1974, which caused severe flooding.