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.

Significant damage and power outages are possible in the densely populated region of Queensland, where tropical cyclones impacts are not uncommon but direct landfalls are.

Although now classified as a tropical low, the effects of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred have been felt most severely in the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Hervey Bay, and the Northern Rivers. Insurers have already received nearly 3,000 claims, a number expected to rise as residents return to assess the damage.