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Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred is dumping heavy rain across large parts of South-East Queensland and northern New South Wales as it moves inland after crossing the Queensland coast this morning.
Damaging wind gusts up to 100km/h north of Brisbane last night downed trees and ripped roofs off homes, including one where the occupant somehow slept through, blissfully unaware of the destruction.
About 300,000 homes and businesses remain without power in Queensland, as well as another 13,000 in New South Wales, as ongoing thunderstorms and substantial damage to trees complicate efforts to re-establish supply.
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Hundreds of schools across Queensland and New South Wales are likely to remain closed tomorrow, some with significant damage to buildings and many without power.
Several suburbs of Brisbane experienced flash flooding today, while homes and businesses were inundated in Hervey Bay on the Fraser Coast, which received 233mm in a six-hour period early this morning.
Emergency warnings across south-east Queensland were replaced by instructions to monitor conditions with one major exception on the southern Gold Coast.
Those in Currumbin, Currumbin Valley, Tallebudgera, Tallebudgera Valley and Elanora were warned to go "inside and up high" and avoid driving anywhere.
"Roads are now likely to be flooded. If you are near floodwater, you may need to get up as high as you can to survive," authorities said this afternoon.
"Follow your emergency plan if you are in danger. If you do not have a plan, it may be too late to leave safely.
"If it's flooded forget it."
The wider Gold Coast was on a lower watch and act warning to prepare for moderate to major flooding.
Even after being downgraded, Alfred's winds had a sting in the tail across Brisbane's north and around Redcliffe.
A neighbour filmed as violent wind gusts had several cracks at a corrugated iron roof in Brighton, before eventually ripping it off completely.
It was a similar story a couple of kilometres north on the Redcliffe Peninsula, where Newport, Scarborough and Redcliffe itself were smashed.
Most residents said it was impossible to sleep amid the howling wind and creaking of homes and big trees.
But not for Daniel Goullet, who said he didn't even wake up when the roof was ripped from his home and onto nearby power lines.
"[I'm] in shock, to be honest," he said.
"This is crazy, like you always see this stuff on the news and stuff but you don't think it's going to happen to you, and then bang."
Yesterday afternoon, many thought the worst of the winds had passed. Last night proved just how unpredictable systems like Alfred can be.
"This can be a feature of these sorts of systems," Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Sue Oates said.
"When they – even though it has – the systems do weaken below tropical cyclone intensity, they then interact with the surrounding environment in which they sit."
Across the border, the evacuation order for the Lismore CBD was lifted today with residents advised to return home "with caution".
The Bureau of Meteorology warns locally intense falls remain likely across Queensland's Southeast Coast and southern Wide Bay and Burnett, possibly including Brisbane, Ipswich and the Sunshine Coast.
Six-hourly rainfall totals between 150 and 180mm and 24-hourly totals between 250 and 350mm are possible.
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Heavy rain is also expected to continue across the border, in parts of the Northern Rivers, Mid North Coast and eastern parts of the Northern Tablelands extending into the Northwest Slopes and Plains.
Six-hourly rainfall totals between 50 and 100mm and 24-hourly rainfall totals between 100 and 150mm are possible.
The rain and wind gusts are expected to ease by Monday afternoon as Alfred continues to weaken and moves further inland.
More than 3000 insurance claims have already been lodged with thousands more expected as the focus of authorities now turns swiftly towards recovery.
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