Before and after pictures of Australia’s east coast show the true scale of devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Alfred. What was once a paradise for surfers, with golden, sunlit sands, became a battleground as waves as high as ‘three or four-storey buildings’ slammed into the coastline.

A man died as massive downpours, vicious winds and flash floods submerged streets, toppled trees and power lines and caused to army trucks to crash.