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.

Staff at Winey Cow, a cafe just 50 metres from the Surfers Paradise foreshore, closed during the worst of ex-tropical cyclone Alfred and dealt with ankle deep floodwater and persistent dripping from the ceiling during the closure.

Tropical Cyclone Alfred weakened into a tropical low Saturday as it neared Brisbane, Australia, bringing heavy rain and flooding risks to the region, according to officials. Initially expected to make landfall as the first cyclone to strike southeast Queensland since 1974, Alfred's winds dropped to under 39 mph (63 kph) as it shifted inland.