BRISBANE, Australia (AP) 鈥 A tropical cyclone weakened to a tropical low weather system on Saturday as it approached Brisbane, Australia鈥檚 third-most populous city, bringing flooding rain that was expected to lash the coastal region for days.
had been expected to become on Saturday the first cyclone to cross the east Australian coast near the Queensland state capital since 1974.
On Friday, it was moving west toward Brisbane with sustained winds near its center of 95 kph (59 mph) and gusting to 130 kph (81 mph).
But it weakened early Saturday to a tropical low, which is defined as carrying sustained winds of less than 63 kph (39 mph).
The system was expected to cross the coast north of Brisbane between Bribie Island and the Sunshine Coast region later Saturday, Bureau of Meteorology manager Matt Collopy said.
"Heavy-to-locally intense rainfall leading to flash and riverine flooding now becomes the major concern as the ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred moves inland,鈥 Collopy told reporters in Brisbane.
Cyclones are common in Queensland鈥檚 tropical north but are rare in the state鈥檚 temperate and densely populated southeast corner that borders New South Wales state.
A 61-year-old man remained missing after being swept away in a flooded river near the town of Dorrigo in New South Wales and a woman sustained minor injuries when an apartment building lost its roof at the Queensland border city of Gold Coast on Friday, police said. The woman was one of 21 people who were evacuated from the building.
Almost 300,000 homes and businesses lost power on both sides of the border, mostly at Gold Coast, which recorded the strongest gusts of 107 kph (66 mph) on Friday night.
Power lines, homes and cars were damaged by falling trees across the region over Friday night.
Queensland officials grateful storm damage isn't worse
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said he was grateful the risk had passed of the storm crossing the coast at high tide, which would have flooded coastal homes.
鈥淥ur message this morning to Queenslanders is firstly one of gratitude,鈥 he told reporters.
鈥淭o have no homes reported ... that have had storm tide inundation is really a tremendous, tremendous result,鈥 he added.
Crisafulli said the almost 250,000 homes and businesses without power on the Queensland side of the border on Saturday was the state's largest blackout in a decade.
In New South Wales, 43,000 homes and businesses were without power from the border south to the city of Grafton, Energy Minister Penny Sharpe said. Grafton is 265 kilometers (165 miles) south of the Queensland border by road.
鈥淲e're still in the middle of this event and there is still wind and there is still extreme rain,鈥 Sharpe told reporters.
鈥淗aving electrical workers in that space is very dangerous. What is occuring is that we're waiting until it is safe to do so,鈥 she added.
Rivers were flooding in Queensland and New South Wales after days of heavy rain, the meteorology bureau said.
More than 19,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying homes, officials said.
The Sunshine Coast, a local government area popular with tourists 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of the Brisbane city center, was preparing for increasing rain late Saturday and the associated risks of sudden flooding as the weather system approached, Mayor Rosanna Natoli said.
鈥淥n the Sunshine Coast, we are really breathing a sigh of relief because we are not seeing right now the same impact as our neighbors to the south," Natoli told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
鈥淚n terms of our coastal impacts, we have a lot of erosion on our beaches, but we have fared far better than the people to our south,鈥 she added.
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McGuirk reported from Melbourne, Australia. Associated Press writer Charlotte Graham-McLay contributed from Wellington, New Zealand.
