An Australian navy ship is heading to the aid of a rower battered by Tropical Cyclone Alfred, while two states in its firing line have been told to have tinned food ready and prepare their properties.

Lithuanian Aurimas Mockus ran into trouble about 740 kilometres east of Mackay while attempting a 12,000-kilometre Pacific Ocean crossing from San Diego to Brisbane in his solo rowing boat.

He activated his emergency beacon late on Friday as Alfred sent strong winds and heavy seas his way.

Alfred is expected to cross anywhere from Bundaberg in Queensland and northern NSW on Thursday as a category two system, bringing up to 600 millimetres of rain a day.

Authorities urged residents to stay vigilant, pay attention to warnings and prepare for a rare cyclones in that part of Australia.

Flood watches and erosion warnings have been issued for coastal areas, with record high 14 metres waves off Wide Bay in Queensland on Sunday.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said residents should do “everything they can”, including having tinned food, making an emergency kit, gathering up passports and clearing debris from properties.

The state government has asked telecommunication companies to increase network capacity to cope with an expected jump in internet usage and millions of messages throughout the emergency.

Many homes in south-east Queensland are not built to withstand cyclones as they are infrequent in that part of the state. Crisafulli urged residents to listen to warnings from authorities.

“This part of the state has had its fair share of flooding challenges and has responded well, and I genuinely believe that people will heed warnings and will do the right thing,” he said.

The cyclone coincides with the AFL season opener in Brisbane between the Geelong Cats and Brisbane Lions on Thursday, while a day later the NRL’s Dolphins and Rabbitohs will clash at Suncorp Stadium.

“We will give all sports the information they need, they’ll make their own call,” Crisafulli said.

An AFL spokesman said the league would monitor the situation and follow government advice.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said many residents there had never experienced a cyclone before, as he stressed the “very real threat” to south-eastern Queensland.

SES NSW urged residents to prepare for damaging winds, large surf and heavy rainfall with major riverine and flash flooding expected from Wednesday.

“We are asking the community to take steps now to ensure that if you are asked to evacuate you have a plan for yourselves, your families and your pets and know where you will go,” assistant commissioner Dean Storey said.

The cyclone is hundreds of kilometres off Rockhampton and is expected to travel south-east until Tuesday, when it will swing west.

Rower says he’s tired

A Cairns-based Challenger jet didn’t spot Aurimus Mockus’ tiny vessel on Saturday but managed to make contact with him.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority shared images of the boat on Sunday and confirmed it had communicated with the adventurer via the rescue aircraft through an interpreter.

“Mr Mockus has reported he has no major injuries,” it said on Sunday afternoon.

HMAS Choules, a 16,000-tonne Royal Australian Navy landing ship, left Brisbane on Saturday to assist.

Mockus set off on the journey in October and was days away from reaching his final destination after rowing about 70 nautical miles (130 kilometres) a day.

He was bracing for the “maximum power” of Alfred on Thursday, saying he just needed to survive the next two days.

Weather conditions have since eased but the Coral Sea was still within the category two cyclone’s influence on Sunday, with winds up to 100km/h and five to seven-metre seas, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority reported.

Mockus was attempting to join a short list of ocean rowers make the Pacific crossing solo without stopping.

Brit Peter Bird was the first in 1983, followed by countryman John Beeden in 2015 and Australian Michelle Lee in 2023.

Fellow Australian Tom Robinson, who was trying to become the youngest to accomplish the feat albeit with a break in the Cook Islands, spent 265 days at sea before he was rescued off Vanuatu in 2023.

The 24-year-old Queenslander’s rowboat capsized, leaving him clinging naked to the hull for about 14 hours before he was rescued by a cruise ship that made a 200-kilometre detour.

-with AAP