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Tropical Cyclone Alfred has been downgraded to a tropical low but millions of Australians have been warned to hunker down for dangerous conditions including flash flooding, heavy rain and intense winds.

The ex-tropical cyclone is on track to cross the coast on Saturday morning, with a severe weather warning issued for most of southeast Queensland and northern NSW.

Significant impacts are expected from Double Island Point in Queensland down to Yamba in NSW.

“We’re asking people to have a plan. That’s the greatest thing you can have in this,” Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said.

“The category of a tropical cyclone is only dependent on the wind gusts so while the winds are backing off a little bit, the rain is still coming through in full force,” weather bureau Senior Meteorologist Miriam Bradbury told ABC TV.

“We’re still seeing widespread flash flooding, widespread impacts likely to continue through today and well into tomorrow as well.”

Wild weather pummelled coastal communities overnight, with 120 millimetres of rain recorded at the Gold Coast and 130mm at Lismore since 9am on Friday.

Some 240,000 homes and businesses have lost power in southeast Queensland and thousands more have been warned to brace for ongoing outages.

Fallen trees at Pottsville Beach , northern NSW. Photo: AAP

A man remains missing in floodwaters in Megan near Coff’s Harbour after he was swept away by rushing water as he clung to a tree.

Dozens of evacuation alerts have been issued for communities in northern NSW and the Lismore levee is expected to spill later on Saturday.

The NSW town of Lismore is bracing, three years after fatal flooding. Photo: AAP

Brisbane cafe owner Quat Vu has spent days preparing and is as ready as he can be.

His Eightysix Cafe was inundated during the 2022 floods which devastated more than 20,000 homes and caused $2 billion in damage.

“We know what to expect and we had a bit more time to prepare,” Mr Vu told AAP.

Blue translucent tarps line his brick cafe’s windows, hunkered down with lines of yellow and white sandbags.

“We had (sandbags) to a certain height but then we got the latest news about what the cyclone is doing and how it is going to dump a lot more rain so we’re just getting ready,” he said.

It’s a team effort across southeast Queensland, as neighbours and locals chip in to prepare for the wild weather.

“We’re hoping for the best on Saturday,” he said.

Boys play is sea-foam at Coolangatta on the Gold Coast Friday. Photo: AAP

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said a team of 66 disaster response personnel have arrived from New Zealand to assist, as hardship payments for those who are unable to work activate.

Election plan blown off course

The prime minister has scrapped plans to call an election for April 12, saying his sole focus is on the needs of Australians in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

Speculation had been mounting that Anthony Albanese would visit the governor-general on Sunday or Monday to call the poll.

“My focus is certainly not on votes, it’s on people and it’s on Australians at this difficult time, and I won’t be doing anything to distract from that,” he told the ABC’s 7.30 program on Friday.

“My sole focus is not calling an election, my sole focus is on the needs of Australians, that is my concern.

“I’ve no intention of doing anything that distracts from what we need to do, and what we need to do is to look after each other at this difficult time,” Mr Albanese said.

“This is not a time for looking at politics,” he said.

“I have very clearly said for a long period of time … we’d produce a budget on March 25, that certainly is my clear intention, and has been,” he said.

Other Saturdays later in April have been ruled out for an election due to the Easter and Anzac Day long weekends.

While the election must be held by May 17, the next most likely date is May 3.

YouGov polling released on Friday showed the federal government is ahead of the coalition for the first time in eight months on a two-party basis, at 51 per cent to 49 per cent.

Labor hasn’t been ahead in the pollster’s data since July 2024.

Last week, it was trailing the opposition on 49 per cent, versus 51 per cent.

The improvement has been linked to Labor’s recent announcement of a multi-billion dollar boost for Medicare and the prime minister’s support for Ukraine.

—with AAP