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.

Cyclone Alfred weakened into a tropical low Saturday as it neared the rain- and wind-lashed eastern coast of Australia where hundreds of thousands of properties were without power. The former tropical cyclone lay about 65 kilometers off the coast of the Queensland capital, Brisbane, government forecasters said in a final update.

Residents are stacking sandbags to protect low-lying properties ahead of a tropical cyclone that is forecast to become the first in 51 years to hit the Australian east coast near Brisbane, the nation’s third-most populous city.