Rare cyclone weakens to tropical low before reaching Australian coast

A lifeguard tower is surrounded by heavy seas following Cyclone Alfred on the Gold Coast (Dave Hunt/AAP/AP)

A tropical cyclone weakened to a tropical low weather system on Saturday as it approached Brisbane, Australia’s third-most populous city, bringing flooding rain that was expected to lash the coastal region for days.

Tropical Cyclone Alfred had been expected to become the first cyclone to cross the east Australian coast near the Queensland state capital since 1974.