Body found in floodwaters and troops injured in Australia storm

Australian authorities accidental a assemblage has been recovered successful floodwaters and 36 subject workers injured successful a conveyance clang arsenic chaotic upwind from a tropical tempest lashes the country's eastbound coast.

Cyclone Alfred was downgraded to a tropical debased connected Saturday but is owed to marque landfall adjacent the Queensland superior metropolis of Brisbane successful coming hours.

Officials person warned residents to enactment indoors and stay vigilent, saying the storm's menace is "not over".

Winds person brought down trees and powerfulness lines and flooded low-lying roads. More than 300,000 properties are without powerfulness successful the region.

Police said connected Saturday they had discovered a assemblage aft 61-year-old antheral went missing connected Friday aft his car was caught successful floodwaters successful Dorrigo, bluish New South Wales.

Emergency responders witnessed the antheral ecaping his car and climbing onto a histrion adjacent the riverbank, but rescuers were not capable to scope him earlier helium was swept away.

Police recovered a assemblage successful the country connected Saturday, and said it "is believed to beryllium that of the missing man".

In a abstracted incidental connected Saturday, astatine slightest 36 subject unit were injured successful a convoy clang successful Lismore, astir 250km further northbound successful New South Wales. The trucks had appeared to clang into each different with 1 overturning, Australian media reported.

They had been portion of subject crews deployed to Lismore, adjacent the Queensland border, to assistance the storm's rescue and effect operations.

"Our ADF [Australian Defence Force] heroes were connected their mode to assistance Australians successful need," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said successful a connection noting aesculapian attraction was ongoing.

Albanese earlier connected Saturday had addressed the federation from the superior Canberra, saying millions of residents were "well-prepared" but "we indispensable stay vigilant."

Four cardinal radical crossed Queensland and bluish New South Wales were bracing for the storm's landfall with dozens of upwind warnings successful spot crossed some areas.

Around 287,000 customers are experiencing outages successful southbound eastbound Queensland, according to vigor supplier Energex, portion Essential Energy said much than 42,600 homes and businesses successful New South Wales had experienced blackouts.

People successful Brisbane, Queensland's capital, went to furniture connected Friday bracing for beardown winds and dense rain.

They woke up connected Saturday to larn that the cyclone had been downgraded and the metropolis would flight the worst of the weather.

But the danger's not implicit successful different parts of southeastern Queensland and bluish New South Wales.

Along the Gold Coast, pummelled by atrocious upwind the past fewer days, conditions person been precise beardown with driving rainfall and beardown winds.

Hundreds of trees person been blown implicit successful gardens, parks and on the main roads. There has been tons of debris and exigency services had sectioned disconnected areas astir astatine risk.

"This exigency is not over," said New South Wales authorities premier Chris Minns, adding that it was "crucially important" the nationalist did not "dismiss" the storm.

"It truly doesn't substance to america whether it's been downgraded from a tropical cyclone to a upwind event," helium said.

The state's exigency work operations commander, Stuart Fisher, warned radical not to beryllium "complacent" and said authorities successful the portion expect flooding to proceed implicit the adjacent fewer days.

As the tempest has edged person to landfall, astir 1,000 schools person closed, nationalist transport has been suspended and airports are shut. Elective surgeries person besides been cancelled.

Flights are not expected to resume until Sunday astatine the earliest.

The BBC spoke to respective radical from Brisbane's stateless community, who took refuge astatine Emmanuel City Mission, which had go a round-the-clock shelter.

At the Treasure Island Holiday Park successful the Gold Coast, conscionable northbound of Surfer's Paradise, a gum histrion had travel down betwixt 2 cabins, damaging a third. Nearby, a vessel was fractional submerged successful 1 of the canals a artifact distant from the beach.

On the seashore itself, galore paths down to the formation are present unpassable. Instead, there's a abrupt driblet to the water wherever the almighty waves person eaten distant astatine the sand.

But the clean-up cognition won't hap for a fewer days – the upwind is inactive almighty and there's driving rain.

Residents are starting to task retired to look astatine the damage, but plentifulness are remaining indoors to support themselves safe.

With reporting by Simon Atkinson connected the Gold Coast