Brisbane records heaviest rain since Cyclone Wanda

Ex-Cyclone Alfred has pounded Australia with extreme weather events not seen in decades.

Transcript

00:00Australia's east coast has been pounded by rain, wind and surf for a week.

00:06And despite a last-minute weakening prior to landfall, tropical cyclone Alfred's slow

00:10movement ensured the system still generated some of the most extreme weather in decades.

00:16First came the swell, as Alfred's offshore ferocity pounded the coast with waves to 15

00:20metres, including one at 12.3 metres on the Gold Coast, the highest recorded in 38 years

00:25of measurements.

00:27As Alfred edged towards the coast, next came the wind. Peak gusts to 120 kilometres per

00:31hour at Byron Bay, the town's strongest in four years, while the more sheltered Cooling

00:35Gatter weather station hit 100 kilometres per hour, the highest in 21 years.

00:40But for most areas, it's Alfred's deluge after landfall which delivered the most significant

00:44impact. In the 24 hours to 9am Monday, Brisbane soaked by 275 millimetres, the city's heaviest

00:51rain since Cyclone Wanda in 1974, while Archerfield's 273 was the 94-year high. And to the north,

00:59Nambour, underwater, 365 millimetres, the town's highest total in 33 years.

01:05And as flooding rains keep tumbling down, the event totals are climbing, up a spring

01:09book now well clear of one metre over the past week. The result, rapid river rises across

01:15multiple catchments, with Laidley warned of a near record flood peak this afternoon.

01:20Then, respite finally. The last remnants of Alfred retreated inland and that allowed

01:25a week of heavy rain to finally ease along Australia's swamped east coast.