Australia's east coast has been pounded by rain, wind and surf for a week, with Brisbane recording its highest daily rainfall in half a century.

Staff at Winey Cow, a cafe just 50 metres from the Surfers Paradise foreshore, closed during the worst of ex-tropical cyclone Alfred and dealt with ankle deep floodwater and persistent dripping from the ceiling during the closure.

Significant damage and power outages are possible in the densely populated region of Queensland, where tropical cyclones impacts are not uncommon but direct landfalls are.