Before and after pictures of Australia’s east coast show the true scale of devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Alfred. What was once a paradise for surfers, with golden, sunlit sands, became a battleground as waves as high as ‘three or four-storey buildings’ slammed into the coastline.

A ship that was driven ashore during a powerful storm more than 130 years ago in Australia was recently uncovered because of impacts from Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

The same energy that brought Kirra to life last week has slowly morphed into a more malevolent force. Cyclone Alfred was downgraded from a Category 2 cyclone to a tropical low before it made landfall on Saturday into Southern Queensland and Northern New South Wales.