My message today, and we do have a bit of rain left to go, is overwhelmingly you must always put your safety first. That's number one in a disaster. Property can be replaced, people can't."

Cyclone Alfred weakened into a tropical low Saturday but still threatened to unleash major floods on swollen rivers as it approached the rain and wind-lashed eastern coast of Australia.

A rare tropical cyclone weakened to a tropical low weather system on Saturday as it approached Brisbane, the country's third most populous city. Before being downgraded, Cyclone Alfred had been expected to become the first cyclone to cross the east Australian coast since 1974.