One person has died and several were injured as flooding rains lash the Australian east coast even though it avoided its first tropical cyclone in 51 years.

A tropical cyclone has weakened to a tropical low weather system as it approaches the Australian east coast city of Brisbane.

Schools are closed, public transport has stopped and desperate residents are getting around shortages of sandbags by buying sacks of potting mix as a region of eastern Australia is lashed by wind and rain from a rare approaching tropical cyclone.