Cyclone Alfred live updates: what you need to know

Tropical Cyclone Alfred has been downgraded to a category one system as it hits Queensland’s outer islands.

As of 4am, the cyclone was close to Bribie Island and moving 10km/h to the mainland with 65km/h winds near the centre and gusts of up to 95km/h.

It was 55km northeast of Brisbane and 55km southeast of Maroochydore, and is expected to make landfall in the next few hours.

As Alfred crosses the coast, it is forecast to weaken below tropical cyclone strength.

Despite its weakening, heavy rainfall, wind and high swells are likely to continue over southeast Queensland and northeast NSW during the weekend.

The warning zone has been reduced from 650km to 160km, and now stretches from Noosa to Brisbane, but doesn’t include the Queensland capital.

Thousands of homes have been plunged into darkness overnight with almost 250,000 properties now without power in Queensland.

Close to 50,000 houses are also without electricity south of the border in northern NSW, with authorities warning the outages could last for days.

The Gold Coast has been the hardest hit by blackouts with almost 120,000 homes affected.

More homes are expected to lose power throughout the morning as storms continue to batter the coast and bring down power lines.