“Our ADF heroes were on their way to help Australians in need.”

A flooded paddock in Ballina, NSW — an area that copped heavy rainfall overnight. Source: Getty / James D Morgan

Meanwhile, authorities have also located the body believed to be a 61-year-old man who had been swept away in floodwaters after clinging to a tree for help.

After extensive search efforts spanning more than 24 hours, his body was found on Saturday afternoon.

Beach erosion on the Gold Coast on Saturday. Source: AAP / Dave Hunt

In southeast Queensland, residents are still being battered by destructive winds after ex-tropical cyclone Alfred was downgraded, with gusts more than 90km/h recorded on the Gold Coast on Saturday afternoon.

The massive rain band stretching across southeast Queensland might lead to life-threatening flooding in coming days, Bureau of Meteorology’s Matt Collopy warned.

Queensland’s state-owned electricity company said earlier on Saturday that fully restoring power to all residents could take “up to a week”.

Tress brought down powerlines at Labrador on the Gold Coast. Source: AAP / DAVE HUNT/AAPIMAGE

Emergency warnings were cancelled in Queensland but thousands of residents in NSW remained in limbo after evacuating over flood risks.

Gold Coast Acting Mayor Donna Gates said it appeared the family had been running a generator inside, sparking a warning for others to keep the devices outside.

A fallen gum tree caused severe damage to a house at Mudgeeraba on the Gold Coast. Source: AAP / Dave Hunt

Residents in northern NSW’s Tweed Shire Council and Bilambil Heights were told to conserve their drinking water and boil any from taps as power outages impact reservoirs.

Supermarkets were reopening on a case-by-case basis in Queensland and some public transport would resume on Sunday excluding trains across the southeast and buses on the Gold Coast.

A fallen pine tree in Broadbeach on the Gold Coast, NSW. Source: AAP / Dave Hunt

In a press conference on Saturday morning, NSW Premier Chris Minns said: “this emergency is not over.”

“Heavy rainfall is likely to continue over southeast Queensland and northeast New South Wales during the weekend as Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred crosses the mainland coast later today and moves slowly inland as it dissipates,” the bureau said earlier on Saturday.