'Like a cat in a washing machine' Rower rescued as Australia braces for cyclone

Aurimas Mockus finally made it to Australia, but not in the manner he imagined.

- Kate Lyons

Aurimas Mockus finally made it to Australia, but not in the manner he imagined. Instead of triumphantly paddling in on the Kursis, the one-seater boat the Lithuanian had been rowing for nearly five months across the Pacific Ocean as part of a solo mission from San Diego to Brisbane, he arrived in Sydney Harbour, relieved and alive, onboard a 16,000-ton Australian naval ship.

Had it not been for Tropical Cyclone Alfred, he would probably have completed the 7,500-mile journey to become one of just a handful of people to have rowed across the Pacific solo.

Alfred, which was expected to make landfall on the west coast last night, had already knocked out power for more than 97,000 homes across Queensland and New South Wales yesterday, with Gold Coast residents urged by authorities to "take shelter now" as the cyclone crawled to the coast causing flooding and huge waves.

A search was under way for a man whose vehicle was washed off a bridge by fast-moving flood waters north-east of Dorrigo in northern NSW. He left the car and secured himself to a tree but was swept away, NSW police said.

The rare category 2 storm weakened to category 1 as it passed over islands in Moreton Bay. Damaging wind gusts of up to 74.6mph were expected as the storm passed Brisbane.