Before and after pictures of Australia’s east coast show the true scale of devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Alfred. What was once a paradise for surfers, with golden, sunlit sands, became a battleground as waves as high as ‘three or four-storey buildings’ slammed into the coastline.

A slow-moving tropical storm crossed islands off Australia’s heavily populated eastern coast late Friday, lashing coastal suburbs with destructive winds and dumping heavy rain across the region.