Standing tall along the coastline, Steve Cotter's seven-month-old house is built to withstand floods.
However, Mr Cotter fears it may not be able to endure the wild weather that Tropical Cyclone Alfred will unleash.
Millions of people have been waiting for Alfred to cross Queensland's southeast coast, bracing themselves for days as the category two system lingered.
Some have gone out to see Mother Nature in action.
Alfred is finally set to cross the coast near Brisbane, between Noosa and Beenleigh, on Saturday, likely as a category one system.
But the cyclone has already made its presence felt on the mainland.
Strong winds on Friday knocked down trees and destroyed homes while tens of thousands across Queensland's southeast and northern NSW lost power.
Thousands were forced to evacuate after heavy rain triggered flooding, with a man missing after a 4WD was swept off a bridge near Dorrigo, NSW.
Mr Cotter believes he has done his best to bolster his new home as Queensland's southeast braces for the first cyclone to cross the coast in more than 50 years.
Windows have been taped, cars relocated and dozens of sandbags line the driveway entrance at the residence in Brisbane's bayside suburb of Lota.
However, Mr Cotter admits he has no idea whether it will be enough.
"Hopefully the house is built for cyclonic conditions but we don't really get them down here so hopefully it is all good," he told AAP on Friday.
"It's up to the gods now."
Alfred was initially set to arrive on Thursday night but stalled, adding to the anxiety of locals.
"It's been delayed, delayed and delayed and it's just a real slow burn," Mr Cotter said.
"My wife's sick of it, she's just like 'come already'."
Queensland's bay islands and the Gold Coast are in the firing line for 150km/h gusts while Brisbane may by hit by 120km/h winds as Alfred looms.
NSW's Cape Byron has copped winds up to 120km/h while Gold Coast airport recorded 100km/h gusts.
Rainfall is also starting to increase across the region with daily totals of 500mm forecast.
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner on Friday warned rainfall totals of 700mm were likely across south-east Queensland, saying it may exceed the 2022 floods which caused a $2 billion state damage bill.
About one million sandbags were distributed to Queensland alone with more than 100 army personnel flying into northern NSW to assist 2000 SES personnel as the region became inundated.
Energy crews are on standby with almost 100,000 homes without power but punters have been warned outages could last a week.
Evacuation centres are open across the region with almost 20,000 people told to leave in northern NSW alone.
"Our sincere hope is that the community gets through this without any loss of life and that we can, when this is all over, focus on the rebuild," NSW Premier Chris Minns said.
Some southeast Queenslanders tried to escape the rain by heading to pubs that remained open ahead of Alfred's arrival.
Redland Bay Hotel was crammed with customers but the day drinking was cut short when it lost power on Friday afternoon.
A punter was seen returning to his car with a jug of beer and several glasses.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wants common sense to prevail as Alfred closes in.
"This is a dangerous situation that needs to be taken seriously," he told Nine Network.
