The Australian Treasury forecasts the financial impact of Tropical Cyclone Alfred will amount to approximately A$1.2 billion ($759 million), which will reduce the country's GDP by a quarter of a percentage point in the March quarter, Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced on Monday.

Alfred made landfall north of Brisbane, Australia's third-largest city, earlier this month after being downgraded to a tropical low, causing flash flooding and power outages in parts of Queensland and New South Wales.

Chalmers stated that the economic costs from the storm damages would be “very substantial,” just one week before presenting his final budget ahead of the national election, which is scheduled for mid-May.

“We are getting a handle on the economic costs and we are getting a handle on the costs to the budget, and we will report our initial assessment of that in the budget on Tuesday next week,” Chalmers said to reporters in Brisbane.

He added that he still expects the budget to return to a deficit after two years of rare surpluses, although the shortfall will be “much, much smaller” than the one he inherited from the opposition, Reuters reports.

“A defining feature of our first three budgets was responsible economic management. That will be a defining feature of the fourth as well,” Chalmers stated.

Furthermore, the storm has likely contributed to food inflation due to the damage to fruit and vegetable farms, as the government works to maintain power. Recent polls indicated that the opposition Liberal-National coalition held a slight lead over the Labour government.

The Treasurer also noted that there would be upward pressure on building and construction costs.

As of Friday, the Insurance Council of Australia reported that over 53,000 claims have been filed for damages caused by the storm.

Chalmers mentioned that he would provide more details about the budget and other economic challenges in a speech on Tuesday at the Queensland Media Club.

Australian media reported that Chalmers could outline the potential impact on Australia from US President Donald Trump's decision to impose tariffs during his speech.