Severe Tropical Cyclone Maila is once again on the move, with its trajectory directed towards Far North Queensland. Currently located approximately 1300 kilometres from the Australian coast, the cyclone is expected to head south-west over the coming days.
Classified as a category four system, Maila is producing wind gusts reaching up to 260 km/h and is anticipated to make landfall around next Monday, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. After initially stalling between Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, it is now progressing towards Queensland at a speed of about 10 km/h.
Senior meteorologist Jonathan How noted that confidence is growing regarding the cyclone’s approach to the Far North Queensland coast by Sunday, with potential landfall occurring either late Monday or early Tuesday. It is expected to downgrade to at least a category three prior to landfall. The cyclone’s impact is projected to be felt across a broad area of Far North Queensland, particularly between Cooktown and the Lockhart River shire, which had recently been affected by Tropical Cyclone Narelle.
How warned that communities in the potentially impacted regions could experience destructive winds, heavy rainfall, flooding, and coastal erosion.
In addition to Maila, another tropical system is forming as a low-pressure area in the Indian Ocean, north-west of Western Australia and Fiji. The Bureau indicates a moderate chance for this system to develop into a cyclone by mid-next week. Additionally, Tropical Cyclone Vaianu is moving southwards, located roughly between Fiji and New Zealand, with wind speeds of 95 km/h near its centre. It is expected to reach landfall on Sunday.
Stay tuned for continuous updates on this evolving situation.