Forecasters are keeping a nervous eye on another cyclone looming off Australia, just weeks after Tropical Cyclone Narelle wreaked havoc across three states.
Tropical Cyclone Maila, currently sitting between Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, is the 11th named tropical cyclone to form or move into the Australian region this season.
The system was named on Saturday night and is now a category 3 tropical cyclone, according to the Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Badwen Gilbert.
While uncertainty remains as to its path, there is a risk Tropical Cyclone Maila could bear down on Far North Queensland, parts of which were struck by Narelle only weeks ago.
“There’s now increasing confidence that this system will continue towards Far North Queensland this weekend,” he said.
Locals have been warned they could face winds of 95 km/h at the cyclone’s centre and winds gusts of up to 130 km/h if it makes landfall.
It comes just weeks after parts of Far North Queensland, the Top End, and Western Australia were smashed by Narelle.
Hundreds of people were evacuated including those in Port Steward in Queensland and Numbulwar in Northern Territory. Schools were closed, flights cancelled and emergency packs distributed.
The system pumped record-breaking rain onto the already saturated ground, keeping the Daly River at major flood levels for days.
Katherine was hit particularly hard, facing its second major flooding in three weeks and requiring the ADF to step in for emergency assistance and recovery.
The system had travelled more than 5700km since it formed near the Solomons and made its way down to WA.
It crossed the Pilbara coast as a category 3 system between Coral Bay and Cape Cuvier.
It swept through the remote region bordering Ningaloo Reef with 250km/h winds and bucketing down 350mm of rainfall.
Numerous Exmouth residents were left without power and water supply with supply reserved for the local hospital.
Additionally, gas production operations including Chevron and Woodside facilities within the region had been paused after critical infrastructure was damaged by the system.
While communities in Far North Queensland braces for the potential impact of yet another cyclone, the rest of the state is expected to have a steadier week in weather.
Parts of the state’s coastline including K’gari, Mackay, and the Whitsundays as well as the Cassowary and Dungaree Coasts can expect some isolated showers.
“They will all be lighter than they have been in the recent days,” he said.
Southern and Central Queensland are forecast to have rain-free conditions with weather “a bit warmer than average” across the region, with towns including Roma and Charleville looking at temperatures 8 ] to 10 degrees above average in the middle of this week.
