Cyclone Maila moves over Solomon sea, expected to hit parts of Australia's Queensland

According to Australia's Bureau of Meteorology, the cyclone is expected to hit parts of the country's far northern Queensland early next week.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Maila has intensified into a category four storm, currently located in the Solomon Sea. Maila is slowly moving towards the west and is expected to weaken in the coming days.

The cyclone is likely to impact communities around the Solomon Islands and the far south parts of Papua New Guinea. (Unsplash/Representational Image)

According to Australia's Bureau of Meteorology, the cyclone is expected to hit parts of Australia's far northern Queensland early next week.

While the cyclone was over the Solomon Sea for the last few weeks, it has begun to move towards the west in the last couple of hours. It is moving with sustained winds near the centre of around 165 kilometres per hour with wind gusts to 230 kilometres per hour.

Cyclone to impact Solomon Islands and parts of Papua New Guinea

The cyclone is likely to impact communities around the Solomon Islands and the far south parts of Papua New Guinea. Over the weekend, it is forecast to impact the southeastern parts of Papua New Guinea and then move into the Coral Sea.

From Sunday, Maila may travel west southwest towards the Far North Queensland coast, possibly crossing Cape York Peninsula early next week. Alternatively, Maila can also weaken near or over southeast Papua New Guinea over the weekend, th

The national weather service has issued a severe weather warning for island communities in Milne Bay. The islands to be affected are Woodlark, Sudest, Misima, Rossel, and Bougainville in the east of Papua New Guinea

Bureau of Meteorology's senior meteorologist Ilana Cherny told The Guardian that there is still uncertainty about the strength of Maila as it looks like it is “going to move close to, if not over, some of the southernmost islands of Papua New Guinea.”

Maila is the seventh storm to reach severe tropical cyclone strength, above category three, this Australian cyclone season, The Guardian reported.

The threat of Cyclone Maila comes at a time when another major storm system, severe Tropical Cyclone Vaianu, was also expected to make landfall in New Zealand.

The Met services in New Zealand warned on Thursday that Tropical Cyclone Vaianu is making its way towards New Zealand and is expected to make landfall on the northeast coast at approximately midday on Sunday (local time).