Strong wind warning out

 By SHEILA MALKEN

PARTS of the country are expected to be affected by strong winds and rain from today because of Cyclone Raquel developing near the Solomon Islands.

Port Moresby Geophysical Observatory assistant director Dr Chris McKee said the cyclone covered a large area that included Bougainville”. McKee said so there could be some effects from strong winds and a lot of rain in that region. “The system is currently tracking to the southwest. 

“If it maintains that track, it will impact Milne Bay, and maybe other parts of PNG,” McKee said.

He said the cyclone, although centred some distance northeast of the Solomon Islands, “is very large and already covers Bougainville”.

“So there will be strong winds and much rain in that region now, tomorrow and maybe Friday.” The cyclone triggered the “earliest cyclone warning on record issued for the Queensland zone”.

“Certainly it’s a unique scenario,” Jess Carey, a spokesman from the bureau’s Queensland office, said.

“Since we’ve been tracking cyclones with satellite-based technology, we haven’t seen one in July.” The storm became a Category One cyclone early on Wednesday morning. It is forecast to strengthen to a Category Two system today.

“The cyclone is moving southwest at about 16km per hour and should gradually intensify over the next 24 hours as it approaches the Solomon Islands,” the bureau said in a statement.