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FNQ braces itself for Monica
CYCLONE Monica has been upgraded to a category three system and is expected to hit the far north Queensland coast this morning.
At 5.30am (AEST) today Monica was moving steadily west towards the indigenous community of Lockhart River, Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) senior forecaster Geoff Doueal said.
“I don’t know that it will be upgraded soon, but it’s certainly starting to form an eye so once it does form an eye we may upgrade it to a category four,” he said.
Monica was moving at 15km/h, he said, but the “destructive core” might be moving at up to 200km/h.
Residents in coastal areas between Torres Strait and Cape Melville were last night warned to take precautions against destructive winds of 130km/h forecast to hit the area by early morning.
CDRS spokesman Stephen Young says residents in low-lying parts of the Torres Strait have been told to move to higher ground.
Mr Young says preparation for the cyclone is well underway.
“The disaster management arrangements in far north Queensland have been activated,” he said.
“The local disaster management groups of Lockhart River and Weipa have met and will continue to monitor the situation over the next 24 to 36 hours.
“The local disaster management group in Cairns will meet this afternoon.”
Graham Muldoon
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