Cyclone Olga poised for landfall

Cyclone Olga has grown to a Category 2 cyclone and is headed for landfall this afternoon between Cooktown and Port Douglas. Current storm track projections indicate that Olga is heading due west and should come ashore between 3 pm and 4 pm Sunday. The storm has winds in excess of 120 km/hr and could cause some damage as it comes ashore.

Cyclone Olga moves towards Port Douglas (Cairns Post)

JANUARY 24, 11am: Cyclone Olga is expected to remain a category two cyclone as it crosses the coast between Port Douglas and Cooktown between 3pm and 4pm.

At 10am Tropical Cyclone Olga was estimated to be 105km east-southeast of Cooktown and 145km north-northeast of Cairns moving west-northwest at 17km/h.

A cyclone warning is now current for coastal and island areas from Coen to Cairns.

A cyclone watch has been declared for the southern Gulf of Carpentaria coast and islands from Karumba to Borroloola.

Tropical Cyclone Olga is bearing down on an area that is known for tourism near the Great Barrier Reef. Evacuation of one resort and cancellation of reef tours has already been carried out.

Nervous wait as Cyclone Olga nears Queenland coast (Herald Sun)

Within hours of the Cyclone Olga alert being raised early yesterday, a team of State Emergency Service volunteers was called in to replenish sandbag stocks depleted by minor flooding on Friday night in the aftermath of ex-tropical cyclone Neville.

Green Island Resort, east of Cairns, is being evacuated this morning and all Great Barrier Reef tours have been cancelled with predictions of 50-knot winds out to sea.

Cairns Airport moved to stage two of its alert system after the weather bureau upgraded its forecast to a cyclone warning at 5pm but no flights had been cancelled as of late yesterday.

Cyclone Olga surprised far north Queensland residents by forming in the Coral Sea late on Friday night in the shadow of the weakening and downgraded former tropical cyclone Neville.