WEATHER SERVICE ISSUES CYCLONE MAILA CATERGORY 1 WARNING

THE Papua New Guinea National Weather Service has issued a Tropical Cyclone Maila Catergory 1warning today, and is effective for the Milne Bay province especially the coastal and Island communities of Woodlark, Sudest, Misima, Rossel Islands and including Bougainville.

Tropical Cyclone Maila is likely to intensify into Catergory 2 system in the next 6 to 12 hours.

The National Weather Service has advise people to stay away from the edge of the sea and seek higher grounds until the cyclone threat passes.

Cyclone Maila will cause flooding, storm surge, coastal indundation, gale amd storm force winds.

Tropical Cyclone Maila catergory 1 is about 220 kilometres North of Rossel island and 220 kilometres north east of Misima, and 150 kilometres east of Woodlark island.

Current movement, west at 7 kilometres per hour, Gale Wind Radius out to 278 kilometres from the centre witj maximum wind gust of 100 kilometres per hour.

Earlier this week Assistant Director for Forecasting and Warning at the National Weather Service, Mr Benjamin Malai, told Kalang News of a tropical low near the Solomon Islands that would bring strong winds and heavy rain to parts of Papua New Guinea.

Mr Malai says the system was currently outside PNG’s area of responsibility, but provinces in the New Guinea Islands region may still feel its impact.

He says Bougainville, East and West New Britain, Manus and New Ireland were already experiencing strong winds and rain, adding these areas may also receive heavy rain, and warnings could be upgraded if the system develops into a tropical cyclone by by today.