Cyclone Menace Forming on Doorstep of Flood-Hit Region in Queensland

‘We are expecting catchments to respond reasonably quickly, especially in areas that have already been flooding.’

A family watch the storm roll in across the Coral Sea at Holloways Beach as Cyclone Jasper approaches landfall in Cairns in far north Queensland on Dec. 13, 2023. BRIAN CASSEY/AFP via Getty Images

A severe tropical cyclone forming off the Queensland coast might be more destructive than the system that devastated the far north barely a month ago.

North Queensland is bracing for a category three cyclone to make a “severe impact” when it crosses the coast as early as Wednesday, with winds of 120km/h predicted.