Coen looks like copping a cyclonic "one-two"
Weather Watch
Coen family the Jacksons are preparing for another direct cyclone hit just weeks after Tropical Cyclone Narelle tore apart sheds and brought down trees across their station. Ups N Downs, as forecasts indicate Tropical Cyclone Maila is on the same path.
Deb and Kevin Jackson are still unsure just how much damage TC Narelle has caused, or how many head of livestock have been lost as a result, and say they are now preparing for the worst with TC Maila seemingly on the way.
“When my husband got a bit iffy, I was reasonably concerned,’’ Deb said of the impact of TC Narelle on the Ups NDowns Homestead, around 40km south of Coen on Cape York.
“We had the kids in the container and we were outside in the buffer zone of a number of shipping containers just watching the destruction.’’
Damage to Ups N Downs from Narelle includes a completely destroyed hay shed, half the roof off their main shed and severe damage to other shedding on the property. Their main open living homestead shed survived with little impact.
“Trees are down everywhere and we have some power issues that are still continuing,’’ Deb said.
“The biggest issue is that we have had no real assistance. Cook Shire has been helpful and we did have Queensland Parks and Wildlife here for half a day on the chainsaws.
“But fuel is scarce and being the end of the wet season no-one has the money to pay for it. We are generator powered so that is a challenge.
“If anyone is up for donating a solar power system that would be great… although it is likely to get blown away,’’ Deb said with a frustrated laugh.
“All we can do is prepare and hope. But if we get hit again, where do you start?
“It is a grind… for the men, there’s kilometres of fencing, 3km they have just finished, where ever 10m there’s a tree over the fence.
“And with all the trees down in the paddocks it will be very hard to muster… we don’t even know what cattle we have left out there.’’
Deb felt forecasts were firming to have TC Maila tracking in line with Coen, around 370km north of Port Douglas. While husband Kevin follows Higgins weather watch for his updates, Deb refers to Jim Gray’s North Queensland Weather Watch for her information.
“He is thinking that once the system hits the cooler water it will weekend and we could just see a rain depression,’’ she said.
“They all seem to be now suggesting that the system will track our way, though.’’
The official Bureau of Meteorology update on Severe Tropical Cyclone Maila as of 4pm, Thursday April 7, 2026 reads:
Severe Tropical Cyclone Maila, in the Solomon Sea, to move south of Papua New Guinea over the weekend and then towards the Far North Queensland coast early next week.
Intensity
Category 4, sustained winds near the centre of 165 kilometres per hour with wind gusts to 230 kilometres per hour.
Location
Within 30 kilometres of 8.4 degrees South, 154.6 degrees East, 600 kilometres west of Honiara and 830 kilometres east of Port Moresby
Movement
West northwest at 8 kilometres per hour
Severe Tropical Cyclone Maila, 37U, is currently located over the Solomon Sea and has been moving slowly west. Maila has started to weaken, and is expected to continue slowly weakening over the coming days. During Friday Maila is expected to start moving to the southwest. Over the weekend it is forecast to impact the southeastern parts of Papua New Guinea and then move into the Coral Sea.
From Sunday, Maila may track west southwest towards the Far North Queensland coast, possibly crossing Cape York Peninsula early next week. Alternatively, Maila may weaken near or over southeast Papua New Guinea over the weekend.
