Cyclone Justine hovering off PNG Southeast

(7:30am AEDT)

A severe tropical cyclone is centred off the southeast tip of Papua New Guinea.

The category three rated cyclone, codenamed Justin, is centred just 140-kilometres from Rossel Island and more than one-thousand-kilometres off the north Queensland coast.

Australia's Tropical Cyclone Warning centre in Brisbane says cyclone Justin, has wind gusts up to 200 kilometres-per-hour, and is affecting small islands in south-eastern Papua New Guinea.

Squally winds and heavy seas are being reported.

The cyclone is expected to move slowly towards the west southwest for the next two days, remaining well seawards of the Queensland coast.

=A9 1996 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Tue Mar 18 08:00:01 1997 ( AEDT )

AEDT = Australian Eastern Daylight Time which is 11 hours ahead of UTC (Greenwich Mean Time)