North Queensland Newspapers group production manager Peter Bull says a skeleton crew of journalists, IT, prepress, printers and publishers weathered the mega storm at the print centre.

“We printed a 20-page emergency paper under generator load,” he told GXpress via iPhone email.

“Sorry can't call, no mobiles working,” he added.

News has print centres in Townsville – where a new five-tower manroland Geoman press went on edition late last year – and at Cairns. The two cities stand on either side of the route of the Category 5 cyclone, which hit the coast between Tully and Cardwell.

National TV viewers saw images of windswept Townsville – including the new 'Townsville Bulletin' print centre – on their screens as the cyclone approached last night.

The local ‘Tully Times’ is understood to be printed in Cairns. The coastal town. A third of buildings were reported to have been destroyed or lost roofs in the coastal town, which has a population of 2500.