Crocodiles have been spotted across the northern Australian city of Townsville over the weekend, after authorities decided to open a nearby river dam amid severe flooding in the region.
A “heavy deluge of rain” pushed dam levels to almost 250% capacity on Sunday, and opening the floodgates “almost doubled” the amount of water flowing out of the catchment, the newspaper adds.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“You can expect high velocity flows and unprecedented areas of flooding to occur in the Ross River Catchment,” Australian Bureau of Meteorology spokesperson Bruce Gunn told locals. “It could change continuously and unpredictably.”
Sydney-based site News.com.au reports that residents of the city have “expressed simmering frustration” over the decision to open the dam, claiming they were “caught out by record water releases”.
Local people have also reported multiple sightings of crocodiles in Townsville, and shared photos of the killer reptiles on social media.
A three-metre (10ft) crocodile was reportedly spotted by emergency services in the city on Sunday night.
Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch has warned residents to remain vigilant, saying that both crocodiles and snakes could turn up in unexpected places during flooding, reports local paper the Townsville Bulletin.
“Crocodiles prefer calmer waters and they may move around in search of a quiet place to wait for floodwaters to recede,” Enoch said. “Crocodiles may be seen crossing roads, and when flooding recedes, crocodiles can turn up in unusual places such as farm dams or waterholes where they have not been seen before.”
Snakes are also “very good swimmers”, she said, adding: “If you see a snake, don’t attempt to catch or remove it”.
Meanwhile, a tweet by Queensland Police said the city’s residents should refrain from “playing in flood waters” as they may be “wading in [their] neighbour’s faeces”.
-
5 highly hypocritical cartoons about the Second AmendmentCartoons Artists take on Kyle Rittenhouse, the blame game, and more
-
‘Ghost students’ are stealing millions in student aidIn the Spotlight AI has enabled the scam to spread into community colleges around the country
-
A running list of everything Donald Trump’s administration, including the president, has said about his healthIn Depth Some in the White House have claimed Trump has near-superhuman abilities
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
Australia weighs new gun laws after antisemitic attackSpeed Read A father and son opened fire on Jewish families at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, killing at least 15
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
