CNN
—
Queensland, Australia has seen record flooding, with people in some areas warned not to travel due to large crocodiles spotted in the floodwaters.
The flooding, caused by heavy rain, was particularly severe in Burketown, a small upstate community about 1,300 miles northwest of the state capital, Brisbane. Aerial footage shows submerged roads and houses.
Nearly 100 residents had to be airlifted to higher ground, according to a Reuters report.
Flood waters in Burketown have reached record highs, according to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology on Tuesday, with the river rising above the highest level of 6.78 meters recorded in 2011.
On Monday, Queensland Police warned residents to stay away from floodwaters after a helicopter spotted “two very large crocodiles” in the waters.
The warning came in a video posted to Twitter, which showed police rescuing a baby kangaroo from floodwaters.
In a statement on Tuesday, Queensland Police said: ‘It is still not safe for displaced people to return home and police are reminding residents to limit travel in flood waters due to unseen and unseen dangers. recent sightings of crocodiles.”
The flood is expected to slowly abate over the next few days, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, but is expected to remain above “major flood stage” of 6 meters (almost 20 feet) through Wednesday and may -be longer.
This flood crisis is just the latest for Australia, which has suffered several major floods in recent years, due to a multi-year La Nina weather event, usually associated with increased rainfall. These include the devastating and record-breaking floods in Western Australia in January, which affected an area almost three times the size of the UK.
