Aussies warned of danger lurking in floodwaters: 'Always an issue'

Millions of Australians in Far North Queensland are being hammered by heavy rainfall and the threat of a cyclone, but a new warning has been issued for another danger that comes with the wild weather.

More than 600mm of rain was recorded in north Queensland over three days, flooding roads and homes and sparking multiple rescues. Floodwaters are notoriously dangerous for both pedestrians and drivers, but residents between Cairns and Airlie Beach are being advised to steer clear due to the added risk of displaced crocodiles.

“It’s always an issue, always,” crocodile expert John Lever told Yahoo News.

“Crocodiles don’t want to be fighting raging torrents all the time so they always swim to the water’s edge and of course, when you get rising water levels the water reach is always changing and going further inland, so they end up further inland.

“Now when the water recedes and particularly in flood zones, crocodiles are left in a waterhole where they’ve never been seen before.”

Warning over 'safe' waterholes

Lever, who owns and operates Koran Crocodile Farm near Rockhampton, said risky situations can occur when people are used to using certain waterholes, ponds or lakes that are usually croc-free and don’t realise that floodwaters may have led a crocodile into the area.

“After floods crocodiles are misplaced and there is a massive issue really of problem crocs when the water recedes. It’s going to happen and the more crocs there are, the more that get displaced.”

The Proserpine River has the highest density of crocodiles in Queensland, averaging 5.5 crocs per kilometre, according to the Queensland Government.

“It’s a significantly crocodile populated river,” Lever said, adding the biggest crocodile on his farm — measuring 4.9m long — was captured in Kelsey Creek near Proserpine.

More rain to come as residents warned to ‘be aware’

The cyclone threat was downgraded off Cairns yesterday, but another four tropical lows loom across northern Australia.

A low in the Gulf of Carpentaria had a 25 per cent chance of becoming a tropical cyclone from Sunday, the Bureau of Meteorology's Jonathan How said.

It is forecast to cross the Queensland coast over the weekend, bringing heavy rainfall and flooding between Townsville and Cairns. It will then track south which will increase rainfall for the northwest including Normanton, Mount Isa and into the Northern Territory.

The Whitsundays region has copped a drenching with Finch Hatton, west of Mackay, receiving 1315mm of rain in the 20 hours up to Friday morning.

With the continued rain, Lever advises residents to “just be aware”.

“Be conscious of the presence of crocodiles. Be super conscious that they may be displaced and they may be trying to get back into the river system when it recedes, or they may be displaced now, and are in areas where they’ve never seen them before,” he said.

Another low is expected offshore of Queensland in the Coral Sea with two more off Western Australia.

The tropical low set to develop northwest of WA and another in the Coral Sea's northeast near Vanuatu are "moderate" chances of forming cyclones by Sunday.

with AAP

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