Residents in Australia’s Northern Territory have been warned against venturing into waterways after heavy rainfall triggered massive floods across the state and brought crocodiles “absolutely everywhere”.
More than a thousand people across the state have been relocated to shelters, authorities said.
Northern Territory chief minister Lia Finocchiaro confirmed that the entire town of Nauiyu was evacuated.
Police incident control acting commander Shaun Gill said on Sunday that the flooding, the worst since 1998 in some towns, “doesn’t get much bigger” than what the state was experiencing.
At least 90 homes have been without power and residents have been asked to steer clear of waters, Mr Gill said.
Authorities said that the Daly river was still rising on Sunday and expected to breach its record level of 15.3 metres seen back in 1957.
“There are crocs absolutely everywhere. Please don’t go in the water. The message is quite clear,” Mr Gill said.
“Don’t swim in the water for two reasons. It is a fast-flowing river, and also, this is where crocs are most active.”
The Katherine river’s water levels rose to their highest since 1998 when floods killed three people. As of 10.45pm Saturday, officials said, the river was at 19.2 metres.
People in Katherine town should not “do something silly” and jump in the war, assistant police commissioner Travis Wurst warned.
The flood waters would carry “crocodiles and other things that will make your life difficult”, he warned as posts on the Katherine community Facebook group showed crocodiles in the area.
While a resident said she had seen a crocodile floating down the street, a video on social media showed another reptile moving inside a town road on Saturday morning.
“With current flooding and rising river levels in the big rivers, crocodiles can move into new and unexpected areas, including creeks, drains, flooded roads and other waterways,” a message from Northern Territory’s government read. “Assume any waterway may contain a crocodile.”
Northern Australia is estimated to be home to nearly 100,000 saltwater and freshwater crocodiles.
