All Images: Brent Paterson via Reuters, AFP
The Australian state of Queensland was hit by floods due to heavy rain caused by tropical Cyclone Jasper, which barrelled in off the Coral Sea late last week. Queensland's tourist city of Cairns has been almost surrounded by flood water, which has washed away parts of major highways running into the city.
Rescue teams in Queensland evacuated more than 300 people overnight, police said. Military helicopters have been dispatched to help inundated areas cut off by the floods. In Wujal Wujal, Nine people, including a seven-year-old patient, huddled for safety overnight on the roof of a hospital. Police said the group eventually clambered to a safer location before flood waters rose again.
The flooding also led to crocodiles flushing into towns in Queensland. Kiley Hanslow, the chief executive of the Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire Council, told ABC that crocodiles were swimming around the water in the town centre. Earlier, the Queensland Police warned that floodwaters would likely wash crocodiles and all other sorts of things into residential areas.
A report by the news agency AFP said that more flooding is expected in Queensland on Monday as weather officials have predicted more rain. Major flood warnings have gone out.