Shark swims in flood waters as Australian city becomes inundated

After Tropical Cyclone Seth unleashed heavy rain in Australia last week, a damaged levee system failed which caused water to inundate downtown Maryborough, Queensland. If the flooding was not enough, a bull shark was spotted swimming through the murky waters. 

Tropical Cyclone Seth brought extremely heavy rainfall to the central and southeastern coast of Queensland late last week and into the weekend. Around 24 inches (600 mm) of rain fell in parts of southeast Queensland and sparked major flooding along the Mary River in and around Gympie and Maryborough. 

On Saturday, a valve within the levee protecting the central business district of Maryborough was damaged which lead to water rushing into downtown parts of the city. Emergency evacuation orders were promptly issued for more than 30 downtown city blocks.

Maryborough has a population of about 15,000 and is located about 130 miles (215 km) north of Brisbane.

There has already been one death attributed to the flooding, according to Yahoo News. Fifteen others remain missing, according to The Guardian.

As if the floodwaters were not enough, a video showed the fin of a small bull shark swimming through the waters at one of the city’s parks. 

"I do want to remind people about the dangers of floodwaters," said Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Mike Wassing. "We've had the shark in the park, we've got contaminated water, you've seen what can occur with roads in the local areas and how dangerous that is.”

In nearby Gympie, Mayor Glen Hartwig said “very significant damage” had already been discovered, according to The Guardian. “I’ve been in this area for 40 years, and we haven’t seen anything like it,” he said.

Floodwaters were cresting along the Mary River around the Maryborough area Sunday evening, local time. Upstream areas are seeing floodwaters recede, which is expected to translate into the Maryborough area. Without significant additional rainfall in the forecast, AccuWeather meteorologists expect the flooding around Maryborough to slowly fall in the coming days.

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Meanwhile, the Northern Territory was bracing for impacts from Tropical Cyclone Tiffany on Tuesday night, local time.

Tiffany had lost wind intensity after it crossed the Cape York Peninsula on Monday evening, but now that it has spent time over the open water of the Gulf of Carpentaria, the cyclone has steadily regained strength. As of early Wednesday morning, local time, Tiffany is a Category 1 Tropical Cyclone, which is equivalent to a tropical storm in the Atlantic and East Pacific Ocean basins

Tiffany is forecast to make its second landfall in the country at midweek, possibly as a Category 2 Tropical Cyclone, and bring heavy rain and gusty winds across the Northern Territory.

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