Videos Show Devastation of Fatal Floods in Northeast Australia

Videos showing parts of Queensland, a state in the northeast of Australia, overwhelmed by flood waters have shocked viewers on TikTok. Monsoon rainfall over the past few days has devastated small rural towns along the state's north coast, killing two people and forcing hundreds to evacuate their homes. User @melainaleah shared a video on Tuesday showed the parking lot of the Stockland shopping center area in Cairns—a tourist hub that serves as a gateway to the Great Barrier Reef—completely flooded. The poster said the parking lot had "turned into its own little creek," according to a caption shared with the video, which shows a single car floating "all alone" above the flood waters. User @n0taraik also shared footage of flood waters in Cairns on Tuesday, including the flooding outside what appears to be a pet care services venue, according to signage on a wall. The clip later shows a flooded street, with a person shown diving into the water before standing knee-deep in the water near a car. User @sheenaghgyss posted a video on February 2 from Ingham showing "water water everywhere," a voice says off-camera, with water levels having reached the first two steps of the stairs outside their home, while their neighbors saw the water levels rise "just about up to their window sills." Newsweek contacted the Queensland Fire Department, the Queensland Ambulance Service and Australia's Bureau of Meteorology for comment via email.

Why It Matters

Flooding is one of the biggest threats faced by Queensland and the state's north coast faces regular tropical storms. However, the destruction from the rainfall over the past week was described as "quite frankly incredible," by the state premier David Crisafulli, the Associated Press reported. Meteorologists have said the monsoon rainfall was caused by two tropical low pressure systems, including a heat wave in the Coral Sea, while rising ocean temperatures due to climate change have made such weather events more frequent in Australia, the AP said.

What to Know

The two deaths from the floods include that of an 82-year-old woman whose body was found Tuesday in a paddock near Ingham. A 63-year-old woman was killed on Sunday when the rescue boat she was traveling in hit a tree and flipped over, according to the AP. Queensland has seen around 6.5 feet of rainfall since Saturday, with six months of rain recorded in some parts. Less than 10,000 properties were reported to be without power on Tuesday, with a severe thunderstorm warning still in place for parts of the area. Crisafulli said local authorities were working with the military to deliver generators, the AP reported. Fears rose for Townsville, the area's largest city, where the floods back in 2019 caused more than 1 billion Australian dollars ($625 million) in damage, according to the AP. But concerns subsided as the predicted flooding levels for Townsville didn't take place, the BBC reported.

What People Are Saying

A voice in the video posted by @sheenaghgyss said: "This came up way faster than anyone expected...way, way faster," noting that they chose not to evacuate. The voice added: "It's Australia...we have fires and floods and we do it dramatically..." User @n0taraik said: "I js [just] pray that we won't get it as bad as tsv [Townsville]," referring to the devastation the city faced back in 2019. Lilly said: "yep it has been so bad for us so much flooding," replying to the video posted by @n0taraik. User bryton said: "I've never seen cairns THIS flooded, especially so near" in response to the clip posted by @melainaleah.

What Happens Next

Conditions were reported to be easing on Tuesday and thousands of residents have begun returning to their homes. Crisafulli warned of "a disaster that's going to test the resolve of people" in an interview with the broadcaster ABC, the BBC reported. According to the AP, a few hundred people have remained in evacuation centers on Tuesday and it's not yet known how many homes have been damaged beyond repair by the floods. Newsweek has contacted TikTok users @melainaleah, @n0taraik and @sheenaghgyss for comment via TikTok.

Do you have a travel-related video or story to share? Let us know via life@newsweek.com and your story could be featured on Newsweek.