Shark seen looming in floodwaters after heavy rain in northeast Australian city

By Adam Douty, Accuweather.com

Jan. 10 -- After heavy rain in Australia brought on by Tropical Cyclone Seth last week, a damaged levee system failed and caused water to inundate downtown Maryborough, Queensland. And if the flooding wasn't, a bull shark was spotted swimming in the murky waters.

The storm brought extremely heavy rainfall to the central and southeastern coast of Queensland late last week and into the weekend. Around 24 inches 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 then 30 downtown city blocks.

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

There has already been one death attributed to the flooding, according to Yahoo News. A 14-year-old girl remains missing after she was swept away by floodwaters while abandoning a flooded car.

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.

BOO

As of late Sunday, floodwaters were cresting along the Mary River around the Maryborough area. 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.

Meanwhile, northern Queensland is bracing for a hit from Tropical Cyclone Tiffany which is gaining strength across the Coral Sea

"Some strengthening is possible and Tiffany can intensity to the strength of a strong tropical storm or minimal Category 1 hurricane before making landfall Monday night, local time," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Jason Nicholls. This would make Tiffany a Category 2 cyclone on the Australia intensity scale.

Tiffany can bring flooding across the Cape York Peninsula through Tuesday before tracking into the Gulf of Carpentaria. Localized wind damage is expected near landfall in northeast Queensland. This is the most likely between Cape Malville National Park and Lockhart.

"Tiffany may then reach the Northern Territory with heavy rain and gusty winds later in the week," added Nicholls.