A 17-year-old boy has been bitten on the foot by a crocodile amid a rush to evacuate those from flood-hit communities in the Northern Territory in Australia.
Territory authorities declared an emergency for the communities in this area as the upper Victoria River at Kalkarindji surpassed the major flood level of 14 meters on the 1st of March, reaching 16.02 meters by the following morning.
There are a lot of water holes around the communities in that area, some of which people would normally swim in. However, with the river levels rising, there is no certainty of where the crocodiles are, leading the local MP, Chansey Paech, to remind people to be cautious. Even as the levels drop, the crocodiles may have moved away from their usual spots, so communities are being warned to remain water-safe and “croc-wise” in the coming months.
The teenage boy managed to escape relatively unscathed and was treated at a local clinic. It follows on from a crocodile attack in January, where a man at a remote Northern Territory cattle station, 220 km south of Darwin, suffered a serious but not life threatening injury to his leg.
While many people think that the odds of being bitten by a crocodile are incredibly low, perhaps in line with winning the lottery or hitting the jackpot in one of the best online casinos in the UK, attacks on humans are in fact more common than people may realize. According to statistics, it has been estimated that about 1,000 people are killed by crocodiles each year. However, some experts believe that numbers are, in fact, likely to be much higher than this, based on the number of attacks in remote areas of Africa and Southeast Asia that go unreported.
The strength and ferocity of crocodiles has led to many people being scared of them. Their powerful jaws and razor-sharp teeth, along with their tendency to wait underwater at the water’s edge for unsuspecting prey, make them deadlier than sharks. Their ability to hunt on land as well makes them even more dangerous to humans, and while they do not typically prey on people, they will do so if food is scarce in their area or they feel threatened.
While the latest victim was lucky, the rising water levels still pose a threat, not just from crocodiles, but for numerous other safety reasons. Australian authorities urged people in the affected area to avoid unnecessary travel to allow for a safe evacuation. Helicopters and small aircraft were sent in to help with the evacuation process, with more than 700 people from three communities set to be relocated by air to Katherine, before heading north to temporary accommodation in Darwin.
Evacuees are expected to be housed in temporary accommodation at Foskey Pavilion and at the Centre for National Resilience in Howard Springs. The chief minister, Natasha Fyles, did not say how long people would be housed in Darwin for, which, in some cases, is 500 km from peoples’ hometowns.
Once the local areas have been assessed, it is hoped that residents will be able to go home, although some communities may be able to have residents go home quicker than others. The flooding may have affected services such as power, water, sewage and electricity, so areas will be assessed on an individual basis.
Over the years, Australia has experienced some extreme weather, from torrential downpours to searing heat and dangerous bushfires. These events are getting worse across the country, with even more challenging events expected to come, according to the latest snapshot of the nation’s climate.
The impact of the climate change is being felt by many communities, ecosystems and industry sectors across the country, and with predictions that worse is to come, the nation is facing a sobering reminder that there is an urgent need for action.
