The Northern Territory of Australia is underwater. Rivers broke their banks. Roads disappeared. Power’s out. Schools closed. More than 1,000 people were evacuated by helicopter.
And somewhere in all that rising water — 100,000 crocodiles.
Not the cute freshwater kind that maxes out at 10 feet. The saltwater variety. The ones that grow to 23 feet long, weigh 2,600 pounds, and can run faster than you think.
Police are begging people to stay out of the water. “There’s crocs absolutely everywhere,” said Shaun Gill, acting commander of Northern Territory police. “Please don’t go in the water. The message is quite clear.”
Apparently, it’s not clear enough — because independent reports confirm people are still swimming in flooded rivers.
The Flooding Is Historic — And It’s Not Over
Katherine, an Outback town in the Northern Territory, is experiencing its most severe flooding in nearly 30 years. Daly River has been evacuated entirely, with residents relocated to Darwin, the regional capital.
Jo Hersey, a local politician, described the scene: “Everyone in the street is underwater, our house is underwater.”
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro called it a “massive evacuation effort” — planes, helicopters, coordinated government response across multiple communities.
And more rain is coming.
Crocodiles Don’t Care About Flood Zones
Saltwater crocodiles live along the coastline, in rivers, and in swamps. But they’ve also been found 200 kilometers inland in fresh water. They can travel up to a kilometer on land. They stay submerged without moving during a hunt. They run incredibly fast.
The Northern Territory tourism commission puts it plainly: “Just because you can’t see them, it doesn’t mean they’re not there.”
A local man and his teenage son captured video footage of a crocodile running across the road near Katherine.
Assistant police commissioner Travis Wurst warned residents not to “do something silly” like jumping in the water — because the presence of large crocodiles “will make your life difficult.”
Australian understatement at its finest.
The Crocodiles Were Almost Gone — Now There Are 100,000
These animals were hunted nearly to extinction for their hides until they were given protection in the 1970s. The population rebounded. Hard.
The Northern Territory now hosts an estimated 100,000 saltwater and freshwater crocodiles. They’re not endangered anymore. They’re thriving.
And when the rivers flood, they move.
Being Eaten Alive Is a Reasonable Fear
Saw Jaws when I was 10. Scared the hell out of me. My grandparents lived on a lake and canal about two miles from the Gulf — visiting them every Christmas was always dicey.
One day, my grandfather asked me to go with him to the hardware store. We got into the station wagon with the tennis ball hanging from a rope so he would know when to stop in the garage. As we were backing out, a 12-foot gator was underneath the vehicle.
My grandpa beeped the horn. Grandmother opened the door from the kitchen into the garage and gave a huge yelp.
As kids, we would sleep on the lanai protected by screens. At night, we would hear thrashing in the water. One time a dog yelped and the next day the neighbor was looking for Rover.
The neighbors next door were having a party when a gator came up and grabbed a woman and proceeded to try to drag her. Her husband got a shotgun, shot the gator in the head, but some buckshot ended up in her foot. She was yelling at her husband. He mumbled something about having should have let the gator take her swimming.
The Math on Crocodile Attacks
Saltwater crocodiles are apex predators. They’ve been around for 200 million years. They survived the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs. They’re not going anywhere.
Fatal crocodile attacks in Australia are rare — but they happen. The Northern Territory averages about two attacks per year. Most involve people doing exactly what police are warning against: swimming in flooded rivers, fishing from low banks, and ignoring warning signs.
The crocodiles aren’t more aggressive during floods. They’re just more mobile. More unpredictable. Harder to avoid.
The Takeaway
Australia’s Northern Territory is experiencing some of the most severe flooding in decades. The water is rising. The crocodiles are moving. Police have made their position clear.
Stay out of the water.
Don’t do something silly.
And if you see a crocodile running across the road, maybe just let it have the right of way.