Australia flood: Two found dead as waters grip Townsville

The Australian defence forces filled sandbags, deployed amphibious cargo vehicles and helped pluck flashlight-wielding residents from their rooftops Monday, as monsoon rains drenched the northern state of Queensland.

Forecasters are now anxious that a tornado could form in the region in the coming days as monsoonal conditions and strong winds continue.

As flood waters and inundate up to 20,000 homes Townsville, residents are being warned to keep an eye out for crocodiles that might have become displaced in the severe weather after one was spotted on a driveway!

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has warned the bill for damages could reach into the hundreds of millions of dollars. "In Queensland, of course, we're used to seeing natural disasters, but Townsville has never seen the likes of this".

Desperate residents had to contend not only with flash flooding, landslides and power blackouts, but also several saltwater crocodile sightings in residential roads and cul-de-sacs.

"We haven't yet got to the peak ... this monsoonal pressure will keep shifting, so we don't know where it's going to dump the water", she said.

"Dangerous and high-velocity flows will occur in the Ross River Sunday night into Monday. Unprecedented areas of flooding will occur in Townsville", authorities said.

On Sunday, authorities were forced to open the gates of the city's main dam after it swelled to double its capacity - releasing up to 1,900 cubic metres of water a second. Police have joined friends and family in searching for Hughie Morton, 21, and Troy Mathieson, 23, after they were last seen on Ross River Road on Monday morning.

The record breaking rainfall has dropped a whopping 1012mm on the area in just seven days, beating the city's previous record of 886mm back in 1998.

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