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Floods northwest of Sydney
Photo: SAEED KHAN / AFP
The floods of the past few days are a major problem for the people of Australia.
But even for parts of the local animal world, when the water levels rise, it is all about bare survival.
As reported by the US broadcaster CNN, among others, there have been numerous reports of spiders and snakes heading for human dwellings on the run from the water.
The Australian Matt Lovenfosse, for example, regularly posts updates on Facebook about the conditions on his farm in Kinchela Creek, on the east coast of the country, a little halfway between the cities of Sydney and Brisbane.
One of the photos shows dozens, if not hundreds, of spiders moving over muddy ground.
“It's still raining and the water is getting closer and closer to the house.
We should have water in the house by morning and then the spiders will be everywhere, «writes Lovenfosse.
This happened in 2001 and 2013 with similar weather conditions, the insects instinctively looked for the highest point.
And that is the house.
But not only insects are looking for strategies to cope with the extreme situation.
"The trees are full of snakes," writes Lovenfosse.
If you go by boat across the flooded fields, numerous reptiles would try to get on board.
Fireman Russell Turner described similar behavior to the Australian broadcaster ABC: “A crew was just about to save a family.
When they got back to their boat, they found numerous snakes in it.
They then distracted the family, dislodged the snakes and completed the rescue operation. ”Here, too, the animals would have sought the highest point, in this case the lifeboat.
Heavy rain for days in large parts of the east coast caused the rivers to overflow their banks.
18,000 people were brought to safety along 900 kilometers, 15,000 of them in the region north of Sydney and 3,000 in west Sydney, said the Prime Minister of the state of New South Wales, Gladys Berejiklian.
Melanie Williams, who lives in the city of Macksville, also posted remarkable pictures on Facebook.
"So many SPIDERS from the flood water," she wrote.
Finally, on TikTok, Shenea Varley posted a video of numerous spiders hiding on a fence from the water.
"They also crawl up legs for protection," she commented.
The good news for humans and animals alike: From Wednesday the rain should subside, then sunshine and temperatures of around 30 degrees are predicted.
It will take some time, however, until the damage caused by this flood of the century is repaired.
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