Cyclone brings floods, crocodile sightings in Australia's northeast

A supplied image obtained on Monday, December 18, 2023, shows State Emergency Service personnel evacuating people from flood waters in far north Queensland, Australia following heavy rain and flooding from ex-tropical cyclone Jasper. AAP Image/Supplied by QFES via REUTERS

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Floods caused by heavy rain in the wake of former Tropical Cyclone Jasper cut off several towns popular with tourists in Australia's northeast along the Great Barrier Reef on Monday, with a crocodile being captured from a storm drain.

Jasper dumped months' worth of rain in the far north of Queensland state over the weekend, forcing some people to flee homes and crowd on rooftops to escape fast-rising rivers.