http://www.thesun.co.uk
VICTIMS of the devastating Australian floods were last night facing a new threat from killer snakes, spiders and crocodiles.
Emergency supplies of snakebite anti-venom were being flown into Queensland as the rising water cut off 20 towns in the state — affecting 200,000 people.
The deadly reptiles have been moving to higher ground to seek refuge from the flood water.
And snakes six and a half feet long have been spotted in the major town of Rockhampton.
Highly venomous taipans, brown snakes and red-bellied blacks are climbing trees and hiding in houses for shelter.
Officials have warned the beasts are even more dangerous than usual because they are in their mating season, which makes them 'cranky'.
There is no end in sight to the "biblical" floods which are expected to last for weeks — with water levels set to peak at 30ft.
State premier Anna Bligh warned: "We will have major issues through January."
A third person died yesterday. A driver drowned after his car was washed away in Aramac.
More than 1,000 homes have been abandoned after days of driving rain last week caused river banks to burst.
More Australians fled their homes today and sandbagged properties.
In Rockhampton tens of thousands of people were bracing themselves for complete isolation.
So far flood waters have swamped an area bigger than France and Germany and closed the town's airport and railway.
Rumours of crocodile sightings have been rife in the cattle farming hub.
Emergency officials warned crocs pushed out of rivers could easily be mistaken for floating debris.
Pioneer Hotel pub owner Suzanne Miller added: "The snakes are a massive problem. I've shut all the doors because they're coming in."
State Emergency Service (SES) operations director Scott Mahaffey said: "Snakes are in their mating season and they've been flushed out of their environment.
"Snakes are very, very cranky right now.
"And the problem with crocodiles now is it's very, very hard to pick them out with the amount of debris."
Thousands of poisonous cane toads were also spotted around Rockhampton while authorities say the town will also be hit by sandflies and disease-carrying mosquitoes breeding in the standing water.
Meanwhile bridges have been washed away, coal mines forced to close, farms washed out and towns forced to undergo military evacuations by helicopter.
The worst is yet to hit the southern Queensland town of St George, which has begun evacuating residents and strengthening levees to keep out waters expected to peak on Sunday or Monday.
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