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Cyclone Debbie dumps bull shark in the middle of Northern Australian road

Queensland Fire and Emergency services tweeted a picture warning people to 'not go back in the water'

Caroline Mortimer
Thursday 30 March 2017 16:56 BST
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The shark was beached by Cyclone Debbie which struck the north east of Australia this week
The shark was beached by Cyclone Debbie which struck the north east of Australia this week (QFES)

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The residents of a small town in Queensland, Australia were treated to a real life “Sharknado” when a bull shark was dumped in the middle of their road by a cyclone.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services tweeted a picture of the shark which had washed up on a road near the coastal town of Ayr.

It said: “Think it’s safe to go back in the water? Think again! A bull shark washed up in Ayr. Stay out of floodwater.”

Local news reporter Philip Calder told news.com.au the shark, which unfortunately died, has become “the talk of the town” and many locals had turned up to touch it.

He said: “He must’ve gotten caught in a torrent and confused, beached himself on the side of the road.

“We were pretty amazed, we were turning up to shoot a flooding road, we weren’t expecting to see wildlife as well.”

Some social media users have made light of the incident – comparing it to disaster movie franchise Sharknado, famed for its preposterousness.

Emergency crews in the area reported having to rescue dozens of people who became trapped in floodwaters after Cyclone Debbie slammed into Australia’s north-east coastline on Tuesday.

The storm also knocked out power to thousands when it slammed ashore with winds of up to 260km (160m) per hour on Tuesday.

The region is still experiencing heavy wind and rain but the storm has been downgraded to a tropical low as it heads southeast towards Brisbane.

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