Australia storms turns beach red with ‘maggot-filled’ algae

‘We were completely in shock,’ woman who visited beach says

(Jayde Clark )

An Australian beach famous for its white sand has turned red with “maggot-infested” seaweed, which experts say could be a result of the deadly storms lashing the country.

Footage shows Hyams Beach on the south coast of New South Wales covered with dark red algae as visitors described noticing a “mild smell”.

Flooding and torrential rain has battered Australia’s eastern coast since last month, killing at least 21 people and destroying thousands of homes.

The stormy weather could also be behind the change in landscape at Hyams Beach, an expert has said.

Images shared on social media showed red algae covering a huge stretch of sand on the shore by Jervis Bay.

Jayde Clarke, a local who visited the beach earlier this week with her husband, reportedly said it was covered in what looked like “thousands” of maggots.

“We were completely in shock - in the whole 25 years my husband had lived here he had never seen anything like it,” she told Daily Mail Australia.

Dr Trudy Costa from the University of Wollongong’s School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences told local media: “It most likely washed up as a result of the recent weather and storms.”

She said this phenomenon - when seaweed is washed ashore in masses - was called “wrack”.

“There could be maggots within it as there are many tiny organisms that live in the algae that then die when it is washed up on the shore,” Dr Costa told the South Coast Register.

Australia declared a national emergency on Wednesday in response to the devastating flooding that has swept through its east coast. Storms started in Queensland before moving down into New South Wales.

The prime minister, Scott Morrison, said it was becoming “harder” to live in the country “because of these natural disasters”.