CAIRNS Saltwater crocodiles were spotted swimming the streets of Cairns on Australia's northeast coast, after high tides flooded parts of the city, a newspaper said on Saturday.

A baby saltwater crocodile measuring 50cm (20 inches) was killed after being hit by a car and at least three others -- as long as 1.8 meters (71 inches) -- were seen in the flooded streets, the ******Cairns Post****** reported.

Cairns, a popular tourist base for visits to the nearby great barrier reef, was partly flooded and nearby beaches were seriously eroded by 3.6 meter (12 feet), which were expected to continue over the weekend.

Marcel Maujean, who operates a boat-building business in the northern Queensland city, told the Australian Associated Press one of his staff had turned the dead crocodile into wildlife officers, along with another small one that was swimming by.

He said a 1.8 meter crocodile was also swimming in the street in about a meter (30 inches) of water, but made its way back into nearby mangroves.

"We are one block from the inlet so I'm not really surprised to see them," he said.

"But you don't expect to see a crocodile in your drain."

(Reuter)