This flood is so intense it's created its own weather system

The floods have killed an estimated 500,000 cattle in Queensland, Australia.

In a matter of weeks, a thin patch of river has swelled to a width of 60 kilometres amid severe flooding in Queensland, Australia.

Newly-released NASA satellite images show the Flinder's river -- one of the longest on the continent -- at its highest levels in more than 50 years.

The flooding is so intense, it's created its own weather system, CNN reports.

According to the Queensland Bureau of Meteorology, the extra moisture swirling on the ground is contributing to thunderstorms in the area, and exacerbating an already-dire situation.

BIG LOSSES TO BEEF INDUSTRY

CNN reports an estimated 500,000 cattle have died in the floods, worth about $300 million (AU).

Authorities aren't able to get to the remains to properly dispose of them, threatening to create a health hazard.

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"People have gone through drought, they have come out of years and years of drought, and they have now gone smack-bang into a natural disaster the likes of which no one out there has seen before," Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told reporters.

VIDEO: HUNDREDS FORCED FROM THEIR HOME DUE TO FLOOD IN AUSTRALIA