LARGE crocodiles lurking near flooded causeways on Far Northern rivers are adding to an already deadly situation for drivers, police say.

The warning comes after several near misses at causeways on the Cape where not only have causeway approaches been washed away but large saltwater crocodiles are lurking nearby.

Laura police acting Sen-Constable Glen De Lay said the most recent near miss came in the early hours of Sunday morning after an Aurukun man attempted to cross the Laura River’s northern causeway in the middle of the night.

"The driver was very lucky the vehicle did not get washed downstream," he said.

"We could have had a fatality on our hands." Just days earlier a four-wheel drive vehicle with two infant occupants became stranded in the southern Laura River after an unsuccessful attempt to cross it, causing an adult occupant of the vehicle to carry the children about 50m through the flooded river to safety.

"There have been sightings of a sizeable estuarine crocodile at the southern Laura River crossing in the past week prior to this 4WD vehicle becoming stranded. Signs have been erected to warn the public of the danger," Sen-Constable De Lay said.

"For this reason I would also discourage any person from walking flooded river crossings in the Cape prior to crossing them."

The Peninsula Developmental Rd is impassable at the northern Laura River crossing and the road from near Cooktown to the tip of the Cape is closed to all but local traffic.

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