Beachgoers in Queensland, Australia were in for a shock after strong winds pushed enormous numbers of jellyfish ashore, stinging thousands and forcing the closure of many of the state’s famous swim spots.
The BBC reports that more than 2,600 people were treated over the weekend, while about 13,000 stings were reported over the past week.
Most of the encounters happened in the popular Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast regions.
A sting from the bluebottle jellyfish can be painful, but not life-threatening.
“I have never seen anything like this – ever,” Surf Life Saving duty officer Jeremy Sturges told the Guardian, calling the sudden surge of the creatures an “epidemic.”
Experts said the jellyfish were likely strewn ashore by unusually strong winds.
More Must-Read Stories From TIME
- The Fall of Roe and the Failure of the Feminist Industrial Complex
- The Ocean Is Climate Change’s First Victim and Last Resort
- Column: 6 Proven Ways to Reduce Gun Violence
- Ads Are Officially Coming to Netflix. Here's What That Means for You
- Jenny Slate on the Unifying Power of a Well-Heeled Shell Named Marcel
- Column: The FDA's Juul Ban May Not be a Pure Public Health Triumph
- What the Supreme Court’s Abortion Decision Means for Your State
Read More From TIME
