After dust storms, hail and flash floods battered Australian cities in recent days, wildlife officials are warning residents against another natural threat: the venomous Australian funnel-web spider.

The Australian Reptile Park attributes increased activity in these arachnids to the recent weather conditions.

“We are issuing a message of warning to the public as recent wet weather conditions followed by hot days have created perfect conditions for funnel-web spiders to thrive,” the park said in a Facebook post.

Dan Rumsey, a reptile keeper at the Australian Reptile Park, said in a video posted on the park’s Facebook page that funnel-web spiders are potentially one of the most dangerous spiders on the planet for humans.

If bitten by a spider, the park recommends immobilizing the limb, applying a bandage and seeking immediate medical attention.

The park has worked with these spiders, since its raw venom is the only way to make life-saving antivenom.

According to the reptile keeper, no one has died from a funnel-web spider bite in Australia since the 1980s.

Rumsey said in the video that as weather conditions persist, ground-dwelling males will most likely be in search of females.

Hailstorms struck Australia’s second-largest city, Melbourne, on Sunday, and the national capital Canberra on Monday. Melbourne has been choked by smoke from distant wildfires in Victoria state in recent weeks.

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Unusually intense storms over the weekend caused flash flooding in the cities of Brisbane and Gold Coast in Queensland state just north of New South Wales, where most of the wildfire destruction has occurred.

The fires have claimed at least 28 lives since September, destroyed more than 2,600 homes and scorched more than 25.7 million acres.

Widespread recent rainfall in New South Wales and Victoria have helped but have not extinguished major fires in Australia’s two most populous states. Authorities have warned the fire danger will escalate this week in both states with rising temperatures and drier conditions.

Contributing: Associated Press Follow Adrianna Rodriguez on Twitter: @AdriannaUSAT.