Emergency declaration, evacuation orders declared for Dagaragu, Kalkarindji, Pigeon Hole and Palumpa
A teenager was bitten on the leg by a crocodile lurking in flood waters as hundreds of residents from northern NT communities are forced to evacuate. Watch the video.
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An estimated 700 people will be evacuated from northern remote communities in the Northern Territory due to severe flooding in the region.
Residents of Pigeon Hole and Daguragu have been evacuated via helicopters to nearby Kalkarindji, with the Victoria River at a 22-year record high.
An evacuation order is also in place for Kalkarindji and Palumpa communities.
A 17-year-old boy was bitten by a crocodile in floodwaters as evacuations occurred.
A St John NT spokeswoman confirmed he was in the care of a medical clinic at Kalkarindji but the level of injuries were not known.
NT Police Commander Danny Bacon said the evacuated residents would be flown to Katherine then bussed up to Darwin.
“The way our planning is at the moment is we’ll have all people evacuated out of that particular community by tomorrow,” he said.
It comes as the Chief Minister signed an emergency declaration on Wednesday due to the Victoria River reaching the major flood level of more than 16 metres.
It is expected to climb to at least 17.5 metres, similar to that of the 2001 record flood event in Kalkarindji.
The West Daly regional council office in Palumpa has had to close due to flooding.
“We’re asking residents of that particular community to leave animals outside —
animals will not be evacuated but animal biosecurity will attend to feed them,” Commander Bacon said.
Remote communities to the south and west of Kalkarindji could be hit by similar weather events in the coming days, according to the Bureau of Metereology.
Shenagh Gamble from the Bureau said a tropical low that had been present over the northwestern part of the Territory had maintained it’s strength and was moving across the Top End.
“That system has brought heavy rain and strong winds and across that part of the Territory the catchments are very wet,” she said.
“As the low moves away from each community we’ll see those weather conditions ease.”
Ms Gamble said a severe weather warning was current for parts of the Daly and Gregory districts, as well as northern parts of the Tanami and Barkly districts.
“We can expect that major roads could be impacted by such heavy falls and certainly local and community roads,” she said.
“The Daly River is currently at a moderate flood level and we expect that to peak sometime during Friday and continue to go down over the weekend.”
Commander Bacon said those other remote communities that may be affected have been meeting and getting evacuation plans in order.
“These committees are meeting and doing a lot of preparatory work should this weather system impact on them adversely,” he said.
Both the Foskey Pavillion and Marrara evacuation sites are being stood up to house the evacuated residents.
70 of the 700-strong cohort were identified as vulnerable and would require medical attention following evacuation.
Wet weather reigns in the NT
Amid flood watches and severe weather warnings, it’s no surprise several NT regions recorded more than 50mm of rainfall.
Lajamanu recorded 99.6mm of rain and Wadeye recorded 52mm in the 24 hours to 9am on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Darwin Airport recorded just 9.8mm of rain in the same period and Tennant Creek recorded 6.4mm.
Alice Springs did not report any rainfall.
âš ï¸ #Flood Warning issued for Upper Victoria River. MINOR FLOODING LIKELY AT #KALKARINDJI TUESDAY AFTERNOON. Heavy rain overnight and more rain forecast during today. See https://t.co/WGlUM8fr6X for details and updates; follow advice from @ntpfes#NTfloodspic.twitter.com/yJbZnlGd5h
— Bureau of Meteorology, Northern Territory (@BOM_NT) February 27, 2023
It comes after the Bureau of Meteorology issued a moderate flood warning for Upper Victoria River, with water levels at 15.9m and rising as of 12.43pm on Wednesday.
It is expected to reach 17.5m by Wednesday afternoon.
“Heavy rainfall recorded in the Upper Victoria River catchment overnight Tuesday into Wednesday has resulted in renewed river level rises and minor flooding along the Victoria River at Kalkarindji,” the Bureau said.
“At Kalkarindji, river levels are rising and moderate flooding is possible from Wednesday morning.”
A flood warning for the Daly River is also current, with moderate flooding likely along the lower end of the catchment.
The Bureau said the flooding at the Daly River Police Station was likely.
At 2.21pm on Wednesday, the Bureau said the catchment’s water levels were at 13.3m, and could reach 13.5m on Friday evening.
Chief Minister Natasha Fyles on Tuesday said the NT government was particularly focused “around the Victoria, Daly districts”.
“We’re not expecting any evacuations at this stage, but things change quickly,” she said.
“In terms of providing support, we’re in contact with a number of communities.
“We have done some food drops to communities and we’ll continue to work with communities.
“It is difficult because some of the air strips are not able to be landed on because of the wet weather.”
The Territory’s crocs are on the prowl after recent wet weather, including heavy downpours and flooding.
“Water is flowing pretty fast this morning – managed to spot our first croc out here though,” Jospehine Syed wrote on Saturday.
She shared a video of the “freshie enjoying the abundance of morning snacks” to Facebook.
Garry Watters shared his own photos of the dam’s reptilian residents on Sunday.
“Lots of people parked up by the overflow today all obsessing with the spoonbill,” he wrote.
“They were on the wrong side of the river and missed out on this 1.3m freshie enjoying the peace.”
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