Emergency Services say Waterhouse River levels have peaked, flood warnings in place

Emergency Services believe the Waterhouse River levels have peaked and no longer bears a threat to the Beswick community, however a major flood warning remains in place.

UPDATE: EMERGENCY Services believe the Waterhouse River levels have peaked and no longer bears a threat to the Beswick community, however a major flood warning from the Bureau of Meteorology remains in place.

The BoM had forecast major flooding at Beswick, south of Katherine, on Thursday morning following widespread rainfall totals of 70-150mm recorded across the Waterhouse River catchment in the past 36 hours.

The Central Arnhem Road at the Waterhouse River is closed due to water over the road.

A flood watch remains current for many parts of the western Top End and Roper River catchment.

A severe weather warning has also been issued for damaging winds and heavy rainfall in Daly and parts of Arnhem, Carpentaria and Gregory districts, as ex-Tropical Cyclone Tiffany continues to move westwards.

BoM forecaster Rebecca Patrick said there had been significant rainfall in the Waterhouse River catchment near Beswick over the past 24 hours.

“We had 155mm so far in the last 24 hours at (one catchment) and also Beswick bridge itself had 138mm,” she told ABC Radio.

“Further afield, we’ve had widespread 40-80mm around the base of the Top End but also in the Daley District.

“We do have a flood warning for Beswick, (water levels) have gone over the major line but fortunately a lot of the housing is now above that line, which is good news for them.”

Further rainfall is forecast for the rest of Thursday, and further river rises are forecast.

EARLIER: FLOOD Watch issued for Western Top End and Roper River region as ex-tropical Cyclone Tiffany moves westward.

Significant flooding of low-lying areas and river rises are expected in the region as more rivers have been added to Flood Watch.

Those in the watch zone are encouraged to review their household flood emergency plan and ensure their emergency kit is stocked.

As waters rise people are advised to stay away from floodwaters and not to attempt to cross or drive through floodways.

The list of rivers on Flood Watch has extended to North West and Carpentaria Coastal Rivers including Upper Victoria River, Victoria River below Kalkarindji, Fitzmaurice River, Tiwi Islands, Mary River, Upper Adelaide River, Adelaide River below Adelaide River Town and Finniss River.

EARLIER: KATHERINEis bracing for potential flooding as Cyclone Tiffany continues to track towards the town.

Katherine has had its fair share of floods over the years with 1998 perhaps the most memorable with only the roofs visible from some buildings.

Katherine Town Council Mayor Elisabeth Clark confirmed preparations were underway in readiness of the potential flooding.

A flood watch was called for the North West and Carpentaria Coastal Rivers on Tuesday when Cyclone Tiffany showed signs of tracking towards Katherine.

Those catchments named under the flood watch included Lower Daly River, Daly River above Douglas River, Katherine River, Walker River, Groote Eylandt, Waterhouse River, Roper River and Towns River.

BOM senior meteorologist Billy Lynch said while there were concerns of floods in the region they couldn’t yet predict what it would mean for the region.

“There are concerns that could be floods in the Katherine River region and as a result it has been added to Flood Watch,” Mr Lynch said.

“We’re not making predictions yet on how much rainfall we will get or where it will be heaviest but there is the potential for some heavy rainfall over the Roper, Daly and Katherine River regions.”