NT government declares emergency situation after Timber Creek floods, heavy rainfall
A stretch of the Stuart Hwy has closed due to heavy rains in the Timber Creek region. Read the latest weather updates.
The NT government has declared an emergency situation in the wake of devastating floods in Timber Creek and continued rainfall across the Territory.
Special powers have been granted to emergency services, including the ability to order evacuations from inundated areas.
It comes as a stretch of the Stuart Hwy closed at Gilbert Swamp as a result of the heavy rains.
Tennant Creek is expected to continue to be hit by heavy rains for the next few days.
The tiny Territory town is continuing to battle the “one-in-50-year” weather event.
Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said residents were starting to return home after many were forced to shelter on the town’s basketball court.
“The Territory government remains stood up to assist Territorians with flooding which is occurring across the Territory,” she said.
“Thank you to all those residents for co-operating and taking shelter.
“I want to assure Territorians the NT government is doing everything we can to make sure that the community is safe and that they can access the services they need.”
Timber Creek, located about 300km southwest of Katherine on the Victoria Hwy, has been inundated with floodwater as ex-Tropical Cyclone Ellie moves south across the Territory.
Several people were rescued from floodwaters by local emergency services, including a 74-year-old woman who was washed off a bridge.
Police waded into the water to rescue the woman after they were unable to reach her via boat.
She was taken to Katherine Hospital and is understood to be unharmed.
Many of the town’s residents were also forced to spend Friday night on the town’s basketball court as houses became inundated with water.
Additional emergency services personnel are unable to get to the town, with weather conditions stopping choppers and planes from flying and roads either side of Timber Creek cut off.
Extra resources were deployed on Friday night but it was unclear when they would be able to reach the town.
Victoria Daly Regional Council Mayor Brian Pedwell said he was “gobsmacked” when he saw the amount of water on the Victoria Hwy.
Mayor Pedwell said some of his family members who had left town to do Christmas shopping were stuck about 50km from Timber Creek because of water over the highway.
He said he was liaising with the government about the next steps and felt for residents who had lost their bedding and clothes in the floods.
Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said her thoughts were with locals in the area.
“It was sudden and intense and has impacted the community significantly,” Ms Fyles said.
She said the generational weather event caused “sudden” flooding to Watch Creek, which is part of the Timber Creek community.
The Gilwi and Myatt outstations near Timber Creek were also inundated with floodwater.
Ms Fyles said everyone in the community was accounted for but the government would consider evacuations if conditions in the town worsened.
Ms Fyles said the water was subsiding as quickly as it has arrived but warned more heavy rain was on the way.
“The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting a lot of rain for the Northern Territory,” she said.
She said power in Timber Creek remained up and running but water had been affected by the flooding.
In the 24 hours to 9am, the town received 241mm, including 157mm in just six hours.
On Saturday afternoon, the Bureau issued more flood warnings for the Territory, with the Barkly region a chance to receive up to 350mm of rain in 24 hours.
The Bureau said 160mm to 250mm of rain could fall in just six hours.
Gusts of up to 90km/h could also hit the region on Sunday morning.
Gregory, Carpentaria and Tanami were all at risk of receiving up to 120mm, with 160mm possible in isolated downpours.
Flash flooding could occur in parts of the Gregory, Carpentaria, Barkly, and Tanami districts throughout Saturday night and Sunday.
Tennant Creek, Elliott, Kalkarindji, Lajamanu, Ali Curung and Top Springs could all cop severe weather, the Bureau said.
Acting Police Commissioner and Territory Controller Murray Smallpage said emergency services were doing all they could to get additional resources to Timber Creek.
“The response is still going because we can’t get there,” he said.
“I’m not aware of anybody in immediate, imminent danger as we speak but we will be working collaboratively throughout the day to ensure that welfare support is provided to those people who need it.”
He urged anyone travelling to be “appropriately prepared” and tell people where they were heading.
“This is not a time to be complacent,” he said.
Emergency operation centres have been established in Katherine and Alice Springs.
A video posted to social media by the Timber Creek Hotel shows fast-flowing water surging around the pub and covering all visible ground.
“Never seen it like that before,” one person commented on the video.
“That’s some serious water,” another wrote.
Timber Creek Hotel owner Fiona McDonald, who has run the pub for about seven years with her husband, Callum, said she hadn’t assessed the full extent of the damage to her business yet.
She said the floodwaters, which had mostly receded around the pub by lunchtime, cam out of nowhere.
“It didn’t seem like we really had enough rain for that but obviously upstream did,” she said.
The McDonalds expected to spent most of the day cleaning but had opened the pub, their store and the roadhouse as normal.
Several calls for assistance were made on Friday by residents who told emergency services floodwaters were approaching houses and some community members were stranded.
Several residents were taken to safety by emergency services, including the 74-year-old woman who was carried 200 metres through floodwaters to higher ground.
Incident controller Kylie Anderson said the Local Emergency Committee would continue to monitor conditions until conditions eased.
The Victoria Hwy was closed between Timber Creek and the WA border on Friday.
Travellers were warned to avoid parts of the Victoria Hwy, the main route into WA, as flooding increased.
Incident Controller Virginia Read said motorists should reconsider travel due to heavy rain and rising waters over roads.
“It is highly dangerous for vehicles to attempt to cross flooded roads and causeways,” she said.
“Always stay away from flooded drains, rivers, streams and waterways and never to drive into floodwaters.
“Remember; if it’s flooded, forget it.”
Ellie was downgraded to a tropical low on Friday morning, less than 12 hours after reaching the NT coast as a category one cyclone about 11pm on Thursday night.
Ms Fyles said on Friday the cyclone had sped up and reached land earlier than expected, lowering its intensity.
However, heavy rainfall was forecast across the Territory as the low moved south, with as much as 250mm of rainfall expected in some isolated downpours in the Tanami.
Mr Smallpage urged motorists to take care on the roads.
“Just be careful if you’re travelling,” Mr Smallpage said.
“Flooded roads and the inclement weather conditions make our road conditions, particularly in remote locations, tricky.
“The last thing a Northern Territory police officer wants to be doing leading up to Christmas is knocking on someone’s door with some tragic news about a road death.”
Mr Smallpage also urged people to adhere to flood warnings.
“Don’t go into flooded roadways.”
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