Rain-hit region braces as tropical storm sweeps past
A drenched town has been warned it is “not out of the woods yet” despite a fast-moving storm stopping it from causing further damage.
The Northern Territory bid farewell to former tropical cyclone Narelle as it headed towards Western Australia on Monday, triggering rain and wind warnings as it headed towards the Kimberley.
Trees were downed and power was out in the Top End, but the system caused less damage than initially feared as it moved west.
“It moved much faster than we expected, which is great news for the region… there is much less damage than we expected due to these high speeds,” NT Premier Lia Finocchiaro said.
But Ms Finocchiaro warned Katherine, south-east of Darwin, was “not out of the woods yet” as the town braced for further flooding in the wake of Narelle.
Katherine homes and businesses were still reeling from floodwaters in early March after heavy rains filled watersheds in the Big Rivers region.
Warnings remain in place for the nearby Katherine River, which is expected to reach moderate flood levels later on Monday, potentially submerging roads and some buildings.
Major flood warnings are in place for the Adelaide, Daly and Waterhouse rivers; The Narelle, currently classified as a tropical low river, is moving towards WA.
Katherine Mayor Joanna Holden said her community is better prepared this time after a major sandbagging effort.
There were no heavy showers overnight and falls in the river basin were mostly less than 100mm, he told AAP on Monday.
“So I think people are a little bit optimistic, but… we can’t be complacent.”
Power was cut and a boil water alert was issued on the Adelaide River; Major flood stage was reached here and residents evacuated themselves overnight after four homes were flooded.
“There’s a couple of big trees down there and there’s definitely water flowing into the bar and service station there,” Ms Finocchiaro said.
Hundreds of people moved to safety from the Gulf of Carpentaria community of Numbulwar will begin returning home on Monday afternoon after assessments showed the passing storm caused minimal damage.
But the town of Daly River, northwest of Katherine, remains flooded and further flooding is expected as hundreds of evacuated residents wait in emergency shelters at Batchelor, south of Darwin.
Flood watches were still in place and a coastal danger warning had been issued for the west coast of the NT, including Darwin, due to damaging surf.
NT Police Commissioner Martin Dole said emergency services were monitoring river systems.
He warned drivers not to attempt to drive through flooded roads, including the Stuart Highway.
Narelle weakened below hurricane strength after crossing the coast on Sunday, cutting down trees in far eastern Arnhem Land, but there were no reports of major damage to Gulf communities.
The former cyclone is expected to continue its path towards Western Australia, bringing heavy rain and damaging winds to northern parts of the Kimberley.
The Bureau of Meteorology said catchments across the region were already saturated, meaning rivers and streams would rise rapidly with heavy rainfall.
He warned that roads could be affected and some communities could be isolated.
Clean-up efforts continue in northern Queensland following the Narelle attack on Friday.
Public schools in the remote area have reopened and power is being restored after the hurricane uprooted trees and blew off roofs, causing little structural damage.
Police distributed fuel to Cape York communities to help locals recover from the storm.
“The community dodged a huge bullet,” Lockhart River Mayor Wayne Butcher said.
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