Northern Territory Chief Minister Natasha Fyles has defended the recent construction of new remote houses in a known flood-plain, following renewed calls to move one of the communities inundated last week to higher ground.
About 150 people in Pigeon Hole, south-west of Katherine, were evacuated last week after heavy rain caused major flooding in the community, reaching the roofs of houses and cutting the supply of power and water.
Victoria Daly Regional Council Mayor Brian Pedwell has criticised the government over the scale of the crisis, arguing it ignored long-standing concerns about the community's vulnerability to flooding when it built six homes near the river bank in 2019.
NT Chief Minister Natasha Fyles told ABC Radio Darwin this morning that the location of the homes was chosen based on consultation with the community.
She compared the current situation to conversations after Cyclone Tracy in the 1970s about whether homes in parts of Darwin should be relocated.
"It's a difficult issue in terms of people wanting to live in a certain location, but also making [homes] resistant to these weather events," she said.
"But there was definitely consultation in 2018 around those homes."
Asked whether the entire community should be moved, Ms Fyles said relocating all 20 homes would be a large-scale and expensive undertaking.
"We would need to fully understand that, with the community," she said.
"That would be a huge cost, to relocate multiple houses.
"When we have these events, we have to look at the resilience into the future and seek professional advice around that as well as the community views."
It has now been one week since residents of Pigeon Hole and two other remote communities — Daguragu and Kalkarindji — started being evacuated due to major flooding associated with a large tropical low weather system.
About 700 people have since been relocated to Darwin, with damage assessments in the flood-affected communities getting underway this week.
Flood warning still active for Borroloola
Authorities are continuing to monitor the remote community of Borroloola today, which is expecting more rain today after being cut off by water flowing over the bridge across the McArthur River.
A minor flood warning is still current for the river, with the Bureau of Meteorology advising river levels are expected to peak this afternoon.
NT Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker said yesterday there were no plans to evacuate the gulf region community at this stage and it was well-stocked with supplies.
Borroloola elder and Roper Gulf councillor Samuel Evans said with water over the bridge, residents of a community on the other side were now relying on boats to cross over and access shops.
"They are looking for boats now to come across, because all the shopping area's on this side of the town … now the bridge is underwater," he told ABC Radio Darwin this morning.
There are also flood warnings current for the Victoria River and lower Daly River.
