In the 17 years that Peter Parlow has lived in the outback town of Camooweal, where the Northern Territory and Queensland borders meet, he has never experienced a wet season like the one he is living through now.
"It's the worst one yet," the 62-year-old said.
After losing his wife to cancer last year, Mr Parlow's home became a living memory of the life they built together.
"My old wife used to pack up our things for us, but the flood has never come all the way [up] … this year, it did," he said.
Two weeks ago, as the Georgina River flooded the outskirts of Camooweal, Mr Parlow's house was standing surrounded by what looked like a murky brown sea.
The deluge made its way into his home, saturating the floors and furniture with contaminated water.
"It brought all that waste right around and you can smell it in the air," he said.
Mr Parlow was not home when the floodwaters started to rise, and he said he didn't receive any official alerts from local services. It was his daughter who called to deliver the bad news.
"She rang me and I told her to lift things up, but she didn't have time because she was on her own and [had] no help," he said.
"She managed to get the car out overnight just before the flood rose higher … it was up to the Toyota's wheels.
"The next day she rang me and said, 'You lost everything.'"
The Queensland Police Service told the ABC in a statement, that "Camooweal did not require any emergency alerts, due to the very low population, they were personally visited by Camooweal police".
But Mr Parlow, who suffers from health conditions, says his home is uninhabitable.
He now lives in a tent in his backyard, left with just a suitcase of clothes and a few items he managed to save.
"Photos of my kids when they were small [with] my wife … everything's gone," Mr Parlow said.
"The furniture and bedding, all the sheets and clothes of my wife and kids, I've got to chuck it because that sewer probably went through it."
'Out in the bush and left in the dark'
Waanyi and Gangalidda woman Kimberley, who lives in Doomadgee, said the remote Aboriginal community had been isolated by floods since December last year.
"We didn't have much support from any government helping us with the flood," she said.
"They never come out here and see how we live and how we have managed to survive for the last three months.
"We're still struggling because our rivers are still up and we don't have access to anything, only by plane."
It is in crises like this she says an Indigenous Voice to Parliament could help.
"If we have someone there voicing our opinions … it would probably make some sort of change because we're getting heard," she said.
In the meantime, she said: "We're out in the bush so we're left in the dark."
While floodwaters have started to recede, food and supplies are still limited in the town.
The Department of Seniors, Disability Services and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships (DSDSATSIP) told the ABC in a statement: "Airfreight is being sourced from various locations as dictated by resupply needs and aircraft availability, to ensure food supplies are reaching Doomadgee during this latest flooding event."
Locals say recent food insecurity is due to a lack of preparation for this year's wet season.
Some food shops in Doomadgee and other remote communities have also been criticised for inflated prices as well as a lack of fresh produce, something which triggered a federal parliamentary inquiry back in 2020.
Kimberley said the floods had only amplified the problem.
"You go to the shop, you can't get the main things that we need at the store because the prices went up ever since they've been flying stock in," she said.
DSDSATSIP, which works in partnership with Doomadgee store operators, maintains prices have not increased due to changed freight arrangements during the floods, but it accepts there have been reports of panic buying, which may have contributed to stock running low.
Kimberley said in addition to communities needing adequate funding to help families through crises and reduce food insecurity, homes in remote areas need to be repaired and updated to withstand future wet seasons.
"All our homes, they're all damaged, they're all old," she said.
"They've got mildew and rust. Water has been leaking through the roof in every home in this town.
Resident calls for better flood preparation
North-east of Camooweal, in the small Aboriginal community of Bidunggu, is another family which was hit by the Gulf of Carpentaria floods and evacuated from their home.
"There was a wall of water coming down from one of the stations," Bidunggu resident Natalie King said.
At 10pm on March 3, Ms King answered a knock at the door from a local council employee.
"He said, 'Sis you've got to move out now,'" Ms King recalled.
"We grabbed whatever few clothes we could grab, some blankets and pillows and that's all we took.
"[It was] pouring rain and we're walking around in mud and everything trying to put this stuff into the car."
While they managed to secure housing for nine adults and 12 children including a four-month-old baby, at one point they were stranded without food.
"[It was] nearly two weeks without food … we had to just share what we had with each other," Ms King said.
"Us grown-ups didn't worry about ourselves; it was the kids we were worried about because they start crying."
The Burke Shire Council said a re-supply of food was scheduled to occur on March 11 but the "preservation of life" was the priority. Two days later, food drops were delivered.
In Bidunggu, floodwaters have receded and local authorities are assessing if it is safe for people to return to their homes.
Ms King said there needed to be more preparation for future wet seasons.
"It's lucky that most of the families who live in the community went away … it would have been worse," she said.
"We should have been notified a couple of days before that."
In the meantime, Ms King and her family have begun the immense journey of cleaning up and rebuilding their lives.
"We just feel devastated," she said.
"Growing up, we had floodwaters, but not as high as this.
"When you go there and see the cemetery where your family — your loved ones — are, [they're] all under water."
