Flood mitigation levee in Katherine divides town as work begins more than 20 years after record flooding

By January 27, 1998, the river had peaked at 20.4 metres — more than a metre higher than the "unprecedented" floods of 1957. (Supplied: Our Territory)

There are few details Toni Tapp-Coutts can't remember about Australia Day 1998, or the days and weeks afterwards, but these things stand out. 

The smell of rotting food and musty old furniture and the camaraderie and humour in the face of disaster.