Authorities have begun repatriating some of the evacuated 700 residents back to their remote Northern Territory communities, weeks after major flooding forced them to flee their homes earlier this month.
The NT government has confirmed it would repatriate around 50 residents back to the Victoria Daly community Kalkarindji today.
Buses began ferrying people from the Howard Springs facility on Darwin's outskirts this morning, with a "staged" repatriation process expected to continue tomorrow and into Tuesday.
But other evacuees from Kalkarindji, as well as residents of the nearby settlements of Daguragu and Pigeon Hole, will need to remain at the evacuation centre while the government works to repair their homes.
The NT government said Pigeon Hole remained inaccessible by road while remediation works were underway at Daguragu.
In a statement this afternoon, the government said the green light was given to some residents to return because their properties were not so severely impacted impacted by flooding.
"It will be a staged approach to get evacuees home, we are making sure that power and water is available in the community," Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said.
She added a second round of hardship payments would be paid out to residents when they return home to help replace lost possessions.
Long wait to return home
Residents of Daguragu, Pigeon Hole and Kalkarindji were evacuated on March 1 as heavy rain inundated the region, causing the Victoria River to break its banks.
Ms Fyles signed an emergency declaration covering a number of remote communities, with evacuated residents flown to Katherine and then to Darwin.
At the time, authorities warned there was no set time frame for residents to return, with concerns about damage to the communities' sewage, power and water systems.
The deluge also caused flooding downstream, cutting the Victoria Highway linking Western Australia with the Northern Territory for nearly a week.
The closure of the Victoria Highway caused freight disruption in Western Australia's East Kimberley region, with supermarket shelves running low on essential items and fresh food.
