Almost two weeks after a one-in-50-year flood inundated her Northern Territory outback hotel in Timber Creek, Fiona McDonald is working out how to keep the business operating.
"We've been spending seven-and-a-half years fixing the business up and renewing a lot of the accommodation, so to see some of the hard work ripped out [including] brand new cabins ... it's disheartening," she said.
"It’s left a real mess, so we’re still trying to work out how to keep operating."
Timber Creek, located south-west of Darwin near the border with Western Australia, was the centre of a flooding emergency on December 23, as ex-Tropical Cyclone Ellie swept through the region.
The same system is currently causing flooding in parts of the Kimberley, and the Bureau of Meteorology is warning it could continue dumping rain as it moves back into parts of the NT this weekend.
Footage in Timber Creek showed water washing through the community and nearby Indigenous settlements, leaving people wading through chest-high floodwaters to get to safety.
Ms McDonald said by the time floodwaters had receded, 14 rooms and six cabins at the Timber Creek Hotel she owns and operates had been damaged.
"There was black sludge through everything," she said.
In the week and a half since, damaged walls and floors have been ripped out as insurers to begin repairs on the hotel, fearing the next challenge will be blooms of mould.
"We’ve got a lot of rooms offline with emergency measures for insurance and to mitigate any further damage," Ms McDonald said.
One Mile, Myatt communities ravaged by floodwaters
In town, locals have been lining up for assistance from the NT government, which is handing out flood relief payments.
Aid organisations including the Red Cross have also travelled to the region to provide relief.
Residents from the nearby flood-affected communities of One Mile and Myatt have travelled to Timber Creek for assistance, with about 20 people taking up residence on a basketball court at one point.
Evacuees were then given shelter in defence housing and a nearby workers camp.
Many remain unable to return to their communities after floodwaters damaged sewage and water infrastructure.
Traditional owner Lorraine Jones — who is in Timber Creek helping her community with the clean up — said the flooding in the region was the worst she had seen in her lifetime.
"It's just a disaster really," she said.
"It went through the cemetery and all went underwater. It's a bit sad, my dad is buried there, my grandmother, my uncle.
Ms Jones said as the waters rose, the community was left to fend for itself, with her brother stepping in to help people.
"He was the only one saving lives. We would've lost probably five kids and a couple of adults," she said.
With flood waters receding, some community members have returned to Myatt to assess the damage.
Ms Jones said many locals have lost their possessions.
"You could smell sewage and stuff like that, and see rubbish up on the houses." she said.
Northern Land Council chairman, Samuel Bush-Blanasi, has called for better emergency infrastructure in Timber Creek.
"I think the Northern Land Council is going to be working very closely with the Northern Territory government in regards to a flood shelter – not just a cyclone shelter, but a flood shelter," he told ABC Radio Darwin this morning.
"So next time it happens again, [residents] can go straight into our flood shelter and we can look after them."
Wet weather set to continue
Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said assessment teams were working to determine when it was safe for locals to move back into their homes.
She said damage to homes varied from minor to "significantly damaged".
"We've got people moving back into some homes and we've worked to secure accommodation for others," she said.
Ms Fyles said relief efforts into Timber Creek had been hampered because crews could not access the township by road or air due to the wild weather.
The Bureau of Meteorology has warned more rainfall is likely as ex-Tropical Cyclone Ellie continues to linger around north-western Australia.
BOM forecaster Sally Cutter said Ellie's remnants were likely to track back towards the NT over the coming days, but further inland, where there was a flooding risk for the Tanami and Lasseter districts.
However, she said it was likely to stay well away from Timber Creek and its surrounds.
"[Ellie] has been over land for nearly two weeks ... and it is slightly unusual to see them last this long over land," she said.
Ms Cutter urged motorists to check local weather and flood warnings before travelling across parts of the NT in coming days.
