Residents of a flood-affected township in the Northern Territory have begun to return home more than a week after being evacuated, with the help of "dozens" of donations of much-needed supplies.
A number of Aboriginal communities surrounding the township of Timber Creek, near the West Australian border, had been evacuated in the days before Christmas after it was hit by a deluge from ex-Tropical Cyclone Ellie.
Residents from the communities of One Mile and Myatt were evacuated on December 23, initially to a basketball court, and then to a nearby workers camp and a defence housing facility.
They have been unable to return home due to issues with water supply and sewerage in the communities.
Following a call out on social media for donations of essential supplies by the Northern Land Council for those who lost their possessions in the floods, Samuel Bush-Blanasi said they had "dozens" of requests to help out.
“On behalf of the members and staff of the Northern Land Council and of the residents of Timber Creek and the homeland communities of Myatt, Gilwi, One Mile and others, I would like to express our sincere thanks and gratitude to everyone who has donated much-needed supplies to all those people affected by the flooding in the Timber Creek district over the past week," he said.
“Essential items donated so far include nappies, non-prescription reading glasses, washing machines, a chest freezer, men’s, women’s and children’s clothes and shoes, bed linen, towels and much more.
"I would also like to thank the NLC staff and members and Timber Creek residents and workers who have donated their time and tireless efforts over the past week."
Residents begin heading home
According to a statement from Chief Minister Natasha Fyles released on Saturday, most evacuees are now able to return home.
"A number of residents from homelands surrounding Timber Creek will start returning home from today with sewerage, water and power now available, while others will remain for the time being staying at the Defence Bradshaw accommodation while their homes undergo repairs," Ms Fyles said.
"The affected communities have also had adequate supplies of food and fuel with more scheduled."
Ms Fyles said an emergency declaration, which was issued when the region was first flooded, had been lifted.
"I am heartened by the community resilience and actions of many local residents who acted swiftly, together with our first responders, to ensure everyone could be safely accommodated while emergency repairs were undertaken," she said.
A boil water alert has been issued by NT Health for the residents returning to the Gilwi, Myatt and One Mile communities.
Rain set to continue over flooded areas, says BOM
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) issued a final flood watch on Saturday morning related to the ex-tropical cyclone, including for the Victoria River near Kalkarindji, south of Timber Creek.
The system is currently located over central parts of the Kimberley but is forecast to move east again towards the NT border today.
"Rainfall totals of 5 — 50 mm with isolated heavier falls were recorded over the flood watch area in the 24 hours to 9:00 am Saturday," the BOM said.
"Widespread heavy rain is no longer expected, however, isolated heavy falls from thunderstorms will continue over the flood watch area.
"Significant flooding of some low lying areas and river flows are expected to continue for the next few days.
The BOM said a number of roads were flooded over and some remote communities and homesteads could expect to become or remain isolated.
One lane of the Stuart Highway has been closed in Humpty Doo in Darwin's rural area due to water over the road, with motorists also advised to drive with caution on the highway further south — near the Cox Peninsula Road intersection — due to road damage.
The Barkly highway has been reopened to motorists after several days of being closed due to flooding.
However, the highway is only open between 8am to 4pm with traffic management in place as road repairs are required.
