The first of hundreds of people evacuated in Western Australia's flooding emergency are being allowed back to their homes, but the wait is not over for those in some of the worst hit areas.
Almost 200 people have been staying in temporary accommodation in Derby since waters rose and inundated communities across large parts of the Kimberley.
Among them was Cathy Ningella, who left her home in the community of Pandanus Park on the banks of the bulging Fitzroy River last Friday.
Almost the entire community were put on buses and taken to a Derby motel with floodwaters expected to inundate their homes.
But thankfully for Ms Ningella and her family, that didn't happen.
"Everybody's excited about going back home," she said.
"We've got family members back there so we know it's not really bad, the water hasn't come right up to our community, just halfway."
But for others, the wait continues.
There is no word yet on when people from badly hit areas like Fitzroy Crossing will be allowed to return, however, the clean-up in town is well underway.
"Those people who are still stuck in the rivers and all that, I hope you get more support, support like we had here," Ms Ningella said.
"I'd like to thank every supporter that has supported us through this sad time, you know, through this crisis and I really appreciate what they did for me and my family, and my community."
Speaking in Fitzroy Crossing, WA Housing Minister John Carey said a plan to replace and fix damaged homes would be a huge logistical task, and a full assessment of the damage would have to be completed first.
"We're facing a heated construction market. This is northern Australia. It is far more difficult to get tradies here in the first place," he said.
"But, that doesn't waver our commitment, or the work that we have to do now," he said.
Fixing crucial bridge 'will take time'
The biggest obstacle for those in the region is the destruction of critical infrastructure, such as roads and bridges.
A range of essential goods can now be trucked from Perth into Broome, as a stretch of the Great Northern Highway south-west of the town reopened to some trucks and four-wheel-drives on Wednesday morning.
Broome had been experiencing shortages at grocery stores, after being isolated by road for days.
Western Roads Federation chief executive Cam Dumesny told ABC Radio Perth it was good news, but getting supplies further into Kimberley remained difficult.
"Your normal retail supplies, your dry pharmaceutical goods, your construction and repair materials — all those other things you need — they can now start coming up by truck to Broome but they're not going beyond that at this stage," he said.
"Bear in mind, we still can't get through to Derby and we still can't get through to Fitzroy Crossing."
Much of the Kimberley remains cut off and trucks can only access places east of Fitzroy Crossing by going through the middle of Australia – through South Australia and the Northern Territory.
"I think we've had about 100 triple road trains go up the centre at the moment to bring supplies in," Mr Dumesny said.
A plan to have divers assess the destroyed Fitzroy Bridge has been called off, due to the risk of debris and crocodiles lurking in the water.
Main Roads says hydrological engineers will instead use drones and other tools to assess the structure.
Mr Carey tempered expectations about "quicker" alternatives to replacing access into Fitzroy Crossing.
"One option could be to actually create a temporary structure that continues the bridge, but that would be based on assessment … there has been some consideration of a flood crossing further north," he said.
"Any of these options are likely to take time … even when we talk about shorter or quicker, so to speak, options, they still will actually take a considerable amount of time."
Barge plan delayed
A mildly damaged section of road linking Derby and Fitzroy Crossing may open before the weekend, allowing freight to flow between those two towns.
But a plan to have supplies arrive on a barge at Derby appears to have hit a snag because there was too much debris at the port.
Broome and Derby port harbourmaster David Duncan said the logistics operation to get food and essential supplies into cut-off Kimberley communities had been immense.
Five trucks arrived in Broome on Wednesday morning via the port.
"What this means is that we're not going to be out of food as we are right now – and hopefully the shelves won't be bare by the weekend," Mr Duncan said.
The trucks are bound for Broome and Derby, which have experienced extreme food shortages for the last five days.
Mr Duncan said debris in the King George Sound made it difficult to get barges into Derby immediately, with freight expected to make it to town later in the week.
"They should be there by Sunday and we're hoping that the barge loading facility will be able to be opened," he said.
A Main Roads spokesman said they were hoping the Perth to Broome route would be reopened to all vehicles by the weekend.
