Daly River residents south of Darwin are evacuating their community as sewage and floodwaters inundate homes.
The Daly River reached 14.9 metres overnight and Emergency Services are urging the community’s 300 residents to leave.
Jannette Fletcher, from the Nauiyu Health Centre, says 30 people including children slept outside the clinic last night, as floodwaters forced people from their homes.
“I moved to the health centre and so did some of the other staff,” she said.
“Through the night people were just coming up as they got flooded and sewage was bubbling up through their houses and they were just camping on the cement outside the health centre.”
Northern Territory Emergency Service director Peter Davies says services are being cut in the community as the water rises.
“We need to remember that the sewerage has now been turned off and there’s portable toilets available, and power is progressively being turned [off] as water threatens those parts of the community, so I can quite understand why people might want to leave,” he said.
Emergency services have also warned of the danger of crocodiles in floodwaters after one was spotted in the town yesterday.
Extra police and volunteers have arrived to help evacuate residents by boat.
