Floods in Katherine

[Update 4.35pm 6 April: for ABC news update 4.36pm AEDT (c 30 mins ago) see here. ]

It's hard for the occasional dry season visitor like me to envisage the impact of the flooding in Katherine.

The ABC website has a story "Katherine flood threat eases" which is at odds with what I've just heard on ABC RN 's Bush Telegraph and the midday news, both of which spoke about how earlier estimates needed to be revised.

Bush Telegraph , a program always worth listening to, had an especially graphic direct broadcast from a reporter in Katherine who very calmly described the slowly rising floodwaters. (As I post this isn't yet on the website but deserves to be).

The website report (dated 9.50am AEST) today says:

The commander of the counter-disaster committee managing the floods in Katherine in the Northern Territory says water is still rising in some parts of town although the immediate threat has lessened.

Commander Kate Vanderlaan says the water height at the gorge north of Katherine has begun to drop for the first time in several days.

The Katherine River in Katherine is expected to reach 18.8 metres at about 12:00pm (ACST).

Commander Vanderlaan is reluctant to say the worst is over.

"There are some rises in Donnigan Crescent through the drains near the hospital and at Gorge road there is some water rising there, we're keeping a close eye on that," she said.

Meanwhile, Member for Arnhem Barbara McCarthy says 15 buildings have been swamped by flooding at the Beswick community east of Katherine.

Ms McCarthy and Labor Senator Trish Crossin say they have chosen to remain in Katherine throughout the flooding to lend support to people in the region.

Ms McCarthy says people in the Beswick community have been working around the clock and are desperately in need of support from emergency services.

"They are absolutely exhausted, they need support, they need emergency services to come out with more volunteers in Beswick," she said.

"We need tents up in the higher area of Beswick to support those people who've been moved out of those 15 houses in the community."

Stranded

Six people have spent the night stranded on Gorge Road north-east of Katherine after the river broke its banks upstream yesterday afternoon.

Their houses were swamped, forcing the residents to seek higher ground on the road.

One of the residents said that his neighbour has nursed four sick children in his vehicle through the night after Police and Emergency Services refused to assist them.

"We spoke to the police in town here and they said we can't do nothing" he said.

"I said to them 'can you get the state emergency out here?' and he said we can't even do that."

This updated report (12:37 pmAEST) has just been posted on the ABC website:

Evacuation siren sounds in Katherine

Northern Territory police have sounded the flood siren in the town of Katherine ordering the compulsory evacuation of residents in low lying areas.

Police are alerting all residents in Katherine North, Katherine South and the town centre to move to higher ground.

Police say people should collect food and bedding and go to four staging posts to be picked up by buses to take them to shelter.

The four posts are the Clyde Fenton Primary School, the Happy Corner Store and the Riverbank Drive near Cross and Crawford Street.

At midday ACST, the Katherine River level was recorded at 18.67 metres at the Katherine River Bridge.

The flood waters are just centimetres below the town bridge and rising.

Katherine Mayor Anne Shepherd says she is concerned that people are not bringing enough food with them to emergency shelters.

She says council staff are taking food to an industrial cool room to maintain supplies.

"I've just driven over here. It took 45 minutes because the water is across the road just near the Visitor Information Centre," she said.

"We went through some quite deep water, actually, and there's a big back-up of traffic there of people trying to get back over this side of town.

"Of course, the siren has gone off now."

Fifteen buildings have reportedly been swamped by flooding at the Beswick community east of Katherine.'

Let's hope that Commander Vanderlaan (who has previously been in the national public eye for her involvement in the Falconio case) and her team are able to minimise injury and property damage (and that the ABC is able to keep its news bulletins and website up to date) .