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Remote pilots have described the excitement and relief as critical supplies reached communities cut off by rising rivers, with residents forming a “conga line” to carry care packages through town.
Jetstream Air Service director Kevin Pettitt said his crews had dropped more than 2000kg of supplies to Territorians in Yarralin and Bulla who had been hit by monsoonal rains.
Mr Pettitt said that after touching town with the first delivery to Yarralin, 411km southwest of Katherine, his plane was surrounded by community members ready to help.
“The whole community came out, they formed a conga line to hand stuff out from the plane,” he said.
He said care packages with canned food, eggs and milk were arriving each day — with half a tonne of nappies and 500kg of dog food arriving for the little bubs and cheeky camp dogs also dropped off on Wednesday.
Yarralin has faced additional supply pressures after the Victoria River broke its banks, with its population more than doubling to 550 people due to the town hosting cultural and ceremonial activities.
The Bureau of Meteorology said the monsoonal downpour meant Victoria River levels were expected to break their 33-year record, surging above the 1991 floods.
Even though the waters appeared to be receding, Mr Pettitt said “there is a lot of water around”.
“Compared to previous floods, this one seems to be a lot of water in concentrated areas, and it came up really, really quickly and it’s still hanging out,” he said.
Mr Pettitt said while the airstrip was not bogged in Yarralin, the only way to access Bulla, near Timber Creek, was via a chopper.
On Thursday, Chief Minister Eva Lawler said the delays to the supply chain were being remedied, with seven trucks rolling into Territory supermarkets and Aurizon crews inspecting an estimated 2.5km of damaged rail line north of Tennant Creek.
Ms Lawler said while the NT had been cut off from supplies for the past three Wet Seasons, Territory road and rail infrastructure was not always to blame with issues in Queensland and Western Australia stopping deliveries in 2023 and damage on the South Australian side causing headaches the year before.
“Tertiary roads have been really very resilient,” she said.
Ms Lawler said the section of the Stuart Highway that “caused trouble” this season was undergoing upgrades when the rains hit, with trucks getting bogged in the detour route.
She said crews had also gone to flood-impacted communities, Nitjpurru (Pigeon Hole), Kalkarindji, and Dagaragu, to inspect for damage.
Ms Lawler said roads around Kalkarindji and Dagaragu, which had not yet been fully repaired from last year’s floods were hit again, while there was some “minor” damage to a few “pods”, demountable homes rolled out as emergency accommodation in 2023.
When asked if it was appropriate for Territorians to still be living in the ‘temporary’ demountables, Ms Lawler said “that’s just a reality”.
“There were houses that had to be repaired … I think there were 14 houses that had been built, but people are working as quickly as they can,” she said.
Aboriginal Affairs Minister Chansey Paech said the relatively minor damage was a sign previous flood mitigation strategies had worked, with new homes built on 1.2-1.5m stilts.
Nitjpurru residents have criticised the government for repeatedly building their homes in flood zones and ignoring local advice to move to higher ground.
Mr Paech confirmed talks were continuing with pastoralists and the Northern Land Council to find a place to relocate the town.
As their local member, Mr Paech was asked how many more floods the community would have to bear before that agreement was finalised.
“It’s working with the community so that they can identify an appropriate site where a new area could be,” he said.
“It’s not government’s job to impose a time on community.”
Originally published as 2000kg of food and critical supplies arrive at monsoon impacted communities Yarralin and Bulla
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