Key Points
- More than 100 people have been evacuated from Borroloola in NT.
- The ADF is on standby to evacuate other flood-hit communities such as Timber Creek, Pigeon Hole and Kalkarindji.
- The McArthur River is likely to reach 18 metres - three metres above the river's record peak in 2001.
Residents in the remote Northern Territory town of Borroloola have been evacuated after ex-Tropical Cyclone Megan swept through the community, leaving homes inundated.
More than 100 people were on Wednesday evening, with three more planes expected to take off on Thursday.
Heavy rains brought on by ex-Tropical Cyclone Megan earlier in the week showed the McArthur River was likely to reach 18 metres — three metres above the river's record peak in 2001.
Incident controller Matt Hollamby said the evacuations were logistically complex.
"People that are being evacuated need to travel by boat across the river to get to the airport ... that is slowing down our progress but it's necessary to keep everyone safe," Hollamby said on Thursday.
Borroloola is the only community being evacuated in the NT, but the ADF is on standby to evacuate other flood-hit communities such as Timber Creek, Pigeon Hole and Kalkarindji.
Federal Emergency Services Minister Murray Watt told reporters on Thursday the government had approved the request and evacuations were due to start in the other communities.
Hollamby said Watt was mistaken, and no evacuations were planned for anywhere outside Borroloola.
Authorities were also set to drop four tonnes of food to Borroloola residents who chose to stay or were not being evacuated.
Borroloola residents have been evacuated to Darwin after widespread flooding due to Cyclone Megan on Wednesday. Source: AAP / Australian Defence Force
"Without the river gauges readings in Borroloola we aren't clear as to the impact it'll have on river height," she said.
The river is set to peak between 3pm and 6pm on Thursday.
"The persisting feature that we will see as a result of this system is a rain band that will essentially extend from Lajamanu down toward Alice Springs," she said.
Gamble said central and southern parts of the NT could face up to 50mm of rain a day until Monday.
A severe weather warning is in place from Tennant Creek to the Western Australian border, where ex-Tropical Cyclone Megan is set to dissipate after the weekend.
