Australia Weather News

A flood emergency warning is now in place for the Northern Territory town of Katherine, 300km south of Darwin, as river levels across the Top End continue to rise.

Katherine Hospital is being evacuated and will close, NT Health officials have confirmed, while a temporary emergency department is being stood up at the St John Ambulance NT headquarters on Chardon Street. 

The Katherine River has now passed the 16 metre "minor flood" threshold and continues to rise, with the NT police regional controller James O'Brien warning it may reach the "major flood" level of 17.5 metres about 2pm this afternoon.

"That may go up to 18.5 metres or higher, however we are looking at inundation flooding mapping and what that actually means for the Katherine region," he said.

"We're going to have emergency shelter areas available for the community if they need it. 

"We do expect some low lying houses within the Katherine region, especially along Gorge road area, and along the Riverbank Drive, Victoria [Highway] to the west of the township centre to have some slight inundation.” 

Some Katherine residents had already been caught in floodwaters as the river level surged, he said.

A flood emergency warning is also in place for the nearby community of Beswick, with residents in both areas urged to move to high ground and shelter indoors until the all-clear is given.

When was the last time Katherine flooded?

In 2006, Katherine residents were forced to leave their homes before the river peaked at 19 metres, the worst flooding in the town since 1998.

According to the latest figures, 97.8 millimetres of rain has already fallen at the Tindal Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) base in the 24 hours to 9am, with more than 150 millimetres recorded elsewhere in the Katherine region.

"Rapid river level rises are occurring along the Seventeen Mile Creek, Birdie Creek, and Katherine River," the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said in a statement.

"Further rainfall is expected during Friday and higher levels are possible."

Katherine River at Nitmiluk Centre has now reached major flooding level.

Forecasters say the river is expected to exceed the moderate flood level at Katherine Bridge by this afternoon before possibly reaching the major flood level of 17.5 metres.

The bureau says a peak above the major flood level at Beswick Bridge is likely from this afternoon and the river could reach 9.5 metres.

Possible March record

BOM meteorologist Sally Cutter told ABC Radio Darwin the Katherine region was potentially "looking at March records here" in terms of rainfall as a low pressure system moved over the area.

"There's a lot of uncertainty as to where this low is going to so one of the models takes it west, the other one takes it east," she said.

"Probably the best case scenario is the eastward movement one because it means we’re getting some drier air up the western side.

"[But] even if the low is not forcing this rainfall we're still going to see the monsoon trough cross near the base of the top end, enhancing this rainfall.

"The ground’s very saturated so everything’s going to run off and all of this rain’s got to work its way down the rivers."

Ms Cutter said the bureau's Katherine weather radar was out of action this morning but would hopefully be up and running later today.

"The parts are meant to be arriving this morning and we’re hoping to get it back online this afternoon," she said.

Incident controller Terry Zhang said emergency services were well prepared, with planning underway for potential evacuations.

"A key component of the [emergency operations centre] work is now on the planning and preparation for the possible scenario of an evacuation," he said.

Superintendent Zhang said a major flood warning was expected to be issued "very soon" for Daly River to the north-west, where residents only returned to their homes following a previous flood evacuation last weekend.

Roads closed, SES standing by

Katherine's courthouse and visitor centre have closed as the town braces for potential major flooding, while shoppers were met with long queues and chaotic scenes at the local Woolworths this morning.

Emergency services are urging people not to panic but calmly make plans to get themselves to higher ground and be self-sufficient for up to 72 hours.

Local roads have already been submerged, including those leading to Nitmiluk National Park and RAAF Base Tindal.

Residents went to bed last night with the water level at the Katherine Bridge sitting at around 9 metres, but by 9am this morning, it had passed 15 metres and was still rising fast.

SES unit officer Karl Kratschmer said the town had "woken up to a bit of a situation on our hands" as a tropical low passing across the territory had brought heavy rain to the region.

The major flooding levels expected to hit the town later today have not been seen since the last time the town flooded in 2006.

Mr Kratschmer said the SES had three boats "ready to go", each over 5 metres in length, and volunteers had been standing by since 7am.

"All our members in Katherine are ready to go at a moment's notice to help the public in their hour of need," he said.