Residents in the Northern Territory are bracing for flooding as ex-tropical cyclone Ellie continues to pour heavy rain over a wide area.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the enormous weather system lingered over the Barkly region around 100 kilometres southeast of Tennant Creek.
The bureau cautioned that heavy rain with 24-hour totals of up to 350mm is possible, with the possibility of life-threatening flash flooding southeast of town.
Tennant Creek RV park manager Carrie Mckay said it had been tough for the town’s people and “everything is just saturated”.
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Meteorologist Mosese Raico predicted that the most substantial rain would fall towards the centre of the weather system, which is now located east of Tennant Creek.
“We’re not going to see (the forecast) totals across the warning area … The rainfall totals are going to be significantly lower,” he said. “Maybe up to 100mm and maybe we might see some daily 24-hour totals up to 200mm.”
He predicted that the slow-moving low would continue over the Barkly district over the next day before heading northwest into the northern Tanami and Gregory districts on Wednesday.
The Stuart Highway, which connects the Top End with Alice Springs and South Australia, has been closed south of Tennant Creek. A severe weather warning has been issued, and dangerous wind gusts of more than 90 km/h are expected east of Tennant Creek.
Over the following three days, significant flooding is also forecast in the Bonaparte Coastal Rivers, North West Coastal Rivers, and interior catchment areas.
Residents have been warned that as water levels rise in creeks and low-lying areas, certain towns and homesteads may become or remain isolated.
On Christmas Day, the Indigenous settlement of Ali Curung Bore, located 170 kilometres south of Tennant Creek, received 85mm of rain. Upper Townsend Creek received 193mm of rain the day before, while Armstrong River received 166mm within the same 24-hour period.
The Victoria Highway east of Katherine is also closed from the Buntine Highway intersection to the Western Australian border.
This story was adapted from The Border Mail.
