The devastating Katherine flood which washed through town in 1998 is being remembered with a two storey high mural created by local artist Mandy Tootell.
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The large scale piece, currently being brought to life by two street artists Kaff-eine and Jordan Conrad, incorporate storm winds, rushing water, people lending a hand, and the legend of the crocodile spotted swimming the main street.
The large mural faces drivers passing the Shell on Katherine Terrace.
"The flood was a catastrophic event for a lot of people, some of which are still feeling the impacts," the executive officer of Katherine Regional Arts, Jacinta Mooney said.
"The community wanted some sort of recognition of the flood, and this artistic representation tries to recognise the event without traumatising people."
She said the use of street art - in this case a style of art which removes the realism - helps to commemorate a catastrophic event which burdened many.
"There was an immense amount of water, and artistically it gives a sense of how high it got to," Mrs Mooney said.
January 26 to 29 in 1998, has been described as the worst flooding on record occurred in and around Katherine.
The flooding was caused by torrential rain from the remains of Cyclone Les, and saw the Katherine River peak at 20.4 metres on January 27, more than a metre higher than the previous worst recorded flood in 1957.
Artist, Mandy Tootell moved to Katherine nine years after the event - the streets were definitely back to normal by then, but memories remain fresh to this day.
"I spoke to a lot of people about their memories and I went to the museum," she said.
The Katherine Town Council wanted a mural to commemorate the flood and had chosen the well known Katherine artist.
"I wanted to show the dramatic and tumultuous event without the traumatic images," Mrs Tootell said.
"I know it was a devastating time for everyone, and the resilience of the town and the people is important. That is what we wanted to show."
Mrs Tootell developed the image over nine months, working with the council to show a stylised image which didn't show a particular person or a particular image.
The street artists began work late last night and are expected to be finished this week.
Katherine Town Council commissioned an art curator to develop a mural commemorating the 1998 flood in May of last year.
The work was managed by Katherine Regional Arts.
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