As flood water gushed through the main street of their community and lapped on the doors of their homes, locals huddled together on their outdoor basketball court in the heat and humidity of a tropical wet season and prayed the rising water wouldn't reach them.
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In the lead-up to Christmas, ex Tropical Cyclone Ellie had dumped enough rain on the region around the small Northern Territory town of Timber Creek to cause a one-in-50-year flood.
It is estimated 140 residents were displaced during the disaster, evacuated first to the Council-owned basketball court, then to the contractor's quarters at the Bradshaw Defence Base.
But the local Council said it was advised at the time that there was only room at the contractor's quarters for 52 people.
In a bid to escape the rising waters, some locals travelled 300 kilometres to their nearest Territory town, Katherine, or a further 300 kilometres to Darwin.
Now the mayor of the region's Victoria Daly Regional Council has made a desperate plea to the Government to re-evaluate the emergency evacuation plan to better deal with flooding and other natural disasters.
Mayor Brian Pedwell said the outdoor basketball court was not an appropriate official emergency evacuation location - especially given the fact that a significant flood event would inundate it too.
"Our basketball shed, while fine for community events and sporting games, is not a suitable place to keep people safe and well during a disaster event," he said.
"What's more, if the flooding had been any worse, we wouldn't have even been able to use the basketball court because it would've been underwater.
"We really need a centre that is large enough, safe enough, and has the facilities necessary to look after our community members during an awful time."
Mr Pedwell said he was concerned that the current emergency evacuation plan was "very Timber Creek focused", largely "ignoring the needs" of surrounding homeland communities.
"These communities and their residents are incredibly vulnerable and as we saw, were the worst impacted by flooding," he said.
"Many were left without water and power, and it was over a week later that those issues were fixed.
"This plan must account for them and their needs during disaster events for the future."
As recovery has begun following the flood which hit Timber Creek and the homeland communities of Myatt, Gilwi, One Mile, Muruning and Gulardi on December 23, residents are slowly returning home to rebuild.
But while the support provided by the Northern Territory and Commonwealth Governments will greatly help with the rebuilding of the region, there are lessons to be learnt from the event.
Mayor Pedwell said that while the funding is already proving "a massive help" in the recovery efforts, the rollout of the payments wasn't exactly smooth.
"There was no information provided about what items could be purchased with the disaster payments, which has left community members confused and disappointed," he said.
"And in one instance, a resident received three different cards for one $9,000 payment. That's a huge hassle for them to manage these different cards while they are trying to put their life back together."
He said it was also disappointing that the only way to check the balance of these cards was via a website that many community members did not know how to access, or via an ATM which charged a fee for use.
The payments are also only valid for 30 days, a short amount of time when taking into consideration the delays and difficulties getting goods delivered to remote locations.
"While we are incredibly grateful for the support, there are improvements to be made, Mr Pedwell said.
"We look forward to future discussions with the Northern Territory Government as to how these improvements can be implemented."
Annie Hesse
I am an award-winning media and communications professional with experience across print, digital, social and radio broadcast, as well as photography and videography. I am the NT Correspondent at Australian Community Media and I write for my hometown newspaper, the Katherine Times. I love telling people's stories, and I am passionate about giving those a voice who may otherwise remain unheard. When I am not busy putting pen to paper, I spend time in my garden, go bushwalking or travel across the Northern Territory, Australia or the world. In my spare time I write, illustrate and publish books.
I am an award-winning media and communications professional with experience across print, digital, social and radio broadcast, as well as photography and videography. I am the NT Correspondent at Australian Community Media and I write for my hometown newspaper, the Katherine Times. I love telling people's stories, and I am passionate about giving those a voice who may otherwise remain unheard. When I am not busy putting pen to paper, I spend time in my garden, go bushwalking or travel across the Northern Territory, Australia or the world. In my spare time I write, illustrate and publish books.
