Insurers are preparing for a new wave of weather‑related claims from flooding across the Northern Territory as river levels rise and communities manage evacuations and infrastructure disruption.
In Katherine, where an emergency flood warning has been in place for several days, insurers are monitoring potential losses as authorities warn that the town is “not out of the woods yet” despite some easing in river heights and the reopening of transport links. As of 12:30pm on March 9, the Katherine River was at 16.9 metres, a level classified as moderate flooding. The Bureau of Meteorology’s (BoM) NT hazard preparedness and response manager, Shenagh Gamble, said the event is still being treated as a major flood because of the volume of recent rainfall and the risk of renewed rises. “So, for the Katherine township we could still, with the rainfall that we’ve seen, go back up into major flood at Katherine Bridge,” Gamble said, as reported by ABC.
Emergency services have asked residents to restrict travel while crews assess damage and check critical infrastructure, conditions that will influence the timing and complexity of loss assessment for property, motor, and business policyholders. “Please stay in the shelter, [or] if you’ve got a shelter at home, stay there at the moment. I want people to limit movement on the road so our emergency services people can restore, get an understanding of the situation, make sure that we’re surveyed correctly, and make sure all the critical infrastructure is up and running in terms of power,” NT Police Incident Controller Commander Shaun Gill said, as reported by ABC.
In the town, of around 10,000 people, about 700 residents are currently in emergency shelters. Hundreds of homes remain without electricity or sewerage. Schools, the hospital, and courts were closed on March 9, with a temporary emergency department established at the St John Ambulance NT headquarters in the industrial area. Gill said emergency services in Katherine remain in the “response phase,” with restoration of essential services and public facilities the next priority. “It’s about saving lives at the moment, and then we move on to making people comfortable, appropriately resourced, and the like. The timings aren’t clear, but our priority is to try and get the schools up-and-running, the government buildings up-and-running, and get essential services going,” Gill said.
The current conditions highlight the challenge of managing accumulation across multiple locations during the same weather system. Gill said the concurrent flooding in Katherine, Daly River, Palumpa, Jilkminggan, and other communities has required a large-scale emergency operation. “To see all those places basically come up at the same time as a risk is unprecedented in my time,” Gill said. At Daly River/Nauiyu, where residents have been evacuated to Darwin, the river has exceeded 14.8 metres and is still rising. The community is experiencing its second major flood this year, following a February peak of 14.2 metres.
Gamble said the Daly River is expected to “continue rising throughout the week,” with water levels in the community likely to “exceed the 1957 flood level of 15.19 metres,” the second-highest on record. While current forecasts do not indicate that the event will surpass the 1998 peak of 16.25 metres, she described it as a “wait to see” situation and noted that “because the Daly River is so slow to rise and so slow to fall,” it remains susceptible to further heavy rain.
Residents from Daly River/Nauiyu have again been relocated to the Foskey Pavilion at the Darwin showgrounds. Evacuees from Palumpa/Nganmarriyanga are also being accommodated in Darwin, while residents from Jilkminggan have been moved to Mataranka School. An Emergency Situation Declaration is in place for Katherine, Wugularr (Beswick), and Daly River under the Emergency Management Act 2013, giving authorities powers to manage evacuations, restrict access in high‑risk areas, and coordinate recovery operations. Emergency shelters are open at Katherine High School, MacFarlane Primary School, and Casuarina Street Primary School.
The Northern Territory government has activated disaster assistance for Katherine with federal support. The package includes immediate relief payments of $611 per adult and $309 per child, capped at $1,537 per family, and a re‑establishment payment of $8,843 to help replace essential household items. Residents in low‑lying areas along the Katherine River between Nitmiluk and downstream of the township have been urged to move to higher ground and enact emergency plans. NT Health has relocated the Katherine Hospital emergency department to St John Ambulance headquarters as a precaution, transferring patients to hospitals in Darwin, Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, and Gove, while a mini emergency department operates in Katherine for urgent care.
In Wugularr (Beswick), the Waterhouse River has reached major flood level, and residents from lower‑lying areas have been moved to higher ground. A boil water alert is in place in Palumpa following damage to the local water supply system. Authorities are advising residents across the region to prepare emergency kits with at least three days of supplies, secure important items above potential flood levels, avoid unnecessary travel, and plan for up to 72 hours without power or water. Residents are also being reminded not to enter floodwaters because of hidden road damage, debris, and crocodile risk in Top End waterways.
Supply chain disruption has added an additional layer of complexity for both communities and insurers. Over the weekend, shoppers across the Top End reported empty supermarket shelves as road and rail routes were cut. Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said rail lines reopened on Sunday night, allowing two trains carrying food to reach Darwin. Acting Commander Gill said “about three tonnes” of the goods on those trains had been redirected to Katherine to support local needs.
Katherine’s only major supermarket, Woolworths, has reopened on reduced hours, while smaller grocery outlets in town remain open and stocked. Gill said there had been complaints from residents, including evacuees, about “water and food shortages” earlier on March 9 and confirmed that a police aircraft had been tasked to deliver non‑perishable goods and bottled water while additional freight moves by rail and road. The southern section of the Stuart Highway is open to vehicles carrying food and essential services under strict movement controls, with the section north of Katherine also scheduled to reopen. Restored access is relevant for deploying assessors and contractors, managing business interruption exposures, and coordinating temporary accommodation arrangements.
