Katherine Times Wed 24 Jan 2018
Katherine Times; NewspaperNT
2018-01-24
English
Australian newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Katherine; Katherine (N.T.) -- Newspapers
North Australian News for Katherine Times
Katherine
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North Australian News for Katherine Times
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Series/C1968A00054
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/754292
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/776710
'98 Flood- 20 Years On ]FLOOD IN FOCUS Wednesday January 24, 2018KATHERINETIMES6 katherinetimes.com.au GOING AERIAL: Katherine's twin bridges can be clearly seen in this aerial shot of the '98 flood disaster. RAISINGMORALE: PrimeMinister John Howard came to Katherine to view the devastation first hand, and pledge Commonwealth support. MILITARYMUSCLE: Defence personnel, first from Tindal RAAF Base and then from the Army, helped with the town clean-up. KEEPING DRY: The only way to guarantee safety for many people was the roofs of homes and businesses. FOOD QUEUE: Residents of the time remember queuing some times for more than two hours for food and water. WHEREWILL IT STOP: The record flood topped out at over 20 metres, much higher than expected. LOOKING FOR ANSWERS: Town meetings were held from the back of vehicles as residents looked for support. RIVER OVERFLOWS: Katherine's CBDwas under water for three days during the flood, the clean up would take much longer. WHERE TO START: There was a stench of rotting food in the weeks after the flood, which made the clean up even worse. TOP PRIORITY: Putting the supermarket back into action, albeit at the YMCA skating rink, was a top priority in the early weeks. Community resilience was strong, as it needed to be after the devastating 1998 flood. COMMUNITY SPIRIT