Flood waters in Central Australia keep emergency services busy saving lives | NT Independent

Flood waters in Central Australia keep emergency services busy saving lives

by | Feb 2, 2022 | Cops | 0 comments

Six people who were left stranded amid torrential rains and flood waters west of Alice Springs have been airlifted to safety, NT Police said, after they failed to heed warnings about the severe weather.

The successful rescue operation comes after a family in the Tanami Desert were also located by authorities after becoming bogged due to heavy rains.

Police said they were forced to deploy two helicopters at first light yesterday to conduct a search and rescue for two separate parties after their vehicles had been either stranded or swept away by flood waters of the Hugh River, west of Alice Springs on Monday night.

A 30-year-old man was located and airlifted after his vehicle was stranded on a sand island in the Hugh River, after his party went camping on the weekend at Birthday Waterhole.

The man’s female companion hiked from the bogged vehicle to Namatjira Drive and hitchhiked into town and alerted police just after 6pm Monday.

Police say the man, who stayed with his vehicle and had food and water, was found with no injuries.

Meanwhile, a further aerial observation of the area located a 59-year-old man, who was stranded in his vehicle between the Hugh River and another flooded river to the west.

Police say the man was airlifted to safety due to the potential for more heavy rainfall in the area.

An additional four men had a lucky escape from a vehicle which was washed off the Ellery Creek causeway by flood waters as they attempted to cross it, police said.

The men told police they had to use a shovel to smash the windows of the vehicle after water shorted out the car’s electronics and they couldn’t wind the windows down to get out.

The men said they managed to get out of the vehicle before it was completely submerged.

All four escaped uninjured but did not have any food or water with them and alerted police via satellite phone at 11pm yesterday.

NT Police said they made an assessment and determined that the men were safe to remain by the side of the road overnight, “without putting members at risk to cross several flooded rivers to get them”.

“It was extremely fortunate the weather subsided enough to allow two Alice Springs helicopters to be deployed to recover these people,” NT Police said.

Police and emergency service personnel responded to nine search and rescue incidents since the start of the year, Southern Region Assistant Commissioner Martin Dole said.

He said the rescues involved a “considerable amount of work undertaken by front line members and volunteer emergency service personnel”.

“A lot of police resources are invested into each operation in order locate and recover missing people.

“It is frustrating that people continue to disregard the warnings we issue about travelling during severe weather events as such as these,” Commissioner Dole said.

Successful search and rescue effort in Tanami Desert

A family of five, including two small children, were rescued in a community 290km northwest of Alice Springs after being stranded due to heavy rains.

The family reportedly left Yuendumu on Sunday morning to travel to Lajamanu, which is 583 km from their place of origin and approximately a six-hour drive, but their relatives reported that the family had not arrived in Lajamanu as of Monday morning.

NT Police said a search and rescue operation was launched involving officers from Lajamanu and Yuendumu that conducted ground patrols of the Tanami Highway and Lajamanu Road, over 580km by unsealed road.

Search and rescue response coordinator, Acting Sergeant Chris Raeburn said that due to extensive heavy rainfall and flooding in the region in recent days, tracks became boggy and attempting to drive in the treacherous conditions was dangerous.

Sgt Raeburn said the family was safely located by Lajamanu members Monday night about 150km northwest of Yuendumu.

“They were safe and unharmed but were not adequately provisioned,” he said.

“Police provided them with food and water before making the decision to transport them to Lajamanu in the police vehicle, as the road back to Yuendumu was impassable.”

He added that the rescue operations have been extensive as the Lajamanu members drove around 1000km, mostly through mud, to search for and bring the family back to safety.

Assistant Commissioner Martin Dole meanwhile lauded remote teams for “literally going to great lengths to ensure the safety of his community members”.

He also reiterated warnings of the dangerous conditions in the region.

“We have also had to divert resources to undertake multiple search and rescue operations to retrieve motorists who ignored the advice and subsequently found themselves stranded,” he said.

“We were lucky this time, but that’s not always the case.

“Earlier this week we sadly lost a man who entered floodwaters near Tennant Creek. We don’t want to lose anyone else. Remember, if it’s flooded, forget it.”

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