Flood evacuees from a remote Northern Territory community are still living at the Howard Springs facility, despite the government saying all evacuees would be repatriated by today.
About 700 people were taken to the Centre for National Resilience (CNR), just south of Darwin, after they were forced to flee their homes in the remote communities of Kalkarindji, Daguragu and Pigeon Hole on March 1.
The NT Government said in a statement last week that the remaining evacuees would be repatriated to their communities, between 700 and 800 kilometres south-west of Darwin, by April 26.
But a government spokesperson on Monday afternoon said residents from Pigeon Hole were not yet able to leave.
"Plans are underway to have all Daguragu and Kalkarindji residents repatriated by 26 April [but] Pigeon Hole residents will remain in CNR a few days longer," they said.
The spokesperson said Pigeon Hole residents would be transported to temporary accommodation in the neighbouring community of Yarralin on April 30.
They said although power, water and sewerage had been restored, the store, school, health centre and buildings were still damaged.
"Pigeon Hole and Yarralin are neighbouring communities with close family and cultural ties. Plans are being made for short term accommodation in Yarralin, while the community is being restored," they said.
"A community meeting in Yarralin last week saw the community confirm its willingness to host their neighbours.
"Recent rainfall has hampered accessibility to Pigeon Hole for heavy machinery and the recovery works have been suspended until road conditions improve."
Work is underway in Yarralin to increase utilities, as well as medical, education and security services to accommodate the surge in residents, the spokesperson said.
Repatriated residents remain in temporary housing
Repatriation efforts have been underway for weeks, with those from Daguragu and Kalkarindji steadily heading back to their communities as recovery efforts continue.
So far there have been more than 13 bus trips to communities, according to the government.
Many residents, although returned home, will remain living in temporary accommodation, according to the spokesperson.
"Kalkarindji residents will be in their temporary accommodation for longer as a number of houses … will take longer to repair," the spokesperson said.
"Daguragu residents will only be using the temporary accommodation for a few weeks as home repairs and reconstruction are almost complete."
Some homes in Kalkarindji, which was more heavily flooded than Daguragu, will be demolished.
Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said weather conditions had delayed repatriation efforts.
"We have been hoping to stand down Howard Springs as a facility for a couple of weeks. But we did see further wet weather through that Easter period," she said.
"Some of the roads that were causing access issues have been rectified, and we've got those pod-style accommodations out to allow for people to have a safe place when they return home."
