Aboriginal community still damaged, without services months after floods

Three months after returning home from back-to-back record floods, residents of Nauiyu, also known as Daly River, are still living among damaged roads, homes and public services.

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It covered 15 stairs, the whole bottom half of the house.

The remote Indigenous community on the banks of the Daly River was evacuated after floods in February and March. Large potholes remain on the entrance road, while piles of silt line the town's outskirts. Resident James Parry said floodwaters reached the 15th step of his house, covering the entire lower half. His family moved some belongings upstairs, but he said other residents lost cars, homes and nearly everything they owned.

Parry described the 2026 floods as the worst he had seen. He said the aged care centre remained contaminated with asbestos, while children had struggled to return to school. Teachers, he said, had to go door-to-door to encourage students to attend. He also criticised repair work, pointing to gaps beneath doors that let dust inside and windows replaced with plastic. Wooden benches, drawers and floors had been removed from some council homes.

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Everybody else lost everything, cars, homes, the lot.

The community's drinking water remains subject to a boil-water alert. Since residents returned, bottled water has arrived on pallets outside the Nauiyu general store. "No one's told us anything," Parry said.

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No one's told us anything.

Kieren Karritpul said the flood damage had changed the character of the town. "It doesn't feel like home," he said. By the end of August, several homes still lacked power, affecting living arrangements and preventing key workers from returning. Karritpul was also assessing damage to the Merrepen Arts Centre and its equipment.

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It doesn't feel like home.