© Fiona Morrison
Evacuees from the Daly River region at the Batchelor College in Wooliana
About 300 people were evacuated from a flooded and crocodile-infested town in the Northern Territory after the deluge from Cyclone Carlos caused the Daly River to rise to 14.9m.
Authorities estimate nearly every resident of the town of Daly River, located 200km south of Darwin and named after the creek that runs through its centre, had been moved by boat to a school at nearby Woolianna.
The river is expected to remain above 14m for a week. The Northern Territory Emergency Services director, Peter Davies, said buses had started moving people from the school.
"From there, those who don't have anywhere else to go will be taken to Batchelor College," Mr Davies said yesterday.
"We offered people the opportunity to evacuate on Saturday and they said no. But this morning, when the same offer went up, pretty much the whole community wanted to leave."
Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Ashley Patterson said 355mm of rain fell from Thursday to Sunday morning at nearby Mount Nancar.
But just 2mm was recorded yesterday, providing psychological relief for locals -- despite the river height nearing 15m last night.
