Major Flood Warning Issued for Katherine River and Katherine Town as Cyclone Narelle Approaches
This alert is no longer in effect.
BOM issued it on April 5, 2026, 4 months ago. Warnings of this kind stay in effect for hours to a few days, so this page is a historical record of what was issued, not a current warning. For conditions where you are right now, check weather.gov (US), weather.gc.ca (Canada), the Met Office (UK), or the Bureau of Meteorology (Australia).
Areazine synthesizes this BoM weather warning directly from BOM's official public data feed. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a major flood warning for the Katherine River, with significant river rises and major flooding possible at Nitmiluk Centre and Katherine Bridge by Monday.
Read this weather record in 30 seconds
- Record type
- Flood Warning
- Affected area
- Northern Territory Top End
- Issued
- April 5, 2026
- Issuing authority
- BOM
Flood notices turn on location and timing. Treat the named area as this record's scope; do not assume nearby counties, parishes, or waterways were included.
Record status: historical. It was issued 4 months ago; use the issuing agency's live warning service for current conditions in Northern Territory Top End.
Alert Details
The Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has issued a Major Flood Warning (IDD20555) for the Katherine River. This warning, number 41 in the current series, is in response to the forecast impact of Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle, which is expected to bring widespread heavy to locally intense rainfall to parts of the Top End.
Affected Areas
The warning specifically impacts the following geographic regions and locations in the Northern Territory:
- Katherine Town and Katherine Bridge
- Katherine River Gorge Road
- Nitmiluk Centre
- Katherine River catchment
Expected Conditions
Forecast rainfall from late Saturday is expected to cause significant and rapid river level rises across the catchment. Specific height forecasts include:
- Nitmiluk Centre: Currently at 2.62 m and falling. It is expected to exceed the minor flood level (3.00 m) Sunday morning and may exceed the moderate (5.50 m) and major (6.50 m) flood levels from overnight Sunday into Monday.
- Katherine Bridge: Currently at 11.63 m and falling. It is likely to exceed the minor flood level (16.00 m) overnight Sunday into Monday and may exceed the moderate (16.5 m) and major (17.5 m) flood levels from Monday morning.
What You Should Do
Residents and travelers in the affected areas are advised to take the following precautions:
- Do not drive, walk, swim, or play in floodwater as it is dangerous.
- Stay away from flooded drains, rivers, streams, and waterways.
- Obey all road closure signs and plan ahead to avoid driving on flooded roads.
- Monitor the ABC and local media for updates as the situation can change quickly.
- For emergency assistance, contact the SES at 132 500. In life-threatening emergencies, call 000 immediately.
- Visit www.securent.nt.gov.au for local emergency management warnings and advice.
Timeline
The alert was issued at 9:57 am ACST on Friday, March 20, 2026. River levels are expected to begin exceeding flood thresholds on Sunday morning, March 22, with major flooding possible through Monday, March 23. The Bureau of Meteorology expects to issue the next update by 10:30 am ACST on Saturday, March 21, 2026.
Original source: BOM Official Notice ↗
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