In January of 2023 Bunuba Country was hit by an unprecedented flooding event that saw homes lost, families displaced, and vital infrastructure destroyed. It is an incident that has not been seen in the record books nor found in the stories of the land. The recovery from this disaster will be years in the making and the flood of 2023 will always be remembered in the stories of Bunuba Country
Late on Thursday 22nd of December 2022, Tropical Cyclone Ellie crossed the coast just north of Wadeye community over the NT border. As a Category 1 cyclone, Ellie was on the smaller scale. But as tropical low, her legacy was catastrophic. What made ex-tropical cyclone Ellie significant was her size and structure, and her slow-moving nature.
For days this weather system hovered over the Fitzroy River catchment. At Thalalngi (Dimond Gorge), at the headwaters of Bandaralngarri, 838.8mm of rain was dumped in 10 days. This is equivalent to the annual rainfall in a good bulurru (monsoon season). The amount of water funnelled down through the river system was incomprehensible. It was estimated that 2,000 gigalitres of water was flooding downstream each day, or more specifically 60,000 cubic metres per second.
To put that into perspective, that daily flow of Bandaralngarri during the height of the flooding disaster, was equivalent to the amount of water used by the city of Perth over a 20-year period. This is the highest flow rate that has ever been seen in an Australian river system. Downstream Bandaralngarri converted into an inland sea. At its peak, the river was estimated to measure 50km wide.
At Fitzroy Crossing, the rainfall was not as extreme but still excessive. From Friday December 30th, 2022, through Monday January 2nd, 2023, 320mm fell across the township. This is more than double the average January rainfall, whose median was calculated at 158mm. Regardless of the rains in Fitzroy Crossing, there was a flood of water barrelling its way downstream. On January 4th, 2023, at Fitzroy Crossing, Bandaralngarri peaked at 15.81m. This exceeded the previous flood level by almost 3m.
Over the course of the emergency, 1,500 people were evacuated from their homes. The floods devastated the entire Fitzroy Valley, communities were inundated and isolated. Roads were cut off and bridges destroyed. People were reliant on emergency assistance. The Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) took control over the emergency and the townships. The Australian Defence Force were called in to assist. It was necessary to not only to evacuate people out, but to also fly in food, water, medicines, clothing and other basic necessities.
The Great Northern Highway, the only sealed connection across the northwest was destroyed in both directions. 3km of road was ripped up just south of Willare, isolating Derby, Fitzroy Crossing and the communities of the West Kimberley from the essential services of Broome and further south.
Within Fitzroy Crossing, as the flood waters receded, there was the incomprehensible realisation that the Fitzroy River Bridge, which had stood since 1974, had been damaged beyond repair. The East and West Kimberley were effectively split. Not only could supplies not reach the west through this vital infrastructure, smaller communities from Muludja, Bayulu and all the way east, were isolated from the necessary services of Fitzroy Crossing.
The co-ordinated response was incredible. The town of Fitzroy Crossing was transformed. Air transportation was vital in the early days of the disaster and the Australian Air Force created their own tower control at Fitzroy Crossing airport. This small little outpost typically sees mustering helicopters, weekly staff transportations from the mines and RFDS planes as necessary. In January of 2023 the airport was transformed as the Defence Force and other essential services took to the skies. So great was the movement through this little airport, that one day in January of 2023 there were more take-offs and landings recorded at Fitzroy Crossing Airport, than there was at Heathrow International in the same 24hr period.
The response was just as phenomenal in reopening the Great Northern Highway. By early February 2023, Main Roads had constructed a temporary bypass to allow traffic once more to flow south of Willare. This bypass reconnected Fitzroy Crossing and Derby, back with Broome and the rest of the state (through it took until January 2024 for the road to be completely rebuilt). In Fitzroy Crossing it was a bit longer to open things back up. Mid-March 2023, a small car and passenger ferry began traversing the river and remained in place to till the first of two low level crossings were constructed across the river in April 2023.
May of 2023 saw the demolition of the damaged Fitzroy River Bridge and the construction of the new Bridge. This build was an engineering feat and was built in record time. The new bridge was officially opened December 10th, 2023, more than 6-months ahead of schedule. The Fitzroy Bridge Alliance (FBA) not only exceeded expectations in the swift and skilled construction of the bridge, but also in their community minded approach to the build.
In the building of the Fitzroy River Bridge in 2023 and the construction of the two-lane Brooking Channel Bridge in 2024, FBA sought to employ and train as many local people as possible. Over the two years, men and women of the Fitzroy Valley were engaged in the construction of the bridge. Priority was given to the employment of existing local skilled machinery operators, labourers and other associated businesses. Whilst other local peoples were trained up in the construction, engineering and hospitality industries. FBA sought to respond not only to the infrastructure needs of Fitzroy Crossing, but also to the needs of its community.
With all the focus on infrastructure and rebuilding, we can sometimes forget that this is a community disaster. The 2023 flood devastated Bunuba communities and these effects are ongoing. As Fitzroy Crossing sits within Bunuba muwayi (country), the flood had an adverse impact on Bunuba dawangarri (people). The Bunuba communities of Bungardi, Darlngunaya, Old Crossing, Burawa and Old Mission were completely destroyed. The evacuation centre set up at the Fitzroy Crossing Rec Hall, was insufficient to respond to the needs of our dawangarri. Over 230 Bunuba people were evacuated out to Broome and Derby during the floods, with many of these families remaining displaced hundreds of kilometres away from Country and kin for up to 6 months.
It was not until late in 2023 that suitable temporary accommodation was made available to those Bunuba families who lost their homes in the floods. Towards the end of 2024 the first of our families began to return to refurbished or even rebuilt homes. But at the two-year anniversary, many of our displaced dawangarri remain in temporary accommodation. The prediction is that the majority will have homes to return to in mid-late 2025, with the last getting home in 2026. It has and continues to be a long and traumatic journey.
Likewise, Bunuba muwayi has been irreparably damaged by the floods. Danggu and Bandilngan National Parks are two sites within Bunuba Country that have been completely transformed by the flood waters. But there are many sites outside of our tourist centres that have been transformed or even completely washed away. The healing of muwayi and dawangarri will take a long time.
The strength of Bunuba people has been integral to the recovery story. Although the Defence Force, DFES, SES, Main Roads, Department of Communities and the FBA played a big role in this recovery; of perhaps greater import, but lesser reported, was the essential work put in by the community of the Fitzroy Valley. It was Bunuba people, alongside Gooniyandi, Nyikina, Wangkatjunka and Walmajarri that were there responding to these floods. It was our communities of the Valley standing strong beside our local organisations and businesses.
It was Bunuba Rangers, alongside local Parks & Wildlife and DFES employees that were rescuing people by boat from their flooded homes. It was local community members who stood up as cultural monitors that were being flown across the Valley, checking on communities, the damages and their needs. It was local men and women who were volunteering at the donation points; who were cooking and cleaning in the evacuation centre; who were ensuring that their communities were stocked with food and medical supplies. It was the women and men of the Fitzroy Valley who turned up week after week to community meetings with government agencies and political leaders to ensure that the voices and needs of their communities were being heard and responded to.
At the two-year anniversary there is still so much to go with the response to this catastrophic flood. So many people that need to return home, so much of Country that remains to be cared for. The story of this flood is still being written and will take a long time to settle in its telling. But one thing is sure, that in this story of loss and devastation, there is a stronger story of community, strength and endurance. These characteristics are woven through so many stories of the Fitzroy Valley, and it is no surprise that they are so prominent in this story as well. The warramba (flood waters) brought hardship and trauma to our community, and that can never be forgotten. Hopefully, in the future telling of this story, alongside the sorrow and devastation, is the remembering of the strength and leadership of Bunuba dawangarri and the people of the Fitzroy Valley.
VOICES AND STORIES OF THE FLOOD
River Report a short film on the Fitzroy Flood by Bunuba/Walmajarri artist and communicator Natalie Davey which won the 2024 Telstra Multimedia Art Award
Australian Women's Weekly Article How the Kimberley Floods Brought a Community Together
288 days in Fitzroy - The story of the new Fitzroy River Bridge short documentary by Main Roads WA recounting the story of the floods and the recovery