At a Glance
The Daly River in the Victoria Daly Region is currently experiencing major flooding, with water levels having surpassed the critical 14-meter threshold earlier this week.
Status & Severity
The river peaked at 14.26 meters on Tuesday and is currently in a “slow recession” phase, measured at 13.86 meters as of Saturday afternoon. Authorities expect the river to remain at moderate flood levels until at least mid-week due to sustained monsoonal rain.
Affected Communities & Regions
Affected Communities & Regions:
Nauiyu (Daly River Community): The primary township affected; nearly 300 residents remain evacuated to Darwin.
Dorisvale Crossing: Experiencing elevated levels with significant impacts on rural access roads.
Beeboom Crossing: Currently recording heights above 15 meters, keeping local transit routes cut off.
Mount Nancar: Steady water levels contributing to the prolonged downstream flood peak.
Katherine Region: While waters are falling, the upper catchment continues to feed into the Daly system.
Local Landmarks & Interest
Daly River Police Station: Serving as the primary gauging point, where waters reached the doorstep of local infrastructure.
Nauiyu Airstrip: Remains three-quarters submerged, preventing all fixed-wing emergency aerial access.
Daly River Bridge: Monitoring continues as the main artery for the region remains impassable due to inundation on approach roads.
Data Sources & Verification
Information compiled from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), Northern Territory Emergency Service (NTES) incident reports, and verified on-the-ground visual data from the SecureNT emergency portal.
Historical Comparison
This event is currently the most significant flood for the region since the 2018 event; however, it remains below the record 16.25m peak seen during the devastating 1998 floods. Check our archives for more Northern Territory river data.
Regional Context
The flooding of the Daly River is not an isolated event but part of a wider monsoonal surge impacting the entire Top End and Central Australia. This week, record-breaking rainfall has triggered rare waterfalls at Uluru and sent the Todd River surging through Alice Springs. This regional saturation underscores the vulnerabilities of remote infrastructure when natural cycles meet modern development. For a deeper analysis of how human intervention can exacerbate these risks, see The River Mixer’s Guide to Human-Driven Flooding: How Engineering and Urban Planning Shape Our Rivers.





