Ex-Tropical Cyclone Narelle: ‘Vulnerable’ evacuees from Katherine aged care homes housed in open-sided basketball court

Some residents moved amid threat of flooding are under public guardianship due to reduced mental capacity. NT public guardian says they ‘would have been very frightened’

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Frail aged care residents were forced to shelter in an open-sided basketball court in Katherine, sleeping in makeshift conditions as authorities scrambled to prepare for major river flooding triggered by ex-Tropical Cyclone Narelle.

Residents from Rocky Ridge and Katherine Hostel aged care facilities were evacuated to MacFarlane primary school where many spent the night at a covered basketball court, with rain blowing into the open-sided shelter, as the deep tropical-low swept through the region.