Locals from several flood-hit remote communities in the Northern Territory evacuated to Darwin say they do not know how long they will have to wait before returning home.
Residents in the communities of Kalkarindji, Daguragu and Pigeon Hole were moved to the Howard Springs facility on Darwin's outskirts on Wednesday and Thursday as the Upper Victoria River and nearby creeks burst their banks.
Flood waters in the Upper Victoria River are now receding, but further downstream the Victoria Highway linking the NT to Western Australia has been cut at the Victoria River Bridge.
Daguragu traditional owner Dianne King said she was worried about the potential damage to her home and community and hoped there would be a comprehensive recovery effort.
"For us, it's not the same anymore," she said.
"I hope they're going to do a good job for us, fix the damage and the bridge — it's all broken."
Another Daguragu resident, Ursula Chubb, said she was worried for animals left behind as locals evacuated the community.
"The animals, we couldn't bring any of them — we don't know what they're going through," she said.
"Everyone's worried, the whole of Daguragu is worried about our houses, about everything that we've lost," she said.
"We're going back to nothing, and we've just got to start off from scratch."
Ms Chubb said they still had not been told when they would be able to leave the Howard Springs facility and return to their homes.
After Kalkarindji's art and culture centre was inundated, locals have launched a fundraising drive to help it recover.
Penny Smith, who operates the centre, said she was thankful that she and other residents had been relocated to Howard Springs.
"It's been so much support from all the volunteers and staff here, [being] provided with three meals a day and any needs outside of that time," she said.
"It's really well organised."
But Ms Smith said she was unsure about how Daguragu and Kalkarindji would recover from the "extreme damage" they suffered, adding it was still unclear when residents would start being transported back to the region.
"The town has been inundated," she said.
"The art centre where I work is the lowest point in town, and water reached probably close to 2.4 metres inside."
Rail line, WA towns impacted by NT floodwaters
Flooding across the territory has caused disruptions to the region's transport links, with implications across the border in Western Australia.
A spokeswoman for the NT government said on Sunday a 200-metre stretch of the Adelaide to Darwin rail line had been washed away north of Tennant Creek, with repairs set to take four to five days.
She said there would be no disruption to food supplies, with freight being rerouted via the Stuart Highway.
Meanwhile, the Victoria River Bridge downstream from Kalkarindji has been closed amid rising floodwaters, with water rising 1.2 metres above the bridge deck.
Since record-breaking floods in January destroyed the Fitzroy River bridge in the West Kimberley, freight from Perth has detoured through South Australia and the territory to reach towns such as Kununurra, Wyndham and Halls Creek.
The closure of the Victoria Highway, between the Buntine Highway intersection and Timber Creek, means there is currently no way the East Kimberley can be re-supplied with essential goods by road.
On Sunday, there was little to no fresh fruit, vegetables and meat available in Kununurra's only two supermarkets, Coles and the IGA Tuckerbox.
IGA general manager Chris Burke said the only option was for the WA's Department of Fire and Emergency Services to airfreight goods into the region.
"It [fresh fruit and vegetables] has virtually run out as far as we're concerned. We've got a limited range of fruit now but that's very restricted. And that could run out today," he said.
"Not only do we supply the town as a people but we also have contracts with the local hospital and the aged care facility here, where we do provide them with their fresh food and veggies every week. So of course we're not going to be able to do that at this stage."
Mr Burke urged residents to think of others when purchasing food.
"The main concern is that when we do get it in that people share it as opposed to panic buy and we don't go back into that toilet paper situation," he said.
A Coles spokesperson said the supermarket giant was speaking with DFES about "air support".
"We are working collaboratively with our supply chain and state governments to ensure the Kununurra community has supplies of essential items and groceries," a spokesperson said.
A DFES spokesperson told the ABC in a statement that it was considering "air and sea" options to ensure essential goods reached communities in the East Kimberley.
"DFES has deployed a District Officer to Darwin to work closely with Roads NT and our emergency services counterparts – that will allow us to closely monitor the road conditions," the spokesperson said.
"The duration of the closure is not yet known … the community can be reassured there is no need to panic-buy supplies."
