A sticky sludge of muddy sand and debris coated the floor of Fitzroy Crossing's pub, after the nearby river sent a torrent of floodwater bursting through its doors.
It was something volunteer Hozaus Claire had to contend with as he worked to clear parts of the Crossing Inn on Tuesday, a motel and pub that sits on the banks of the Fitzroy River.
He said the damage was unlike anything he had ever seen before.
"Normally during floods, it just damages the [Inn's] landscape but it's gone through all the buildings and trashed all of the accommodation and pub," he said.
"Some of the rooms got damaged – as in they fell to the ground, with electricity and live wires everywhere."
Mr Claire said the town appeared to be in shock.
"It was unexpected, it's terrifying – it destroyed a lot of community and people's belongings, so much stuff that cost money," he said.
"It's taken the energy and life out of the communities.
"Fitzroy is home for me, it'll always be home for me – it's sad to see it go down like this.
"We need more support now."
Flood stirs up waste and disease
Wangkatjungka chief executive Sharon Bieundurry said many people had taken refuge from floodwaters in her small community south-east of Fitzroy Crossing.
"We've had people seeking food and shelter, and they've come in for the shop," she said.
She said while the store was stocked, a waste management truck had been unable to visit the community.
"Our truck is on the other side of the river and we rely on that to help us. But now we're going to have to work out how we're going to manage our waste in our community now."
Ms Bieundurry said flooding had also driven wildlife towards her community.
She said without fuel, locals had been unable to cut their grass, meaning snakes in particular had become a problem.
"If we don't cut the grass, there's more snakes, more mosquitoes," she said.
"We need to keep the grass down because we've got little babies in the community and we don't know what sort of things these mosquitoes can bring."
Bunuba woman Mary Aiken is a Fitzroy Crossing elder and said it was tough to watch the evacuees deal with the aftermath of the flooding.
"I think it will take a while for these people to recover," she said.
"People were shocked to see how high this water came up … but I've seen it in my early years, the river when it came up.
"This is not surprising to me. We had this sort of flood way back."
Odette Rogers is from the Darlngunaya community, and is one of many residents who believe they have lost everything.
"We haven't gone back to our house yet but the flood came right into our house," she said.
"It destroyed everything."
Ms Rogers is currently awaiting evacuation to Derby, but said it was hard for her to leave her inundated home.
"We're sad to get out of town and leave Fitzroy," she said.
Alexis Rogers, from Junjuwa community, is also an evacuee.
"They've got supplies at the café, but people don't want to leave the town," she said.
She and her sister will be taken to Derby this afternoon, along with two children aged four and two.
'Today feels a little bit normal'
IGA manager Sachith Kalinga opened his store again with dry goods only on Tuesday, after it was inundated over the weekend.
"It feels really great to [reopen]," he said.
"I think this is the first business to open after the flood, we had to put in a lot of effort because we understand how important it is to have this shop open – we're the only grocer in the town."
Fitzroy Crossing resident Carolyn Davey said the reopening of the store was extremely important to the town.
"Today feels a little bit normal, which nothing has since we were evacuated," she said.
"Also there are items I haven't been able to collect from anywhere – such as sunscreen, which I need because I've been walking everywhere.
"It's wonderful … just to be able to come in here, it adds that little bit of normalcy."
Mr Kalinga said he was expecting a delivery of freight items on Tuesday, and he hoped to restock properly later in the week.
Massive operation to deliver supplies
Emergency services have delivered almost 10,000 kilograms of food and 10 boxes of medical supplies to Fitzroy Crossing by aircraft since Friday.
There were now several flights a day landing at the town.
"This is a massive operation underway to get essential supplies into that community and surrounds," DFES Commissioner Darren Klemm said.
Fitzroy Crossing's airstrip has now dried out enough for larger planes to land there, which authorities expect will significantly boost the resupply operation.
The isolated town of Derby has two more days of food left, but a barge with 110 tonnes of food was due to arrive in Broome on Wednesday, and then continue by sea to Derby.
Another, larger barge, was also on its way.
Mr Klemm said all priority emergency evacuations from the flood zone had now been completed, although urban search and rescue teams were still working on the ground.
So far, 134 rapid damage assessments have been completed of homes and other damaged buildings and infrastructure in Fitzroy Crossing and surrounding communities.
Main Roads was inspecting and repairing key roads and aimed to open Great Northern Highway between Derby and Fitzroy Crossing on Thursday.
It was unclear when badly damaged sections of road around Willare and Fitzroy Crossing would be repaired.
Main Roads said it hoped to reopen the highway south-west of Broome to trucks coming from the south by Wednesday.
Divers will enter the water around the badly damaged Fitzroy Crossing bridge to examine the base of the structure over the next few days.
Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson said that would help determine if it will take months or years to build up again.
More than 280 people have been evacuated since the floods began from communities across the affected area.
Mr Dawson said the aim was still to keep people in the Kimberley and close to their country.
He made special mention of Fitzroy Community members who have been helping people in the evacuation centre there since the floods began.
"Can I say to each and every one of you, thank you for your hard work and everything that you have done over the last few days," he said.
