Resilience Tested in Australia's Top End Amidst Unprecedented Disasters
Australia’s Northern Territory has long been recognized for its resilience, enduring extreme heat, isolation, and crocodiles. However, there is a threshold to what communities can withstand without sufficient resources and transparent leadership regarding the underlying causes of these challenges.
The 2025–26 wet season has been extraordinary for the Northern Territory, marked by five major disasters, including four national disaster declarations and a fifth event rapidly approaching.
Record-Breaking Cyclone and Floods
The wet season commenced with Cyclone Verna striking the Cobourg Peninsula and Darwin in November 2025. This cyclone was the earliest to make landfall on the Northern Territory coast since records began and was the most intense to impact Darwin since Cyclone Tracy.
Following this, a tropical low settled over central Australia in late February, causing flooding across the Barkly region.
Katherine Floods and First Nations Communities Impacted
In March, Katherine experienced severe flooding that necessitated the evacuation of the hospital, closure of schools, and relocation of over 1,000 residents to safety. While this event received brief national media coverage, the ongoing flooding affecting multiple First Nations communities throughout the Top End has received minimal attention.
Currently, many of these communities, still recovering from recent floods, face additional heavy rainfall as a new tropical low moves across the flood-affected landscapes, depositing hundreds of millimetres of rain.
Darwin’s Water Supply Crisis and Community Hardships
Darwin has also been significantly affected. The city’s primary water supply was nearly cut off due to unprecedented flooding, and residents near the Mary River lost all their possessions.
Remote and First Nations communities have suffered the most, with emergency responses described as inconsistent and insufficient.
Residents from the remote communities of Naiyu and Palumpa have been evacuated to the Darwin showgrounds and Adelaide River, with no clear timeline for their return. In Jilkminggan, south of Katherine, residents remain stranded in a shed at Mataranka. Approximately 500 residents from the Numbulwar community have been airlifted to Darwin due to flooding.
Pastoralists across the Territory face destroyed fencing, inundated infrastructure, and severely eroded access roads. Critical supply routes have been cut off, and boil water alerts are in place across multiple communities.
Many of these communities have already endured years of inadequate infrastructure, housing, and government support, despite the Northern Territory being nearly twice the size of Texas.
Media Attention and Economic Impacts
The scale of these disasters is unprecedented and devastating, yet national media coverage remains limited, as the Territory is often overlooked. If four consecutive disaster declarations had occurred in a southeastern capital city, it would dominate national news.
Economic consequences of climate change, often discussed as future concerns, are already a reality in Darwin. The city is now Australia’s most expensive for home insurance, surpassing Sydney and Brisbane, with average premiums of $4,015 annually. The combination of increasing climate disasters and rising construction costs has made home insurance unaffordable for many.
Climate Risk and Government Response
The National Climate Risk Assessment projects a grim outlook, forecasting that nearly 70% of the Northern Territory’s population will reside in high or very high-risk areas.
These projections are not distant hypotheticals but describe the current reality, exacerbated by ongoing approvals of fossil fuel projects.
The Northern Territory government’s review of the recent disasters is a positive step. However, its credibility is questioned when led by a chief minister who has previously denied the existence of the climate crisis.
The Territory is a focal point for fossil fuel expansion in Australia, hosting projects such as the Beetaloo Basin fracking, the Barossa gas field, Inpex’s Ichthys gas plant, and the taxpayer-funded proposed Browse LNG development.
As LNG ships depart Darwin Harbour generating billions in profits, local communities bear the environmental and social costs. There is growing consensus that companies like Santos and Inpex should be held financially responsible for the damage their operations cause.
"It’s well past time for a national disaster levy, and a climate pollution levy levelled on fossil fuel companies so we can raise the funds to respond to these escalating disasters and address the cost-of-living crisis in Australia."
Limits of Community Endurance and Call for National Attention
The Northern Territory has always demanded resilience, adaptability, and tolerance for extremes from its residents. However, continuous disasters without adequate resources or honest leadership about their causes push communities beyond their limits.
The climate crisis is a present reality for the people of the Northern Territory, and it is imperative that the rest of Australia acknowledges and responds to this urgent situation.
Dr Kirsty Howey is executive director of the Environment Centre NT
