Couple living on verandah four months after devastating flood

In March, when the Katherine River reached its highest level in decades, floodwaters tore through Nicki and Luke Asling's rented home.

Mr Asling was the last to leave, swimming through chest-deep water with his three dogs in the middle of the night — a harrowing ordeal he says almost took his life.

The water level in their home reached about two metres, and the couple knew the clean-up would take some time.

But they did not expect to still be living on their verandah almost four months after the flood.

As the wet season has given way to the Dry in the Top End, the Aslings have navigated the changing seasons with nothing but a few curtains to make the "walls" of an outdoor bedroom.

"You can't live in the house because of the mould and the mud and the stench.

"It chops and changes, whether you're hot or you're cold or you're being attacked by the mozzies."

Living outdoors, dinner options are also limited.

"It has to be something that I can cook on the barbecue or cook on a hot plate, so beef stroganoff, spaghetti, steak and veggies," Ms Asling said.

"The poor Weber went through the flood, so it's quite rusty, but it'll do."

The long wait

The major weather event Katherine experienced in March, when waters peaked at 19.21 metres, was the town's worst flood in 28 years.

Floodwater inundated homes and businesses across Katherine and, according to the Insurance Council of Australia, insured losses eclipsed $30 million.

The clean-up has created a backlog of work for Top End tradies, especially electricians, cabinet-makers and builders.

But Ms Asling said, since the couple's home recorded one of the town's highest watermarks, it was strange they were still waiting.

"We should have been one of the first houses renovated," she said.

The Aslings said their landlord, unlike many in Katherine, had flood insurance.

"He was very proactive in getting quotes to rebuild the kitchen, to re-tile, get some real basics in so that we could get back into the house," Ms Asling said.

Several rounds of assessors have been through the house, which friends of the Aslings had already stripped and hosed out, but repair work is yet to be done.

"Last I was told, apparently they were supposed to be doing a deep hygienic clean on the property … which was going to cost $20,000, and then the hygienist could come in and assess the house," Ms Asling said.

"I just would really like some answers of why on earth I have to continue to live like this, when two of the assessors say that we were the worst-flooded in Katherine by levels that you can see."

Tradies say backlog will take months to clear

Katherine cabinet-maker Jeff Usher said he has been "inundated with enquiries" for kitchen rebuilds since the floods.

He said the backlog of work would take "months" to clear.

Mr Usher said, this time around, he had been pleasantly surprised by how many homes were insured.

"But there's also a hell of a lot that I've seen that haven't been [insured], and they're the ones you really feel for," he said.

Mr Usher said there were materials for kitchens available that could make them more flood-proof, including steel frames for cabinets, and waterproof materials that could be used for drawers and shelves.

"I would like to see [kitchens] be able to be just washed out and people get back to their lives a lot sooner without having to wait for trades for six, seven months … which is what's probably going to happen," he said.

Mr Usher said the fact insurers would only cover like-for-like replacements was "frustrating" at times.

In Brisbane, the city council's Flood Resilient Homes Program has subsidised home owners who want to install flood-proofing features, and Mr Usher said he could see merit in a similar scheme for the Northern Territory.

"If it was monitored properly and then at the end it was actually policed … I'd probably think that was a good idea for some of the places that are potentially and most likely going to get a hit again at some stage in the future," he said.

Flood funds

The Northern Territory government has set aside $100 million for a flood recovery fund, to be spent in areas affected by the NT's widespread flooding earlier this year.

Some of that money has already been allocated, including $4 million to improve the levee system and drainage in the north of Katherine, and just over half a million to raise the bridge over Maud Creek.

Individuals assistance has mostly come through the $611 one-off payments granted to everyone in town, as well as up to $8,843 payments for flooded households to replace whitegoods, furniture and bedding.

Nicki and Luke Asling have received those payments, and are planning to apply for a further $10,000 grant that's available to small business owners.

Their tyre business was also devastated in the flood, with much of their stock floating away in the raging waters.

But Ms Asling said those payments were a drop in the ocean.

"We've probably lost $100,000 in tyres alone," she said.

And some of the most painful losses are even harder to remedy.