Ex-Tropical Cyclone Narelle: ‘vulnerable’ Katherine aged care residents evacuated to 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’ Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast 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. Services huddled the beds into the centre of the shelter away from the open sides to avoid residents getting wet. Later in the evening, some classrooms were opened for staff and the “more fragile” residents to sleep, but the majority spent the night in the outdoor facility. Members of the public, meanwhile, were housed in a second evacuation shelter in the fully enclosed and air-conditioned multipurpos