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Speaker 1: Joining us on the line now to let us know

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Speaker 1: what is happening. In an official capacity, it is James

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Speaker 1: gray Spence, the Southern Commander for the Northern Territory Police.

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Speaker 1: Good morning to you, James.

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Speaker 2: Good morning and good morning to you listens.

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Speaker 1: Thanks so much for your time this morning. Can you

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Speaker 1: talk us through the situation and what's going on in

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Speaker 1: terms of the rescues, etc. That police have had to

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Speaker 1: be involved in.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, thanks very much. So. We experienced heavy rainfall in

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Speaker 2: the Todd River catchment area overnight and that's led to

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Speaker 2: this flush flooding in Alice Springs this morning. It indicates

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Speaker 2: to us as that Todd River peaked at around three

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Speaker 2: point four five one meters measured at anzac Oval in

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Speaker 2: the center of town, and that occurred around four point

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Speaker 2: fifteen am this morning. So it speaks to what Tracy

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Speaker 2: was talking about before about residents sort of being caught

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Speaker 2: off guard the early parts of this morning. This is

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Speaker 2: about a moderate flood just short of major based on

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Speaker 2: how we categorize them under the ant Flood Manual. What

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Speaker 2: that looks like is that there's a current flood emergency

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Speaker 2: warning in place that was issued on secure NT. The

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Speaker 2: risk faced by people in the area are isolation. We

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Speaker 2: have seen some vehicles get bolgd or inundated. We've seen

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Speaker 2: some inundation of properties along the Todd River in the

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Speaker 2: center of town and out Barret Drive on the east there.

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Speaker 2: And still fast flowing flood water around Todd River right

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Speaker 2: through town out through the gas. So we have asked

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Speaker 2: people to reconsider their need to travel this morning, think

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Speaker 2: about their plans. Obviously, do not enter or go near

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Speaker 2: flood areas, and continue to monitor secure. NT will de

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Speaker 2: providing further updates this morning.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, very good advice, commanded. Tell us, I understand that

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Speaker 1: there's been a number of rescues, but as I understand it,

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Speaker 1: there is still a woman who's clinging to a tree

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Speaker 1: at the moment. Is that correct?

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Speaker 2: Yeah? Correct, So we've got one rescue still underway. This

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Speaker 2: is an adult female who relocated in the vicinity of

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Speaker 2: South Terrace and Stuart Highway. Both emergency services and police

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Speaker 2: crews are there talking to the ladies. The water is

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Speaker 2: slowly receding and the recovery of that female is underway.

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Speaker 2: We're trying to get her sort of personal flotation devices

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Speaker 2: and other things. She keeps abeying the instructions of the

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Speaker 2: rescuers and we'll continue talking to her. We believe that

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Speaker 2: we'll be able to affect that rescuer's waters received.

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Speaker 1: Any idea how she wound up in there, like, was

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Speaker 1: it a situation where you know where she was out

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Speaker 1: for a walk and the flood water just went up

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Speaker 1: quickly or do we know what's happened?

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Speaker 2: No, no idea. That area is just to the east

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Speaker 2: of the Tom Brown Roundabout, so there is a footpath

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Speaker 2: that's at the low level next to the river, So

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Speaker 2: there's certainly pedestrian access through that area. So I wouldn't

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Speaker 2: be uncommon for people potentially if they've gone down there

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Speaker 2: or in the destinity, to get stuck. But at the moment,

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Speaker 2: we're continuing to work with that lady to recover as

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Speaker 2: the water's received.

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Speaker 1: But she is safe, like, she's not concerned about her

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Speaker 1: safety at this point in time. Every all eyes are

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Speaker 1: on her and keeping a keeping things under control as

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Speaker 1: much as possible.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, so we understand that the female is visibly upset.

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Speaker 2: It is a distressing situation for someone to be stranded

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Speaker 2: in the middle of flood waters, so it's really relying

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Speaker 2: on reassurance at the moment and putting some other risk

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Speaker 2: controls in place, like getting across a personal flotation device

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Speaker 2: to her. But my understanding is, as long as she

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Speaker 2: keeps communicating whetherus I'm following the instructions of the rescuers,

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Speaker 2: the rescue plan will go forward in the next little while.

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Speaker 1: So is it just too angels at the moment to

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Speaker 1: send somebody in to try and get her.

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Speaker 2: That's exactly right. The water's flowing very heavily through the

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Speaker 2: southern parts of town out past heavy Tree Gap, so

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Speaker 2: we need to rely on the lady staying put where

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Speaker 2: she is for now, to don the personal flotation device

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Speaker 2: and then just obey the instructions of the rescuers as

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Speaker 2: they make their plan and affecting that in the next

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Speaker 2: little while.

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Speaker 1: Commander tell me, I understand there was also people that

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Speaker 1: had to be rescued out of a vehicle. Is that right?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, we had a number of people sort of enter

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Speaker 2: flood waters, or not even into flood waters, but navigate

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Speaker 2: some of the roads in town as the waters came up.

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Speaker 2: My understanding is I don't have the details of all

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Speaker 2: of those because they were quite numerous and bearing in

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Speaker 2: levels of whether their cars just couldn't make it through

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Speaker 2: or whether they could self distract, but we've managed to

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Speaker 2: provide aid to all those people. Now as I understand it,

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Speaker 2: it's just this one lady who's down near South Terrace

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Speaker 2: and Stuart Highway.

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Speaker 1: So do we have a number of how many people

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Speaker 1: had to be rescued from the water.

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Speaker 2: No, not in front of me right now. The team

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Speaker 2: will need to get to work this morning through the

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Speaker 2: Rapid Assessment team that work for the team. For this morning,

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Speaker 2: we'll be getting out there and having a look at

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Speaker 2: the fourteen calls that were received overnight to the NTSs

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Speaker 2: and providing services to those people and what they need

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Speaker 2: and the level of inundation that they experienced. And certainly

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Speaker 2: if there are people out there who need assistance, they

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Speaker 2: can call one three, two five hundred. But if it's

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Speaker 2: a life threatening situation, if that's developed, please call us

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Speaker 2: on Triple zero and.

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Speaker 1: Commander, is that really what the priority for police and

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Speaker 1: emergency services is today? Making sure that all those people

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Speaker 1: are okay, But also I guess checking some of those

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Speaker 1: flooded areas and I'm assuming checking out the damage as

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Speaker 1: well as the day progresses.

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Speaker 2: That's exactly right. So the rapid assessment teams will get

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Speaker 2: out on the ground this morning. We've always had rescuers

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Speaker 2: underway and different tasks being done by the volunteers and

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Speaker 2: shout out to the Bushfires NT and the NTS as

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Speaker 2: volunteers are respondent and been working hard out on the

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Speaker 2: ground since five o'clock this morning. Once we get a

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Speaker 2: picture of who has been in undated and what services

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Speaker 2: they provide, will be out working throughout today to provide

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Speaker 2: those services to people. And then beyond that, it's really

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Speaker 2: us working with the Bureau of Meteorology and the local

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Speaker 2: flood forecasters from the Department Lands Planning Environment to say

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Speaker 2: what's the forecast is going to be for the next

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Speaker 2: twenty four to forty eight hours on what's the scenario

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Speaker 2: for the Todd River based on that forecast rainfall and.

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Speaker 1: Commander, you know, in terms of some of our essential

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Speaker 1: sort of you know services, obviously, we are hearing that

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Speaker 1: schools are open, those public schools are open for those

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Speaker 1: essential service workers' children today. How about the hospital is

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Speaker 1: it open? Are things operating as normal?

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Speaker 2: Look, we heard we just had our local emergency committee

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Speaker 2: meeting at eight o'clock. We did hear from hospital staff

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Speaker 2: but there has been some impact at the hospital in

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Speaker 2: some of the units and even the hospital accommodation office

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Speaker 2: of the hospital on Gap Road. There the undercover car

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Speaker 2: park or the underground car park was inundated. We're waiting

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Speaker 2: on Health to get back to us with their engineering assessments,

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Speaker 2: so they're sort of moving vehople around at the hospital

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Speaker 2: to continue deligious services there. Well.

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Speaker 1: Southern Commander James gray Spence, I really appreciate your time

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Speaker 1: this morning. We have a lot of people that listen

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Speaker 1: to the show right across the Northern Territory and I

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Speaker 1: know that they'll appreciate you taking the time to speak

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Speaker 1: with us. All the best to you guys today, all

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Speaker 1: the best to all of the emergency services and to

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Speaker 1: all of those residents that have been impacted by this flooding.

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Speaker 2: Yes, thank you very much, and if I could please

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Speaker 2: just stress follow the warnings on secure MT if you

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Speaker 2: need help one three, two, five hundred from the fees

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Speaker 2: or life threatening triple zero, and continue monitoring the advices

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Speaker 2: that will send out through the day and we'll have

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Speaker 2: further information through Residence of Plas Springs as a situation unfolds.

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Speaker 1: Northern Territory Police Southern Commander James Gray Spence, thank you

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Speaker 1: very much for speaking with us this morning.

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Speaker 2: Thank you all, Good morning, thank you,