Arabic version: مدارس كاثرين تستعد لإعادة الفتح بعد أزمة الفيضانات

Government schools in Katherine will reopen on Monday after being used as emergency evacuation centres during recent flooding. The decision follows safety assessments conducted as part of the ongoing recovery efforts in the Northern Territory town, located 300 kilometres south of Darwin. According to ABC News, schools have undergone the relevant safety assessments, rectifications and cleaning to ensure they are ready to welcome back students.

MacFarlane Primary School, Casuarina Street Primary School, and Katherine High School, which have operated as evacuation shelters during the emergency, will all be open. Katherine High School will operate under a hybrid model, allowing for face-to-face learning for students in years 7 to 12 while still functioning as an evacuation centre in its gym.

Access to some areas will be restricted, with fencing and security on site during the day. Regular school bus services will also resume, and parents have been asked to provide students with lunch for the school day.

However, remote schools in Nganmarriyanga, Woolianna, Wugularr, Jilkminggan, and Mataranka will remain closed until it is deemed safe to reopen. Meanwhile, the Daly River remains steady at 16.36 metres, 11 centimetres above the previous 1998 record, and is expected to remain above major flood level well into next week.