NT weather: Three people missing in Central Australia floods, Uluru national park reopened.

By Neda Vanovac

Three people are missing in Central Australia two days after they left the remote West Australian community of Kiwirrkurra on their way to the Northern Territory, as record rainfalls and flooding inundate the region.

The trio set out on Christmas Day to reach Kintore, about 190 kilometres away in NT, but never arrived and are believed to be bogged.

A ground search has so far been very difficult for police and emergency services due to flooded roads, with one search party getting bogged on the WA side of the border.

However, conditions have eased and an aerial search was set to begin.

Power and Water Corporation staff would be flying to Kintore with police to repair generators and test water quality, said Pauline Vicary, acting superintendent for the Central Desert region.

Extra emergency services volunteers were also on their way to relieve those still in the community, situated about 520km west of Alice Springs.

Acting Superintendent Vicary said weather had cleared over Kintore enabling a plane to land in the community and help search for the missing party.

In Kintore, a community of about 400 people, almost a quarter had to leave their homes to shelter in the school.

Eighty-five people spent the night there, with another 11 finding accommodation with family.

“At the moment, with no rain out at Kintore, they’re able to focus on the recovery phase of that incident, and we’re hoping to get a number of houses deemed safe today so residents can get back and start cleaning up and rehabilitating back into their homes,” Acting Superintendent Vicary said.

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park reopens

The Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park to visitors on Tuesday morning, after closing on Monday morning due to flooding on the ring road around the rock and hazardous driving conditions.

“All roads are now open, but there is still water across the road in several areas, so please drive with care,” Parks Australia said in a statement.

The Mala Walk and Mutitjulu Waterhole Walk were open to the public, however track closures would remain in place for all other walks for the time being.

“Rangers are busy behind the scenes, ensuring that all tracks and walks will be cleared and safe to use as soon as possible,” the statement read.

The Hewes family were holidaying at Uluru and had just completed the 10km base walk around the rock when the weather hit.

Travelling with their two sons and nephew, Lee and Bianca Hewes sheltered in a cave decorated with 30,000-year-old rock paintings at the Mutitjulu Waterhole on Christmas Day.

“The water was flowing straight off the rock, it was amazing, it was just a massive inundation,” Mr Hewes said.

“The rain on Christmas Day only lasted for about 15 minutes, but it was that heavy, enough to just pour straight off the rock.

“We were lucky to see it, we were quite excited,” he said.

The town square flooded at Yulara, the resort community that services Uluru, and firefighters had to pump the water out on Boxing Day.

Roads were also underwater as the Hewes family left the town on Boxing Day.

But the rain didn’t dampen their spirits.

“I was psyched, I was really stoked to see it; I was actually kind of hoping for it to happen,” Mr Hewes said.

Up to 30 stranded at Glen Helen Homestead Lodge

Up to 30 people remain stranded at Glen Helen Homestead Lodge, about 130km west of Alice Springs.

Homestead owner Sheila O’Brien said the main road, Namatjira Drive, was impassable in at least two places.

“I guess you could say we’re officially stranded, although we don’t mind really; it’s something that happens every so often,” she said.

“Living out here you learn to be pretty self-reliant. We have a number of people staying at Glen Helen, some of whom would like to leave but can’t.”

She said the Finke River began to properly flow on Boxing Day, and there was more heavy rain overnight on Monday.

“It’s very impressive,” Ms O’Brien said.

Guests would be well cared for until it was safe to leave, she said.

“We’ve got a whole walk-in fridge and freezer full of food, they’ll be absolutely well looked after; we’ve got a whole shelf of board games and puzzles and I’m sure they’ll all come out,” she said.

“People just love wandering along looking at the rushing water. It’s so spectacular; every so often you see half a tree floating down the river.”

Flooding fears for Hermannsburg and other communities

The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said heavy rainfalls were expected to ease across the southern NT as the focus shifted to a monsoon trough that was expected to develop across the northern Top End later in the week.

For most of the year, the Todd River is usually a dry riverbed running along central Alice Springs, but on Tuesday morning it was beginning to flow.

The Central Australian community of Hermmansburg, also known as N’taria, was on flood watch as river water continued to rise as a result of the ongoing heavy rain.

NT Police said communities south of Hermmansburg, including Areyonga, were now inaccessible after the Finke River Bridge was flooded with more than a metre of water.

Police are also discouraging people from driving from Alice Springs to Hermmansburg, as water is rising across Larapinta Drive.

Further north, a monsoonal trough is expected to reform and strengthen over the Top End, said BOM NT forecaster Mark Kersemakers.

“It’s a bit early to pin down exactly where the heaviest activity will be. It does look like it will develop over the Gulf of Carpentaria, so that will be where the focus of the heavier rainfall will be,” he said.

“But then it seems to extend into the Top End, so later in the weekend or early next week it could be quite active.”

He said there was also the possibility of low-pressure systems and then a cyclone developing, but that it was to predict what would happen at this stage.

This post originally appeared on ABC News.