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Heed flood warning, NT residents told

Floodwaters in the Todd River rush over Palm Circuit in Alice Springs on April 9, 2010. - ABC

Northern Territory Emergency Services are asking Alice Springs residents not to enter the flooded Todd River over the weekend.

A category B flood threat advice is in place, but river levels could rise.

A 43-year-old man drowned in February when he tried to cross the flooded Palm Circuit causeway.

David Anderson from Emergency Services urges people not to drive or walk across any closed causeways.

"If the roads are closed they are closed to everyone - motor vehicles and pedestrians," he said.

"They should not be crossed on foot. If the fear is that a motor vehicle may be washed off the causeway then that's ten times worse for a person."

Water is surging through the usually dry Todd River in Alice Springs after heavy falls in the catchment.

Yesterday, Alice Springs Superintendent Sean Parnell described a "wall of water" coming down the river.

"It is amazing, I have just been down at the Tunks Road Causeway and there was nothing happening there, and then within a matter of seconds there was a wall of water coming down and it was fairly steady strong flow at the moment," Supt Parnell said.

He immediately called for people to get out of the river

"They should remove themselves and stay out of the river," Supt Parnell said.

"It only takes a matter of seconds for the flow to come down."

- ABC

© ABC 2010

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