The April 2006 floods placed parts of the town under water (including about 50 houses), caused millions of dollars of damage, and resulted in the declaration of a state of emergency on 7 April.[9] However, there were no reports of the flooding causing structural damage.[10] Town residents were given warning that the river might flood on 5 April, and the town centre was underwater before noon the next day.[11] The floodwaters reached a peak of nearly 19 metres at the Katherine River bridge. Dozens of homes were inundated with up to 2 m of water, with many residents having time to escape with little more than the clothes they were wearing. Over the weekend of 8–9 April, more than 1,100 people went to the evacuation centres in the town.