Flood-affected pastoralists in the Kimberley are having to contend with lost or damaged machinery as clean-up efforts in the region get underway.
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These losses pale in comparison to dead stock and the challenges of feeding animals during a natural disaster but even so they are another blow for some producers.
Kimberley Pilbara Cattlemen's Association business development officer Lauren Bell said machinery sheds had been inundated on a few properties.
"Some of the larger equipment like graders weren't too bad because they were so high up off the ground but others they will try to drop the oil out of it and see if they can get it going," Ms Bell said.
Ms Bell said people were in the process of reviewing their insurance policies to see what was covered and waiting for assessors to come out before they could look at ordering new equipment.
Procuring machinery in a timely fashion will likely prove to be difficult as supply remains a major challenge for many machinery dealerships.
Some brands are now quoting 2024 deliveries for larger horsepower tractors.
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Ex-Tropical Cyclone Ellie generated extreme rainfall in parts of the Kimberley earlier this month.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, record-breaking flood levels were observed at a number of locations along the Fitzroy River.
BoM meteorologist Jessica Lingard said the gauge at Fitzroy Crossing recorded a peak reading of 15.8 metres on January 4.
Ms Lingard said this was almost two metres above the previous record of 13.95m set in 2002, however the data may have been compromised due to damage sustained to the gauge.
Record peaks were measured at Noonkanbah on January 5 and Willare on January 9 of 12.36m and 10.59m, respectively.
Ms Lingard said a broad expanse of water had flowed over the top of the land as a result of the unprecedented rainfall.
"Because Ex-Tropical Cyclone Ellie did bog laps, for want of a better word of the Kimberley, the rainfall was isolated to one area or another," she said.
"If we take the whole Kimberley and average it out for those 10 days Ellie was there we are looking at just over 300mm over the course of those 10 days.
"However, some stations recorded nothing while others had upwards of 600 to 700mm."
