River threatens Mannum as evacuation ordered at Walker Flat
Low-lying areas in Mannum are being inundated with water, as an evacuation and three watch and act messages were ordered along the river.
Preparation work for an emergency levee in Mannum's main street. Photo: Tony Lewis/InDaily
An evacuation order was issued for Walker Flat at around 7pm last night with watch and act messages issued for Caurnamont, Purnong and Bowhill a few hours later.
Leanne Schmidt from the Murraylands SES said this morning it’s likely a watch and act message will be issued for Mannum tonight as waters continue to rise.
“There’s been a watch and act message issued for a number of communities basically from here [Mannum] upwards, and there will be more being issued over time, probably to include Mannum tonight or today potentially,” she told ABC radio.
“So that’s really about preparing to evacuate and making sure that people have got their plans in place.”
Margaret Claassen from Kia Marina Houseboats in Mannum told ABC radio roads and infrastructure have already been flooded on the lower side of the levee built across the main street.
“We live above the Marina up on the hill on Greenshields Road so looking down over the Marina it is just one big pond of water at the moment,” Claassen said.
“It’s quite amazing to see how quickly it’s come up over the last couple of days.
“On Monday, we thought we might have about the next week or week and a half of moving things out of the office up to the house but we saw within about an hour water, breaking the banks in and around the office.
“By Monday afternoon the water was covering most of the road around the marina and then by Tuesday it was completely covered.
“It’s quite devastating as the peak season, this is what keeps us along with all of our staff to keep going.”
The SASES has issued an Evacuation Alert at 1920 hours today for a residential area within Walker Flat. Flooding of the River Murray has impacted parts of Angas Valley and Rob Loxton Roads, Walker Flat. Check the SASES website: https://t.co/i9PTPa6f9f pic.twitter.com/Arsq3uOy5z
— SASES (@SA_SES) December 14, 2022
It comes after an evacuation message was issued for Walker Flat at around 7 pm last night with SES personnel door knocking residents.
Two residents were told to seek emergency accommodation due to flooding expected to make the Angas Valley and Rob Loxton roads impassable.
At around 10pm last night, a watch and act message was also issued for Caurnamont, Purnong and Bowhill.
#FLOOD Watch and Act Prepare to Evacuate issued for Caurnamont, Purnong, Bowhill. There is a high risk of flooding which may threaten your safety. There may be a need to evacuate. More info: https://t.co/ZN8P08P1iO ID:439/1
— SASES (@SA_SES) December 14, 2022
A warning released by the SES said there was a high risk of flooding for low lying areas due to rapid river level rises, that may threaten residents’ safety.
Residents are advised to prepare to evacuate.
