All River Murray communities on alert as waters continue to rise
Premier Peter Malinauskas will meet swift water rescue teams and Australian Defence Force personnel this afternoon for a briefing on work to protect residents and property from flooding, with a watch and act message now applying to every River Murray community in South Australia.
The state government set up grants to assist in the recovery after the River Murray floods of 2022/23: Photo: Matt Paternoster/Facebook
The State Emergency Service issued the messages this morning, after a levee breach in the Murraylands at Ponde near Mannum led to new warnings on Sunday.
The Premier will be briefed on preparations at the SES Murray Bridge base, with the ADF ready to help with delivering critical supplies, transporting evacuated civilians and assisting with access, particularly for SES swift-water crews and rescue boats.
Four high-clearance vehicles usually based at Edinburgh have been supplied by the ADF to support South Australian SES-led rescue and recovery operations in the Blanchetown, Renmark and Murray Bridge region.
An ADF liaison officer has been assisting the SES Incident Management Team in Loxton since December 14.
Waters continue to rise around Mannum and Murray Bridge with water now meeting the extensive levee bank built in Mannum including through the town’s main street.
The Mannum levee is now engaged by rising waters. Spare a thought for workers right across the River who are continuing to monitor, reinforce and repair. pic.twitter.com/aBFvA3CbL5
— Joe Szakacs MP (@joe_szakacs) December 19, 2022
Meanwhile, water is lapping the side of the main road to the town of Moorook north west of Loxton as waters continue to rise in that region of the Riverland.
Loxton Waikerie Council chief executive officer David Beaton expected the road would close this week, with a dirt road diversion helping residents still access the town.
He said trucks delivering milk from the South East to Nippy’s fruit juice and flavoured milk factory based in Moorook could be among those affected.
Water laps the sides of the Moorook to Kingston Road, expected to be closed this week. Photo: Facebook
The Kingston to Moorook Road is already restricted to light vehicles and emergency vehicles only, with heavy vehicles required to detour via Stott Highway and Sturt Highway.
Levee building is continuing at the Loxton Historical Village where pumps are also working, along with levee work at Moorook foreshore and Kingston, Beaton said, with further work expected once the Moorook Road was closed.
Flows at the South Australian border are forecast to peak at 190 GL to 220GL a day in the last week of December.
More than 1100 properties throughout the river lands have so far been inundated with this figure expected to rise to 4000 when the river peaks.
The SES estimated last week that 255 businesses, and 4000 hectares of agricultural production will be impacted by the end of December.
This morning it issued advice for families having to leave their properties with pets, saying they should be planning for their wellbeing and that Emergency Relief Centres could help with emergency accommodation.
Primary Industries and Regions department staff had established temporary arrangements for the accommodation of a limited number of dogs and cats at several facilities in the Riverland and neighbouring areas.
A PIRSA Hotline for those with concerns regarding livestock is 1800 931 314.
On Saturday, the SES warned residents in low-lying areas of Jervois and Wellington, near Lake Alexandrina at the bottom of the River Murray, to prepare to evacuate, after issuing the same warning on Friday to low-lying residents in Murray Bridge and Tailem Bend.
On Sunday, further flood watch and act messages were issued for the Murraylands towns of Murrawong and Ponde.
Relief centre locations: Berri Senior Citizens Club, 9/12 Crawford Terrace, Berri, and Mannum Football Club, 28 Belvedere Road, Mannum.
