There are also concerns about Renmark Hospital, where urgent work is being undertaken to upgrade a nearby, deteriorated 38km levee bank that protects the town from high flows.

Murray Mallee Zone Emergency Management Committee members from health, police and councils are meeting today and will discuss having emergency medical staff on call near hospitals without a 24hr staff.

Alternative routes for ambulances include travelling through Moorook and the Kingston Bridge increasing the current 20km trip from Loxton Hospital Complex to 64km.

Loxton Waikerie Council chief executive officer David Beaton said a long section of Bookpurnong Road along the floodplains near Berri bridge was expected to be submerged at 100GL a day levels, with flow reports predicting a 120GL flow at the border to Victoria in December.

“In terms of hospital care, my understanding is that the main concern at the moment is the Renmark Hospital because of the levee bank nearby and also that there will be on-call staff located as close as possible to other medical facilities where they might be required,” Beaton said.

The local airstrip was already upgraded on the Loxton side of the river for helicopter or plane transfers to Adelaide hospitals, he said.

Water is expected to flood the Bookpurnong Road to Berri. Picture: Belinda Willis

A Riverland Mallee Coorong Local Health Network spokesperson said Loxton Hospital has a permanent, fully functioning Emergency Department and ED services would continue in the event of flooding to the region due the hospital’s elevated position, but did not comment on staffing after hours.

Latest State Emergency Service flood advice is the River Murray flow at the South Australian border is around 79 GL per day – the highest since 2016 – with major flooding happening in towns like Echuca further upstream.

Flows to SA were expected to reach about 85 GL per day around October 28, continuing to rise during November and reach approximately 120 GL per day in early December.

Water level forecasts could be updated, with latest SES advice based on water already in transit to South Australia and not including further rainfall, with a recent statement saying “further increases are highly likely as a result of more rainfall over the Murray-Darling Basin in the coming weeks.”

Planning for potential flooding is underway at towns along the River Murray in South Australia with sandbags delivered to SES units at Berri, Renmark, Waikerie, Blanchetown and Morgan.

Caravan Parks and shacks along the river are particularly vulnerable to flows, with parts of Loxton Riverfront Holiday Park closed.

Beaton said upper levels of the caravan park were still safely operating and there were plans to open a temporary RV site at the local footy club for visitors to see the rising river waters.

Kerry Hopper surveys the rising River Murray waters at Loxton. Picture: Belinda Willis

Loxton local Kerry Hopper was among those checking the rising water around the caravan park on the weekend with the floodplain teeming with ducks, waterbirds, frogs and fish life.

“It wasn’t this high up on Thursday, it keeps coming up,” Hopper said.

Water is inundating waterfront paths and closing some roads in Loxton and to shacks in the Mannum area, with councils shutting off power supplies and ensuring septic tanks are secured.

Renmark Council has placed all non-essential infrastructure and capital works on standby as it redirects efforts to prepare for high flows, including fixing some of its 38km levee bank network that has deteriorated near the Renmark Hospital and Hale Street.

It was now sourcing clay fill to reinforce levees and sourcing sand for sand bagging as required.

“We are working as fast as we can and are fortunate that unlike other towns upstream, we have time to prepare,” Mayor Neil Martinson said on Thursday.