Environment and Water Department executive director Ben Bruce said today that forecasting has been hampered by the River Murray swelling upstream but authorities were now more confident in the figures.

At one spot near the border, the river is now 6km wide as flood water surges across to South Australia at 180GL a day.

This section of river is usually 150m wide, Bruce said.

However, he is confident this latest prediction is accurate, adding that the Murray-Darling Basin Authority had a team in the field taking spot measurements to ensure the latest forecasts are well verified.

In an update this afternoon, SA State Emergency Services chief officer Chris Beattie said 5080 dwellings along the River Murray now had been door-knocked and 703 of those buildings were already experiencing some level of flooding.

This number is expected to rise to about 4000 properties as water levels continue to rise throughout the river system, with the latest update verifying that the first high peak is still likely to be between 185GL and 190GL next week.

If flows reach 200GL a day, the water level at Lock Five near Renmark is forecast to be around 18.8 metres, and river communities are being warned to take this into account in their preparations.

Emergency Services Minister Joe Szakacs said today that, of the homes door-knocked so far, about 647 groups of people said they would be staying put once the flood waters arrived.

Another 290 households, including 538 adults and 68 children, said they would need emergency accommodation.

The government also reported that 1850 electricity disconnections had occurred across at-risk areas.

“A lot of work has been undertaken in the last week and as we get closer to the peak our projections are becoming more precise,” Szakacs said.

“We are thankful to everyone involved in this developing event for heeding the advice of authorities and most importantly, sticking by each other during times of need.”

The Lyrup, Mannum Upstream, Morgan and Swan Reach ferries are now closed. Walker Flat is likely to be closed this week while Waikerie has moved its ferry access to a higher landing.

Alternative river crossings for the Swan Reach ferry are the Walker Flat ferry or Murray Bridge (downstream) and Blanchetown Bridge (upstream). For the Morgan ferry, the alternative river crossings are the Cadell ferry (upstream) and the Blanchetown Bridge (downstream).

Emergency Relief Centres are now operating in Berri and Mannum, providing information and help to gain further support, including financial relief, mental health support and emergency accommodation.

There is emergency accommodation available for those needing to leave their homes and 170 booking requests have so far been received.

“I am pleased to hear the community continue to prepare their properties with an average of 5000 sandbags distributed across the six sites daily. The SA SES will continue to replenish our stocks through to February,” Beattie said.

“We will continue to deploy our DefenCell flood barriers to protect essential infrastructure, including 200m laid this week in Mannum with more to be deployed in Loxton and Berri next week.”

Flood barriers are also being erected on the riverfront at Renmark.