Flood damage closes Mannum Road for two weeks

The SES was kept busy as Murray Bridge copped 21mm of rain in four hours on September 29, and there'll be a lasting impact, too.

Flood damage closes Mannum Road for two weeks
Drivers struggle to deal with floodwaters on Mannum Road on Wednesday night. Photo: Renee Randall.

One of the main roads in and out of Murray Bridge will be closed for up to two weeks due to flood damage, SA Police say.

Mannum Road sustained “extensive damage” in Wednesday night’s rain storm and remained covered by half a metre of water on Thursday morning.

Police warned that a section at Tepko, between Wagenknecht Road and Tepko Road,  would remain closed for some time.

Here’s what Mannum Road looked like on Thursday morning. Photo: SA Police.

Reedy Creek Road also sustained damage about 200 metres south of Law Road, and will be closed until it can be repaired.

Most motorists will be able to follow signs showing a detour around the affected area.

However, B-double drivers will have to find new routes, and road trains will likely need to go through Pinnaroo and the Riverland.

Police warned drivers to stay out of floodwaters.

Meanwhile, the State Emergency Service was inundated with calls as Murray Bridge experienced its heaviest rainfall in at least a year.

Twenty-one millimetres fell in just four hours after a storm front passed over the Murraylands on Wednesday evening, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

For context, just 31.8mm fell all winter.

A car dodges floodwaters at Sturt Reserve. Photo: Julianne Cawte.

The local SES brigade received about 20 calls for help between 4.30 and 8.30pm, including from a motorist trapped in a car by floodwaters on Bullers Road at Kepa.

Each of the two main roads north of Murray Bridge was also affected: SA Police closed a section of Mannum Road at Pallamana due to flooding, and the SES was sent to check the condition of Reedy Creek Road as well.

At least six houses were reportedly flooded, and several more residents needed sandbags to protect their properties.

  • Get help in case of flooding: Call the State Emergency Service on 132 500.
The storm front approaches a rise at Rocky Gully. Photo: Christine Denman.
The front looms over Murray Bridge at 4.30pm. Photo: Randall Meyers.
Lyn Buchanan recently arrived home after crossing the Simpson Desert. This afternoon, her street turned into a river. Photo: Lyn Buchanan.
Hail decorates a backyard in Murray Bridge. Photo: Sarah Lance.
“My road is a river.” Photo: Carleen Ellbourn-Brown.
The plants get a drink, and so does the rest of the garden. Photo: Jessica McKeown.
Before and after Homburg Reserve filled up with water. Photos: Hayley Bland.
It was hard to tell where the wharf ended at the River Murray began. Photo: Ebony Schiller.
Some locations, such as this property at Mannum, received about 23mm, while others – such as at Woods Point – got next to nothing. Photo: Theresa Woods.

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