Murraylands towns on alert and Riverland businesses continue to close amid River Murray flood emergency

The historic Overland Corner Hotel in South Australia’s Riverland would usually be bustling on Sunday lunch, but not this weekend.

The pub had to evacuate suddenly on Saturday night after concerns about its levee, which was built in 1974.

Owner Brad Flowers said it was a “devastating” blow, particularly coming off the back of COVID-19 restrictions and with a significant number of bookings over the busy Christmas period.

“So we frantically have been on the phone all night and this morning, made all the calls to unfortunately apologise,” he said.

“They’ve all been great and been understanding but, yeah, tough time.”

Mr Flowers remains optimistic about the future of the hotel, which was built in 1856.

“She’s an old girl,” he said.

“She’s been around 166 years, so the 1956 flood was over the door frame, up to the windows.

“So she’s seen it before, but a fair bit of work ahead for the next two weeks.”

Meanwhile, the State Emergency Service (SES) issued fresh warnings over the weekend for some areas.

On Sunday, the SES said residents of Ponde should prepare to isolate due to a levee breach and warned that power and water supplies may become interrupted.

Roads that may be impacted include Weidenhofer Road, Skinner Road, Reserve Parade, Kenny Road and Ponde Landing Road.

The SES said those who planned to leave or were not prepared to isolate were advised to consider evacuating if it was safe to do so.

A similar warning was issued for the nearby town of Murrawong on Sunday afternoon, due to a potential levee breach.

Yesterday, the SES advised residents in low-lying areas between Tailem Bend and Wellington along the River Murray to prepare to evacuate their homes due to rapid river level rises.

The South Australian government is predicting between 190 and 220 gigalitres of water a day will flow down the river as the flood peaks in late December.