SA govt help for flood-hit river residents

It includes $9.3 million for levee works, $4.8 million for sandbags and other defences, rental assistance for families, up to $20,000 grants for businesses forced to close and grants for the purchase of generators for properties set to lose power.

The government has also set aside $1 million for mental health support, $3 million for vouchers to encourage tourists to continue to visit the region and $10 million for infrastructure repairs including roads.

Premier Peter Malinauskas, who took his cabinet to the Riverland on Tuesday to meet with local officials, said the government and the people of SA were ready to respond to the challenge. 

"We see this as a very substantial package that may end up being the first," he said.

"We need to be flexible as a government to respond to the needs as they change over the weeks and months ahead.

"We face the real possibility of a protracted event where we have high river flows going right into the early months next year, potentially even into autumn.

"So as the situation emerges and changes we will respond accordingly."

Treasurer Stephen Mullighan said the government was not concerned about the impact of the assistance on the state budget.

"We're trying to give the Riverland communities what they need," he said.

"We are trying to err on the side of generosity."

Local Liberal MP Tim Whetstone welcomed the government's help with the floods something not witnessed in SA for half a century.

"The Riverland is a tough, strong, and united community. We are all working together to weather this storm," he said.

"It is a slow-moving beast and it's coming our way." 

The floods have been declared a major emergency with forecasts of two distinct peaks in water flows.

The latest information suggests flows will rise to about 175 gigalitres a day by early December and could then go higher towards the end of the month and into early January.

The second peak has been influenced by the most recent rains interstate in critical catchment areas and the release of water from the Hume Dam.

Flow forecasts for the second peak should be available on Thursday.

The declaration of a major emergency gives Police Commissioner Grant Stevens wider powers to respond and better co-ordinate relief efforts.

He can direct resources and infrastructure, evacuate locations and direct that utilities are cut off.

It also ensures all the economic, social and environmental impacts are properly considered.

Flooding is set to impact thousands of shacks, homes and businesses, with at least 4000 properties likely to be inundated.

Renmark is considered the town most at risk and work has been under way for several weeks to shore up the town's levees which were designed to withstand river flows of 210GL a day.

But concerns are rising for Mannum, east of Adelaide, where work will be done to strengthen its levees amid fears parts of the town could be flooded.