Hill or high water: Mannum business on the move to escape approaching flood water

Rising flood waters have residents abandoning their homes, business owners boarding up their doors but the show must go on for a local shop owner who is “navigating a nightmare”.

Rising flood waters have residents abandoning their homes, business owners boarding up their doors but the show must go on for a local shop owner who is “navigating a nightmare”.

But Mannum clothing and jewellery store owner Renae Seekamp is determined to keep going through the town’s flooding crisis and is moving to higher ground and setting up shop.

Mannum clothing and jewellery store owner Renae Seekamp is determined to keep going through the town’s flooding crisis and is moving to higher ground and setting up shop. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Mariuz

Ms Seekamp said when news hit her store would be completing inundated by flood water, she was forced to think quickly about what to do for her business but ultimately, continuing to trade with a storefront in the town was her only option.

She said forking out rent on another shop, taking out insurance on another building and the task of moving stock had major financial implications and despite all the extra costs, she still faces losing power and water at her new location.

SA Power Networks and SA Water warned residents in flood areas services would be cut as the peak flows arrive and could have implications for homes or businesses not facing water inundation.

But for the Frankie and Calla owner, it was a risk she had to take with the government’s flood assistance grants not enough to help through a prolonged disruption of business.

“For us, we’d be eligible for $10,000 and no one really knows how long we’d be shut for we just wanted to keep our presence out there and try and trade through it,” she said.

“It’s a bit of an unknown - we could be out for six months or longer.”

Ms Seekamp has owned the store for three years and said despite enjoying solid trading, the business has had to withstand unprecedented challenges.

“We’ve just done two years through COVID and now flooding,” she said.

“We are navigating a nightmare.”

Access to her store will be cut off by Monday, December 5 and machinery rolls in to rip up the main street to make way for the levee being built to protect the town.

The temporary levee being built at Mary Ann Reserve in Mannum. Photo: NCA NewsWire / David Mariuz

However, the wall will be powerless to protect her shop on the flood plain and Ms Seekamp said it was expected her shop would be completed inundated by water in the coming weeks.

And, even when the water recedes, there would no quick return to the property she owns.

“We’ve got to be out by Monday and we won’t have access to our premises from Sunday night,” she said,.

“And who knows when we can come back after the clean up.”

She said she hopes to be open in her new location as soon as possible and keep trading almost immediately.