Stunning photos show River Murray’s relentless rise as Renmark holds its breath
Renmark is a town holding its breath. The locals are watching the river, waiting, preparing – but no one knows how bad it will really be.
SA News
Don't miss out on the headlines from SA News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The people of Renmark have had a long time to think about what is coming towards them. For more than a month now they have watched and waited as the River Murray edged higher, centimetre by relentless centimetre.
What’s happening in Renmark is no flash flood. There will be no images of waves of roiling, raging water sweeping through the Riverland town. This is a flood in slow motion. But no less powerful for that.
The anxiety of many is real and has built as forecasters kept upping flow forecasts. Many a conversation about the Murray includes the line, “well they said it would be 135”.
What is happening on the Murray is a once-in-a-generation event. The water levels sweeping down the river will be the highest in almost 70 years.
The insistent progress of the water is marked on the shiny silver measurement gauge on the town’s pleasant riverfront. It sits in the water beside a footpath that is now underwater.
The water has already passed the marks set in 1981 and 1993. On Friday, the water was bisecting the 1974 level, and will soon top the 1917 and 1931 levels, leaving only the monster of 1956.
It means most Renmark locals have never seen anything like it. Nursing student Sandra Krawczuk comes down every couple of days, with her five-year-old son Charlie to take a look and grab a picture.
The river in this state is both magnificent and fascinating as well as a little terrifying to live with.
“I think a lot of people are worried,’’ Ms Krawczuk said. “About their home getting flooded, losing possessions or property damage.’’
The bright and energetic Charlie, wearing a lifejacket as an added precaution, has a solution, showing his latest Lego creation.
“This is a pump that will turn all the flood water into normal water,’’ Charlie said, adding it even had a “light that can see the flood water and suck it up’’.
That 1956 mark when water flowed over the border at 341GL a day and flooded Renmark will not be repeated but there is still a level of nervousness about what is about to happen.
The first of two peaks is expected to reach Renmark on December 14, and be around 175GL. The second peak will be in late December and could land between 185GL and 220GL.
The surge will then sweep past Renmark on through towns such as Berri and Loxton, through Morgan and Bowhill, Mannum and Blanchetown, until it finally rolls out into the ocean.
The rising Murray has prompted the Renmark Paringa council to bring in temporary flood barriers at the front, in addition to the remediation it is doing on 38km of levees around the town. New levees are also being built.
One has cut off 21st Street to protect homes and schools from the vastly enlarged Bookmark Creek, which has already wiped out the roadway.
A 2m-high levee has been quickly constructed to protect the Renmark Riverbend Caravan Park and its neighbour the Riverfront Caravan Park.
On Murray St at the riverfront, Tammy Hamood, owner of T.H. Books, is relieved about the temporary barrier, but is worried about what is beneath her feet.
Down there is a cellar, but it has long been sealed off and she doesn’t know whether groundwater will push up into it. Nearby basements flooded in the 1974 flood and there are reports the Renmark Hotel 100m away is already pumping water out of its basement.
Moisture and books don’t mix and Ms Hamood is anxious about her business and whether she will be able to remain open.
“My intention was to close the store,” she said. “Depending on obviously what comes out of that cellar. I don’t particularly want to close but if it happens, it happens and I’d rather be overprepared than underprepared.’’
Four doors down at the Renmark Irrigation Trust, chief executive Rosalie Auricht has been organising the removal of records from a basement that was flooded in 1974. The building that is home to the Trust is one of the oldest in Renmark and the organisation traces its roots to the Chaffey brothers who founded the town.
“In ’74 we estimated the water level got to about there,’’ Ms Auricht said, indicating a point about 40cm off the ground. “We expect it to come through at any moment.’
There is more than an element of the unknown facing Renmark, but the last month has seen a frenzy of activity around the town as it prepares.
About 150 people attended a public meeting on Thursday night in Renmark’s Greek Orthodox hall to listen to the latest information and ask questions. There were leaflets on how to sandbag your home or how to prepare your shack. There was an hour of speeches from representatives of the local council, the SES, SA Water, SA Power Networks, departments of environment, primary industries, transport and housing.
Basic advice was handed out – don’t swim in floodwaters, don’t drive on levees. New information was given. The council is bringing in diesel pumps because 27 stormwater drains need to be closed off because the power of the river will send water back up the drains and into the streets.
The mood was sombre. Inquiring rather than panicky, but some were unhappy with the flow of information, the unreliability of forecasting flows and the potential for power to be cut off.
SAPN’s Paul Erwin repeated power disconnections were only ever done for safety reasons, but local MP Tim Whetstone, who was at the meeting, has continuing concerns that power is being cut off without warning.
Mr Whetstone also believes the abrupt tenor of some of the communication from SAPN and emergency services is adding to a sense of panic, particularly among vulnerable people by sending text messages telling people they would lose power or needed to leave their homes immediately.
“I think that the level of communication is probably the weakest link in any of the preparation,’’ he said. “I think a text message should be information, it shouldn’t be scaring people.’’
Mr Whetstone said his electoral office was taking 100 calls a day from concerned residents. “It’s people on high, high levels of stress and anxiety. It’s not just someone ringing up to have a document signed.’’
There are other anxieties as well. Local business is hurting because the tourists are staying away, some because watersport is not an option, but others who mistakenly believe the whole town is underwater or unsafe.
Renmark Paringa Community Museum chairman Wayne Howell called the SES on Friday, concerned antique machinery was at risk. He said the river had risen 30cm in the last week and another 67cm would see the grounds flood.
“We are particularly worried because we have a nationally-recognised collection of stationary engines which go back to 1908,’’ he said.
The council has started a new social media campaign to urge people to help business by buying locally. Renmark Paringa council economic development officer Dara Frankel said the #golocalfirst campaign was aiming to capitalise on growing interest in the region, which was happening even though fewer people were visiting.
Ms Frankel said the council’s Facebook posts had reached 107,000 people last month, an increase of almost 300 per cent.
“The flood is bringing a lot more interest to Renmark so we are trying to piggyback on that and flip it around,’’ she said. Ms Frankel also said she hoped it would help clear up misconceptions. For example, she said the council kept fielding calls asking if the Paringa Bridge was closed. Even the 1956 flood didn’t close that bridge.
Environmentalist and tour operator Tony Sharley urged people to keep visiting the region.
“Not only are the floods creating a marvellous spectacle when you look out across the river valley, they are the single most important environmental event on the Murray River in 48 years,’’ he said. “So please come for a drive and stay night or two just to witness the spectacle.’’
‘Back then you just had to shut up and get on with things’
From his devastation at the death by suicide of Danny Frawley to his personal battle with post injury blues, ex AFL great Matthew Richardson opens up on mental health – then and now.
Grandfather killed while walking dog identified
An active and healthy grandfather has been identified as the 91-year-old man killed when he was struck by a car in Evanston Gardens on Friday night.