State Emergency Services will send 15,000 sandbags to Port Pirie in anticipation of wet weather expected to hit the region.
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The SES will also send a swift water rescue team.
Port Pirie is the regional base for the SES, running operations in the large area north of Port Wakefield and to the eastern, northern and western borders.
There are already several thousand sandbags in potential flooding areas and the 15,000 supplied by the SES is just an added precaution.
The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting between 50 and 150 millimetres of rain in Port Pirie, mostly to fall from Friday to Sunday.
The weather is expected to dump 200 millimetres of rain further north in the state.
Port Pirie’s total should be closer to 50 millimetres but how close the unpredictable weather system gets to Port Pirie will determine if we reach the higher figure.
Napperby is at a risk due the Bangor fires burning away the vegetation and clearing the slopes.
With an annual average rainfall of 345.9 millimetres in Port Pirie, the anticipated rainfall represents between 14 per cent and 43 per cent of our rain for the year dumped over three days.
“From our point of view, any preparation people do to their properties such as clear drains and gutters will significantly decrease damage,” said Ben Birbeck, North Region Duty Officer.
“People planning to travel, especially up north on dirt roads, should reconsider or take supplies, such as fresh water, in case their road gets cuts off and they become stranded.”
They should keep informed and if anybody does need assistance, call us on 132 500.”
