A watch and act message issued on Monday is aimed at specific residents as water levels continue to rise, ahead of an expected peak in about 10 days.

The State Emergency Service said there was a risk to properties in an area bounded by Crescent Street, Plushsbend Road, and the river within the Crescent levee.

It said crews were monitoring the situation and locals were urged to stay away from the area for their own safety.

Premier Peter Malinauskas told reporters this afternoon that the flood warning was prompted by a levee breach on a private property near Renmark.

He said about six properties were affected.

“It’s a very small outbreak but it does affect six properties and it’s something we continue to monitor and observe,” he said.

The first peak in the river level is tipped to reach Renmark around December 14, with daily flows expected to hit about 175 gigalitres.

The peak is expected to reach Mannum around December 27, where levee strengthening and construction efforts are also in full swing.

After a brief settling of water levels, a second peak, when flows could exceed 185GL a day, is forecast to reach the SA border towards the end of the year.

The state’s Emergency Management Council this morning received advice from the Department for Environment and Water that the height of the river around Renmark was appearing higher than forecast relative to the actual flow.

Malinauskas said authorities had monitored the situation over the weekend and noted “a bit of relief”.

“It is possible… that this is very much a localised issue around Renmark, where there has been substantial investment in levee infrastructure both by the council, the state government, private landowners as well,” he said.

“You can have localised instances where the flow rate might be stable but the height goes up depending on the natural environment.

“That’s something we continue to monitor closely.”

Malinauskas is visiting the River Murray towns of Younghusband and Mannum this afternoon ahead of a national cabinet meeting later this week.

He said so far, emergency services officers had door-knocked “well over 3000 properties” along the River Murray, with few people seeking financial assistance from the state government.

“Most people are prepared – they know if they’re staying, they know if they’re going to leave, they know where they’re going,” he said.

“We’ve also been able to identify a small cohort of people that didn’t have enough planning in place and we’ve been able to rectify that situation, including emergency accommodation support.”

The Swan Reach and Morgan ferries will close from 7pm tomorrow due to the rising water levels.

They are expected to remain closed while local water flow exceeds 120GL a day.

The Department for Infrastructure and Transport says alternative river crossings for the Swan Reach ferry are the Walker Flat ferry or Murray Bridge (downstream) and Blanchetown Bridge (upstream).

A second emergency relief centre will open in Mannum on Wednesday for people whose houses are impacted by the flood.

The centre is located at the Mannum Football Club and will open from 9am.

Up to 4000 properties in SA are expected to be inundated, 450 of which are considered permanent residences.

– with AAP