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SES issues emergency warning with Echunga dam wall failing in South Australia - ABC News

The State Emergency Service website says a dam wall is failing in Echunga, in the Adelaide Hills, prompting an emergency warning.

According to the SES, there is a threat to people's safety and residents have been warned to prepare for flooding and follow their emergency plan.

Echunga is a small town in the Adelaide Hills, about 34 kilometres south-east of Adelaide.

The dam is located on farming land between Marianna St and Churchill Road.

If the path is clear, the SES has urged people to relocate to the home of family and friends outside the warning area, or to the Echunga Football Club.

Gaetan family
Camilla, Renzo and Luca Gaetan are among the Echunga residents affected.(ABC News: David Frearson)

State Emergency Services State Duty Officer David O'Shannessy told ABC Radio Adelaide that the dam, located less than 500 metres upstream from the town of Echunga, holds about 10 megalitres of water.

On its website, the SES said it was made aware last night that the private dam was showing signs of structural failure in its wall.

A road map with an area highlighted in red
The SES has issued an emergency warning due to the Euchanga dam failing. 

Mr O'Shannessy said there had been a deterioration in the dam wall's integrity overnight.

"However, we are doing everything we can to mitigate that risk," he said.

"We're doing controlled releases of water, we've got engineers involved, we've got other experts involved."

He said the affected area encompassed most of the central township of Echunga, including about 60 properties.

A sign saying ECHUNGA PLAY GROUP above a police car and a police officer speaking to a ute
Emergency services are on site in Echunga.(ABC News: David Frearson)

"If you are in the area you just need to follow any emergency plan you might have, prepare your home for flooding, but really we're just asking people to move out of the area.

"We don't think it's inevitable that this will happen but we just want people to be prepared that if it were to happen they're just not in the area."

The SES said floodwaters might rise rapidly and were likely to be fast moving, warning people not to walk, drive or ride through floodwater.

A number of roads are closed, including Aldgate-Strathalbyn Road at Echunga Road, Echunga Road at Aldgate-Strathalbyn Road, Battunga Road at Meadows Road, Strathalbyn at Sophia Street and Churchill Road at Old Mount Barker Rd.

Two men serving another man over a counter with biscuits and drinks
Food is served at Echunga Football Club, where a handful of people have evacuated so far.(ABC News: Luke Pike)

Mr O'Shannessy said the Adelaide Hills had experienced "quite a wet season" over winter and the catchments were soaked.

"The catchments are quite soaked and so a lot of the water that would normally be soaked up by the ground is just now going to run off, so the dams are very full up there," he said.

"So that combined with quite wet ground, it appears just in this case that this private dam's had a shift and that's started a couple of shifts.

"So I think it's just a really unfortunate series of events as an isolated event but I think we have had enough rainfall over the winter to see this happen."

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https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiRWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIyLTA5LTI4L3NhLWVjaHVuZ2EtZGFtLWZhaWxzLzEwMTQ4MDQ1MtIBAA?oc=5

2022-09-27 21:36:58Z
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