Earlier today, State Emergency Services issued an evacuation order of the Riverbend Caravan Park in Renmark resulting in relocation of 6 guests, to address a public safety risk from a possible levee failure.
Chris Beattie, Chief Officer, SASES said “Earlier today, engineers assessed the private levee built at the Riverbend Caravan Park and identified a number of significant defects which puts the levee at risk of failure. If the levee fails, there is a risk of flooding which may impact anyone in the park behind the levee.”
The Riverbend Caravan Park has since released its own statement, clarifying the closure and that they don’t believe guests were in harms way.
Edwards Group CEO, and owner of the Riverbend Caravan Park, Mr Stephen Edwards said there was no immediate danger to guests.
“The levee did not breach nor was the Park the inundated with water, and there was no immediate danger to anyone, including guests and staff,” Mr Edwards said.
“While we understand the importance of flood preparation and ensuring the safety of our community, it is perhaps timely that we all take away some learnings from last night. There was a miscommunication of the flood evacuation and it’s important to correct this
misinformation.”
Heading to the Riverland first thing this morning, Mr Edwards met with SES authorities to discuss the learnings from last night’s evacuation. “We have been consistently working with the SES and authorities on the engineering of our levees to ensure the continued safety of our guests, and support the measures in place to prepare for the higher rivers coming our way,” he said.
“This is very early in the response phase, so I hope to have a chance to talk more broadly to the SES to see how things like this might be better handled going forward, and how their communication might be improved. The way they handled the evacuation and public announcements was disappointing as it sensationalized a sense of urgency that wasn’t necessary.
“It is important we work together with SES, other relevant authorities and industry bodies to
develop a best practice response that prioritises safety but also mitigates damaging fallout and reputational damage to our region.”
He said a total of six guests were relocated from the Park with ample notice before the SES Emergency Warning and Media Release were published online. While the SES has officially closed the Park, it is still a safe place with a team of Park staff remaining onsite to ensure the levee banks remain sturdy and minimise damage to the Park.
The Edwards Group is continuing to work with the SES, which is implementing the Group’s Emergency Evacuation Plan to caravan parks in the Riverland region.
Stay informed:
- Check the SES website at www.ses.sa.gov.au
- Monitor local conditions and tune in to your local ABC on a battery-powered radio for updates
- Call the SA Emergency Infoline on 1800 362 361
- People who are deaf, or have a hearing or speech impairment, can contact the SA Emergency Infoline via the National Relay Service on 1800 555 727 (TTY users 1800 555 677)
- Follow the SES on Twitter (@SA_SES) or Facebook (SA State Emergency Service)
- For weather warnings and forecasts visit www.bom.gov.au.
- For SES assistance phone 132 500. If the matter is life threatening call 000 (triple zero).
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