Man rescued from flood waters as SA wild weather leaves trail of damage

Man rescued from flood waters as clean-up continues from SA storm damage Fri 3 Jul 2026 at 2:38pm In short: Clean-ups are underway across South Australia after heavy rain over the past few days caused flooding and damage to properties. A man was rescued from his car rooftop after he attempted to cross a flooded road overnight. What's next? As clean-up efforts continue, private dam owners are urged to assess their properties using a checklist available from the SES. Storm damage has prompted extensive clean-ups across South Australia while a man had to be rescued from his vehicle's rooftop after he tried to drive through flood waters. Emergency services were called to Winery Road at Finniss, about 75 kilometres south of Adelaide, just before 9pm on Thursday for a swift water rescue. Police said the motorist attempted to drive his Isuzu utility through the flooded road despite signage showing the road was closed. "As he drove through, the water rose to the level of the driver's seat and shut down the engine," an SA Police spokesperson said. "He then alerted emergency services he was stranded." The man "climbed out of the window" and "sat on the roof" awaiting help, said SA State Emergency Service's Kane Murray. "Our swift water technicians effected a rescue by wading out over 100 metres to retrieve that person." Police said the man was pulled to dry land while his vehicle remained at the scene until it is safe to be retrieved. The 73-year-old man from Clayton Bay was not physically injured but the public has been reminded to be aware of rising waters and obey warning signs. "If it's flooded forget it," Mr Murray said. Clean-up underway Water levels remain higher than normal at the Patawalonga, near Glenelg, after 70 per cent of the state's median rainfall fell in a single day. The SES issued a flood advice message for Patawalonga on Thursday night but later the risk of flooding was reduced. On Friday morning, clean-up was underway to clear seaweed, branches and mud from footpaths along the waterway. Tom Campbell from the Department of Environment and Water told 891 ABC Adelaide contractors were conducting assessments this morning. "It was a high tide, a large storm surge, and significant amount of rain in the catchment so storm water had nowhere to go," Mr Campbell said. Mr Campbell said that while beach walkers and local residents may notice some discoloured water, he does not expect health problems to result from the stormwater event. SES assessing dams Meanwhile, the SA State Emergency Service said they received several calls relating to dams that had threatened to overflow, including one at Ironbank and another at Paris Creek. SES state deputy officer Kane Murray said they were most concerned about the Ironbank dam, which was first reported by the owner on Thursday afternoon. "Our crews then, based on an engineering assessment, have mitigated the water by dropping it down to a level advised by the engineer and since then we've also sandbagged the breach and now our crews are just making sure that the scene is safe," he said. "No property was expected to be inundated by any possible breach." Private dam owners are urged to assess their properties using a checklist available from the SES. Over the past few days, SES crews responded to more than 430 requests for assistance. Bridgewater Raiders Football Club found out just how unpredictable these events can be when nearby Cox Creek flooded the players' change rooms on Thursday. Club secretary Chris Evans said they would soon begin cleaning the change rooms but so far they did not appear to have any structural damage. The Bureau of Meteorology said severe weather conditions are easing. "We're not lot looking at any more warnings," Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Daniel Sherwin-Simpson said. "It will be bumpy if you're out on your boat today … and you may have to wait until mid-next week for the sun to come out." [Image text:] ww STATE EMERGENCY SERICE RESCUE