Thousands call SES for storm help in SA

Emergency services have responded to thousands of calls for help over the weekend as
strong winds and heavy rain battered South Australia.
A deep and slow-moving low pressure system has been to blame for wind gusts in
excess of 100km/h that slammed the state and for heavy rainfall that has put
Adelaide near its monthly average for September already.
Bureau of meteorology senior forecaster Mark Anolak said conditions had eased about
midnight.
"We've had 46.6mm of rain so far this September and the average for September is
around 61mm," Mr Anolak said.
"Most of that has fallen in the last 72 hours."
He said the strongest recorded wind gust, of 106km/h, hit Murray Bridge on Saturday
afternoon, however there may have been others even stronger that were not recorded
on the network.
A spokeswoman for the State Emergency Service said in the 24 hours to 7am (CST) on
Sunday crews had responded to more than 1600 incidents, with more than 800 on
Friday.
"The SES is expecting a lot less activity today but there are still a few
outstanding jobs in the metropolitan area which crews will complete today," the
spokeswoman said.
"The extreme weather has left a significant number of trees damaged or even totally
uprooted.
"The public should be mindful of this and remember not to park vehicles under large
trees with overhanging branches."
A spokesman for ETSA Utilities said on Sunday some 7500 customers across the state
remained without power as a result of storm damage, with an estimated total of
150,000 affected since Friday.
The spokesman said crews were working to restore power to those still affected and
hoped to have most attended to by this afternoon.
"We've got all available staff working across country and metropolitan areas to
restore power," he said.
About 200 power wires were still down and up to 20 poles, he said.
Crews were having difficulty accessing some parts of the state to restore customers'
power due to flood damage and road closures.