South Australia's Premier says flooding on the Stuart Highway is rapidly receding but there is still no definite time frame for the major freight route reopening.
Steven Marshall said the highway was now under about 300 millimetres of water near Glendambo, in the state's far north, down from 450mm a day ago.
He said reopening the road was the number one priority of the flood recovery effort.
However, it is unclear how much damage has been done by the flooding and by vehicles which have been driven through floodwaters against the direction of authorities.
State Emergency Service (SES) northern region commander Trevor Arnold said he could not put a time frame on when the highway may reopen.
"It's not just the fact that the water needs to recede, it's the damage that could have been done to the road which needs to be assessed before people can drive on it, given that most of the traffic that goes up through there are very heavy road trains," Mr Arnold said.
Help for Coober Pedy and APY Lands
There have been nine drops of food and essential supplies to Coober Pedy, which has had its road and rail routes cut.
Some people with medical needs had been flown out of the town by the Royal Australian Air Force, Mr Marshall said.
Locals had complained of not enough flights out of the town and some vehicles being given permission to get through on the Stuart Highway while others were denied.
Giles MP Eddie Hughes has called for shearing crews to have urgent access to the north.
"The number that's been raised, that's been suggested, is up to 100,000 sheep that need to be sheared, so we need to have a common sense approach, a practical approach, to get in there," he said.
Further north on the remote Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands, near the Northern Territory, the roads are still impassable.
However, Mr Marshall said a B-double truck had been able to bring essential supplies in via Alice Springs, and emergency medical teams and medical supplies had been flown in on charter planes.
Dry weather is forecast for the next two weeks.
Department of Premier and Cabinet chief executive Nick Reade has been appointed as the state's deputy state coordinator, below Police Commissioner Grant Stevens.
The state has two declared states of emergency — for the far north flooding and the COVID-19 pandemic.
