A one-in-50-year flood has hit a remote town in the Northern Territory as authorities warn more rain is on the way for the rest of the state.
In the span of six hours, 157mm of rain inundated the town of Timber Creek, around 300km southwest of Katherine.
Everyone in the remote community has been accounted for although a number of people had to be rescued from flood waters, NT Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said on Saturday.
They included a 74-year-old woman who was washed 60m off a bridge and rescued from the roof of her car.
The woman was shaken from the incident but otherwise uninjured.
About 70 per cent of the Timber Creek community spent the night at the local basketball court as heavy rains lashed the remote town.
"We have got a welfare response underway, so we're assessing food and shelter needs," Ms Fyles told reporters on Saturday.
"I'm advised the community has power, but water has been impacted is the early advice we've got."
The heavy rain and storms are coming from ex-cyclone Ellie, which was downgraded to a tropical low after making landfall in the early hours of Friday.
In the 24 hours to 9am on Saturday, Timber Creek received 241mm of rain, while Bradshaw to the northeast received 208mm.
The Bureau of Meteorology is warning the heavy rain will continue for some days. Motorists are advised to reconsider driving on the Victoria and Stuart highways.
"You could end up in a situation where you're stuck somewhere ... with the rain and rapidly rising creeks and rivers," Ms Fyles said.
Meanwhile, thousands of residents in South Australia's riverland region are on high alert ahead of an expected peak in the rising Murray River in the coming days.
About 190 gigalitres of water was predicted to flow through the river at Renmark in the next 48 to 72 hours, South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said on Saturday.
That peak is lower than the 220GL originally forecast.
"It means less homes being inundated. It means less people being displaced," Mr Malinauskas told reporters.
"But it still does mean a substantial body of water at a level that we haven't seen in our state for a long, long time."
About 4000 properties along the Murray are still expected to be inundated in the coming weeks.
Some 3260 homes were disconnected from power on Saturday morning, while authorities had door-knocked close to 5000 properties as they encouraged people to be prepared.
The premier said some affected residents had taken up emergency accommodation and close to 25,000 beds were available across the region.
"We have got a lot of capacity there for the worst-case scenario," Mr Malinauskas said.
The Murray is expected to peak at Mannum, about 200km southwest of Renmark, on January 7.
