Rainfall records fall for August across SA as Telstra services disrupted

Posted Tue 25 Aug 2026 at 9:31amTue 25 Aug 2026 at 9:31amWater over a road near Booleroo, following record-breaking rainfall in parts of SA. (Supplied)In short:Heavy rain across South Australia has broken August records in several spots.Telstra says services have been disrupted around Yorketown on lower Yorke Peninsula after heavy rain caused damage to infrastructure.What's next?The weather bureau is warning of minor flooding along the Onkaparinga River.Telstra says heavy rain is causing service disruptions on South Australia's lower Yorke Peninsula, as downpours cause minor flooding and record August daily rainfall totals in parts of the state.The telco said customers in Yorketown and surrounding areas including Coobowie, Edithburgh, Marion Bay, Point Turton, Port Moorowie, Stenhouse Bay and Warooka had been affected "after heavy rainfall caused water damage at our Yorketown exchange"."The severe weather resulted in water ingress within the facility which has affected critical transmission equipment," it said in a statement."Our technicians have assessed the site and are working urgently to source the replacement parts needed to restore services as quickly as possible."The State Emergency Service (SES) has been kept busy, responding to almost 90 jobs on Monday and more than 20 since midnight."They were really quite scattered — we certainly saw them around the Adelaide Hills, Mount Lofty Ranges, around that Oakbank area with minor flood levels just reached in there which sees a little bit of water over the road," SES state duty officer Brad Flew told 891 ABC Adelaide.The bureau says August daily rainfall totals have been broken in several spots. (Supplied)He said water had also covered roads around Sellicks Beach and Aldinga."We're expecting our volunteers to still be busy throughout the day, with a bit more rain on its way and winds and the trees falling," Mr Flew said."The lower Onkaparinga is likely to see some rises, below flood levels but certainly we'll see water moving through all of our river systems."The weather bureau has issued a minor flood warning for the Onkaparinga River, saying that minor flooding was possible at Clarendon Weir and Old Noarlunga early on Tuesday."Moderate to locally heavy rainfall has been observed across the Onkaparinga catchment since Monday afternoon. This has caused river and creek level rises, and minor flooding is possible along the Onkaparinga River at Clarendon Weir from early Tuesday morning," it said.The bureau has also reported that several locations across the state have broken records for August daily rainfall totals, including Mount Lofty with 56 millimetres, Port Lincoln with 49mm, Parawa with 45mm, Edithburgh with 44mm and Cummins with 35mm."There were some good falls along the southern part of Eyre Peninsula, the southern part of Yorke Peninsula," senior forecaster Michael Conway said.Mr Conway said the highest falls across the state include 65mm at Lenswood in the Adelaide Hills."In Adelaide we had 29mm at the West Terrace gauge and it's moved us up into the top 10 per cent of Augusts, so we're up to 97mm for August which is very high," he said."There was a bumper year in 1852 with 158mm so it's a little off that."