Thousands of South Australians will still be without power when they wake up on Friday, more than two days after a destructive storm hit the state and damaged its electricity grid.
The state's opposition says the government has not done enough to deal with the crisis, though Premier Jay Weatherill has said they could not have prevented falling trees from dragging down power poles and wires.
SA Power Networks said on Thursday afternoon 26,000 properties remain unable to switch on their lights and many in SA's mid-north and in the Adelaide Hills will be in the same position until Friday.
The electricity distributor said at least 155,000 homes or businesses lost power for some time after the storm hit late on Tuesday, bringing strong winds and heavy rain.
The SES has handled more than 1700 callouts since that time, most for trees that have fallen on properties, power lines and across roads, or for flooding.
The Bureau of Meteorology said the conditions were exacerbated by another thunderstorm overnight, with winds of 126km/h recorded at Port Augusta and rainfall of 104mm at Mount Mary, halfway between Eudanda and Morgan.
And another thunderstorm is on the way later on Thursday for northeast SA.
Opposition Leader Steven Marshall told reporters on Thursday the current power outages are the fourth blackout SA has been dealt in 2016 and the state government should have been more prepared for the scenario.
"It's time for this government to get off their hands and have a more reliable system in South Australia and more than that, a better response to the crises that are now enveloping South Australia," he said.
But in the initial aftermath of the storm on Wednesday, Premier Jay Weatherill said the damage wrought by strong winds could not have been prevented.
"No power system in the world will withstand a gumtree hitting a power line and dragging it to the ground," he told reporters.
BOM said conditions have eased for most of the state but the northeast could face even more thunderstorms and potential flash flooding on Friday.
