Border communities have been rallying together to build the three-kilometre-long and two-metre-high levee designed to protect thousands of homes from flooding when the Murray River peaks later this week.

Echuca resident Nick told Today his home has just missed out on being included in the area protected by the levee, leaving him “gutted”.

He can see the levee from his doorstep.

“To get the news that the shire were putting a levee bank in was great, but to find out they were sacrificing us was totally gutting us to be honest,” he said.

Nick sandbagged his home on Sunday while his wife and children were out sandbagging in other parts of the community.

”If we’d have left it till yesterday we’d have got (no sandbags) because the bank went up yesterday. It is devastating,” he said.

“My wife and kids sandbagged all weekend for the community.

“We’re a pretty tight-knit community here in Echuca so they spent all weekend helping the rest of the community and then the shire went and put that bank up and basically we feel like we’re not part of the community anymore.

“We’re not worth saving. It hurts, really hurts.”

Nick said he and his family would stay in their home until the water arrived, when they would leave in their boat.

“We’re just riding the roller coaster. We’re just waiting for the water. It’s coming, we’re going to get it, it’s just a matter of when now,” he said.

Nick has said residents were given “zero say” about who was to be protected by a town meeting, which was attended by 300 to 400 people.

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“They took five questions after they told us the devastating news. Two of those questions were answered with, ‘I can’t answer that. Thanks for coming, see you later’,” he said.

“Unfortunately we’re the sacrificial lambs out this side and we’ll have to wait and see what happens to us.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the border, Moama is expected to be the hardest-hit and residents are sandbagging or evacuating ahead of the nervous wait for water levels to surge.

The worst of the flooding is predicted for Friday or Saturday.

“It’s a wait and see game to see where the rain falls and how the rivers response,” Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke said.

A 300-strong team of SES volunteers is mobilising to help evacuate people and protect properties, along with over 100 defence force personnel. 

“We got heaps of people on the go… it’s flat out, it’s crazy,” a resident told 9News.

A holiday park in Moama is expected to be the first to feel the pinch.

“As you can see, we’re pretty much in the firing line here,” the owners said.

“It doesn’t take much when the water goes up to cover massive kilometres of farmland and communities,” SES commissioner Carlee York said.

An RFS base camp is being set up at Deniliquin, the closest dry area, which is almost 70 kilometres away from the flood zone.