More than 9,000 residents in Victoria’s 24 “hardest hit” LGAs have applied for emergency disaster funding and thousands more have been forced to flee their homes as the worst flooding crisis in a generation affects the state.
As of 6pm, almost 70 emergency warnings remain in place across Victoria, including the northern town of Echuca, near the NSW border, where residents are bracing for the first of two peaks of ‘flooding with the Campaspe river expected to reach 96.2 meters.
People in Echuca received text messages this morning telling them to leave before noon.
Residents watch flood roar in Campaspie Esp as SES, CFA, Army and Air Force work together in Echuca. (Erin Jonasson.)CFA, Army and Air Force working together alongside Campaspie Esp. In Echuca (Erin Jonasson.)
The SES has warned that up to 1,000 properties would be surrounded or, in some cases, flooded.
Elsewhere in the northern part of the state, thousands of people are fleeing their homes or trying to defend them, with earlier flooding still causing the river to rise.
Flooding is rising in Charlton in north-west Victoria. (new)
People in the north-west Victorian town of Charlton have been told to evacuate the area immediately, with heavy flooding expected to peak today and continue into Monday.
“It is likely that the duration of the event will be three to five days”, warned Emergèncias de Vic.
The evacuation notice is expected to be in effect until 10 a.m. tomorrow.
Meanwhile, a relief center has been opened at Wycheproof P-12 College for Charlton residents and their pets to take shelter.
Shepparton and Mooroopna
Residents in Shepparton, 180km north of Melbourne, and around Mooroopna, Orrvale and Kialla West, were told it was too late to leave their areas after major warnings were issued overnight of flooding over the rise of the Goulburn River.
“Major flooding is now occurring in Shepparton, where a significant peak of around 12.2 meters is possible early Monday, above the 1974 flood level of 12.09 metres,” Emergency Vic said.
“Heavy river rises will continue through Sunday in Shepparton, where levels are likely to exceed 12.10 meters by 6pm on Sunday, before peaking at around 12.20 meters in the early hours of Monday “.
People have been seen canoeing through flood waters in Shepparton. (New) Flooding has started in Shepparton and is expected to continue until Monday. (new)
Not far from Shepparton, in Mooroopna, a power station has been submerged in floodwater, with one resident sharing aerial footage of what little can be seen of the station above the water.
Powercor has announced that it has de-energized the station, which supplies around 10,688 homes and businesses in Mooroopna and surrounding towns, as a safety measure.
“Safety is always our priority and we have taken this action to reduce the risk to the community and minimize the long-term damage to electrical assets that can result from extended power outages,” Powercor said.
Powercor has said it built a levee, hauled sandbags and used pumps to keep the water out, but was unsuccessful.
A Victorian resident has shared aerial images of Mooroopna Power Station submerged in flood water. (new)
The energy company said it was able to restore power to about 4,700 customers connected to the substation by supplying them through other parts of its network.
About 5,954 customers will remain without power until it is safe to restore power to the site.
The plant is expected to be out of action for days.
However, affected residents are cautioned to be careful with electrical appliances and not to assume that the power to their home has been cut.
Water levels have been rising throughout the day in and around Shepparton, swamping roads, playgrounds and homes.
Sandbags contain flood waters in Echuca. (new)
According to the City of Greater Shepparton, more than 8,000 properties have been affected by the flooding, while more than 160 people are in the Shepparton Relief Center and more than 6,000 homes are without power.
A large wall of sandbags is holding back most of the flooding in Echuca, but waters are expected to continue rising today.
Australian Defense Force crews are on the ground as far as the city to try to help protect it from rising waters.
SES workers check sandbags in Echuca. (Erin Jonasson.)A wall of sandbags holds back water from flooded homes in Echuca. (New) The flooded Campaspe River poses a major threat to homes in Echuca. (new)
Crews have been seen adding more and more sandbags to the wall in an attempt to keep it strong in the fight against rising waters.
The people of Echuca are bracing for a double whammy: first they will be hit with waters from the Campaspe River and then, in the coming days, they will also receive water from the Murray River.
Members of the ADF and residents of Echuca are scrambling to try and stop the flood waters from rising further. (new)
Local resident Michael said today that everyone in the town is feeling very worried.
“We’ve had floods here before, but nothing like this,” he said.
“We are in a situation that will become very critical.
“If the water goes over (the sandbag wall), God help us because things are serious here now.”
Michael, a resident of Echuca, has said that the locals are very worried about the rising waters. (new)
Some homes have already collapsed, despite sandbagging preparations.
A house in Echuca has been seen filled with flood water at least a few feet high.
Residents said they woke up today to find their home flooded around 3am, with water starting to seep through their garage and sandbag barriers.
The evacuations could continue for days
Victoria’s emergency services chiefs warned on Saturday that the state could experience “some of the largest evacuations” in the state’s history over the next few days.
Premier Daniel Andrews also warned the Victorian state was far from “out of the woods”.
House auctioned as deluge ravages western NSW
Meanwhile, major flooding is still occurring along the Goulburn River in Seymour, which peaked at about 3am on Friday at 8.26 metres.
It is expected to finally drop below the main flood stage (7m) by Sunday morning.
Meanwhile, clean-up begins in the small town of Rochester, 180 kilometers north of Melbourne, which was left underwater on Friday.
Recovery also continues in Maribyrnong in Melbourne, after hundreds of businesses were flooded on Friday.
The entire township of Rochester has been flooded. (New) Although the rain cleared for a dry weekend, Weatherzone is forecasting another wet spell later in the week, which could “wreak havoc” for “several days” along the coast east, from Queensland to Tasmania.
“Another low pressure system and trough…will intensify and push across the NT and SA early next week, before moving into and settling into QLD, NSW, VIC and TAS during several days,” they said.
Weatherzone is forecasting another wet spell at the end of the week, which could “wreak havoc” for “several days” along the east coast from Queensland to Tasmania. (weather zone)
“We can see that widespread falls of 20-40mm are likely, but localized heavier falls of 100-150mm are possible in recently affected areas.
“While rainfall amounts may change ahead of this event, widespread rainfall is likely and it won’t take a large amount to see rivers rise again.”
A number of weather alerts and flood warnings are in place across NSW and Tasmania too as river levels rise due to recent rain run-off.