Parts of Melbourne have been flooded, leaving homes flooded as wild weather hits parts of the city just days before Christmas.
In Epping, a family came home to their flats covered in water, completely spoiling all the presents under the tree.
“We have a lot of damaged presents, we have floors all dirty, that’s not ideal right before Christmas,” Gabriel told 9News.
In Epping, a family came home to their flats covered in water, completely spoiling all the presents under the tree. (new)
As of midday, the state emergency service had received 71 requests for assistance across the state, including 17 for flooding.
One of them was Jayden Spencer, who found himself trapped after the water began to rise within minutes.
“We had to get out of the car and get on the roof, it was just full with a lot of water everywhere,” Spencer told 9News.
“The water reached the doors, we had to open the windows and sit on the roof for a while.”
Two colleagues have been forced to climb on top of their car after being trapped in the flood waters. (new)
The wild weather also caused chaos at Melbourne Airport, with several flights delayed due to lightning.
Parts of the airport were flooded after the roof of Terminal 1 leaked due to heavy rain.
Much of Victoria was under a storm warning this afternoon, including Maryborough, Ballarat, Melbourne, Traralgon, Sale and Moe.
Parts of Melbourne have been flooded, leaving homes inundated with water after wild weather hit parts of the city just days before Christmas. (New) Snow-like hail captured in Geelong. (new)
The Met Office said the storms were likely to produce heavy rain that could lead to flash flooding, damaging winds and large hail.
A spokesman for Melbourne Airport said the storm had caused a number of “significant water leaks” at several terminals.
“We are currently cleaning up the affected areas,” the spokesman said.
“The safety of passengers and staff is our highest priority. Now that the storm has passed, ground crews have resumed operations and are working to get passengers to their destinations safely.”
Storm damage at Melbourne Airport (new)
The spokesman said all airfield operations, including personnel working in the airfield, were temporarily suspended due to the risk of a lightning strike.
“This has caused delays to several inbound and outbound flights,” the spokesman said.
“We apologize to passengers for the inconvenience.”