As it happened: Kerang told to evacuate, Echuca on high alert as SES issues evacuation orders across state; BOM warns of more rain

Before we bring our live flood coverage to an end, here are a few updates to the warnings around the state:

There are 52 warning across the state and 29 incidents reported across Victoria, on the VicEmergency app as of 8.30pm.

For those in Kerang it is now too late to leave, with the Patchell Bridge closed at 7pm because of rising floodwaters. The town could be isolated for more than a week, according to authorities.

Evacuation alerts remain in place for Echuca, the Bunbartha area and Barmah (north-east of Echuca).

For those in Rochester it is still not safe to return, because of dangerous flood water and damaged infrastructure.

Emergency warnings for Mooroopna and Kialla West have been downgraded from an emergency warning to a watch and act.

However, in nearby Shepparton an evacuation warning remains in place advising people it is too late to leave.

Those in Boort and Wedderburn remain in emergency warning areas and have been told to move to higher ground in the zones on the Campaspe and Loddon rivers.

And that’s it for tonight, thanks for reading our live flood coverage, which will return tomorrow morning.

In case you missed it, there are some shocking images showing the devastation flooding has caused across the state.

Using Nearmap’s aerial camera system attached to planes, as well as satellite imagery, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald can provide a bird’s-eye view of the spread of the inundation by comparing the regions before and after the floods.

The satellite imagery comes via Sentinel-2 – a constellation of two polar-orbiting satellites placed in the same sun-synchronous orbit by Europe’s Earth Observation Programme in 2015.

Echuca residents have been urged to minimise their water use, as the regional city’s sewerage system comes under pressure from rising floodwaters.

An alert sent to people within Echuca on the VicEmergency app tonight urged people to limit their use of washing machines and dishwashers, and to limit their baths and showers, to reduce the volume of water being sent to the sewerage system.

The Murray River creeps up in the Echuca port area.Credit: Bianca Hall

Forecast rain for the coming days has been downgraded, but it could culminate in a worse outcome for Echuca including the possibility of flash flooding when it arrives on Friday and Saturday, at the same time as the Murray River peaks.

The flood peak levels in Echuca have been revised down from 95.9 metres above sea level to 95.6 metres, which – although lower – is higher than the 1993 flood level of 94.77 metres.

The Murray has been slowly but steadily rising as floodwaters from the Goulburn River in Shepparton and Mooroopna flow downstream.

The Murray rose eight centimetres in the 24 hours to 9am today, and by 1.49 metres in a week. Its peak on Friday or Saturday will coincide with showers and thunderstorms.

The evacuation order for parts of Echuca and Echuca Village was also extended tonight. You can check the current warnings here.

Residents in Kerang were told to evacuate today, and those who choose to remain were warned they could be cut off for more than a week, with 50 to 60 properties expected to be inundated.

The warning about sewerage comes as Rochester’s residents were warned not to return to their homes.

The sewer network in the town in the state’s north is “partially operational” and the rebuild of the network will take between six and eight weeks, according to VicEmergency.

“Keep showers to 4 minutes, avoid baths where possible and consider reducing washing loads,” the warning reads.

One of the safest ways out of Kerang has closed and people have been warned it is too late to leave.

“It is now too late to leave for people in Kerang Township. If you have not evacuated, you should shelter in place,” the VicEmergency warning reads.

The Murray Valley Highway at Patchell Bridge – which authorities had told residents was the safest route to evacuate – closed at 7pm.

People who decided to stay should shelter in place, the warning said, and be aware floodwaters could isolate them for a “significant amount of time”.

Those who had already left were told not to return home until they received a Safe to Return notification. They should also register at a relief centre and continue to listen to emergency broadcasts.

A relief centre has been opened in Swan Hill at the Swan Hill Basketball Stadium at 15 Gray Street. Another relief centre is at the Bendigo Showgrounds at 42 Holmes Road, Bendigo.

A man who was found dead in floodwater has been identified as a Nathalia local.

Bryan Hack was last seen working on his tractor at a property off Blacksmiths Road yesterday afternoon.

But emergency crews went searching for the 65-year-old about 10pm when he failed to return home.

The unoccupied tractor was found in floodwater overnight, according to police.

A family member found Hack’s body in floodwaters on Paynes Road this morning.

Friends paid tribute to the beloved father.

“Bryan was an important and loved member of [local club] Pioneer Country Carriage Drivers for many years and will be dearly missed. He was an extremely hard worker and we will all miss his love of life, his conversation and his company,” Bridie White wrote on social media.

Farmer Jim Grinter told ABC’s Country Hour the man’s wife had called for help last night.

“She rang me for help last night, and yeah, I couldn’t even get out,” he told the program.

The exact circumstances of the death are yet to be determined, but a report will be prepared for the coroner.

Insurers received more than 6000 claims over the floods across Victoria, NSW and Tasmania, according to the Insurance Council of Australia.

The insurance industry body also declared an “insurance catastrophe” for flood-hit areas in the three states since October 12.

“Communities are rallying together to support each other, and insurers stand ready to support them through the oncoming recovery period,” the council’s chief executive Andrew Hall said today.

The declaration reflects the growing severity of the floods and will let insurers escalate and prioritise affected policyholders, according to the council.

“Communities are rallying together to support each other, and insurers stand ready to support them through the oncoming recovery period,” Hall said.

There were 6350 claims made to insurers by Wednesday afternoon.

Homes across the Shepparton and Mooroopna areas have had power restored today, after flooding forced a power company to shut a substation.

Powercor was forced to de-energise a plant at the Mooroopna Zone Substation on Sunday because it became too dangerous to keep it operating due to floodwaters.

“By switching homes and businesses to other parts of the network, and building new sections of infrastructure to bring supply across from neighbouring zone sub-stations, Powercor has been able to return supply to more than 5900 homes and businesses,” the company said in a statement.

Powercor said it was taking steps to protect critical sites as the floodwaters move west, with more rain predicted.

This includes sandbagging, lifting critical assets to higher ground and installing pumps.

More than 300 Australia Defence Force personnel are on the ground in Victoria with another 100 expected to be in the state tomorrow, according to Brigadier Matt Burr.

He is the commander of the ADF forces deployed in Victoria to help with the flooding crisis and said today they were helping in Rochester, Shepparton, Echuca, Seymour and the greater Bendigo area.

Brigadier Matt Burr at the State Control Centre.Credit: Scott McNaughton

“They’ve been doing flood preparation activities, sandbagging welfare checks, evacuation support, logistics, resupply, transport, assistance, access and initial recovery support, including in those tasks is that filling and distributing of sandbag,” Burr said.

He said those assisting were inspired by the communities they had helped.

“It’s really driving the idea of forces, to continue to do the work that they’re doing shoulder to shoulder, with the emergency responders that are on the ground,” Burr said.

An additional 100 members would be touching down from tomorrow to help with the effort, he said.

Returning to SES chief Tim Wiebusch, who spoke at the State Control Centre this morning about the drop in callouts and rescues in the state.

He said there were 400 requests for assistance and 26 rescues across the state in the past 24 hours.

“It is pleasing that people do seem to be heeding at this time the message not to drive through flood water,” Wiebusch said.

He said some roads were cut off and others that were closed.

“Please do not drive around road closure signs and attempt to drive through floodwaters, it may be the last decision you make,” Wiebusch said.

One of the key focuses was the Loddon River particularly around Pyramid Hill, south of Kerang, and Wiebusch urged people to make their decisions about evacuating.

“If people choose to stay they will be isolated for at least seven days post the peak, which they are expecting on Thursday,” he said.

The bridge out of the town set to be closed due to rising floodwaters at 7pm.

But in good news for those in and around Mooroopna, floodwaters have receded enough that they can lift the emergency warning.

Tens of thousands of flood-affected Victorians are now eligible for additional emergency assistance.

The federal and state governments unveiled wider relief payment eligibility and $150 million in flood clean-up assistance in a joint statement this afternoon.

Victorians whose properties were destroyed or damaged in the floods can have their properties cleared of hazards at no cost, the statement said.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews.Credit: Scott McNaughton

Emergency re-establishment payments have also been activated, providing up to $43,850 for households without flood insurance, facing financial hardship, whose homes have been damaged or destroyed to help pay for clean-up, emergency accommodation, repairs, rebuilding and replacing essential household items.

These grants are for residents whose homes are uninhabitable for more than a week.

About 50,000 homes, 14 hospitals and 300 schools and early childhood facilities have been identified within flood impacted areas in Victoria to date and these numbers are expected to grow, the statement said.

The federal government’s one-off, non-means tested Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment of $1000 for eligible adults and $400 for eligible children has now also been made available to people who live in the local government areas of Benalla, Boroondara, Central Goldfields, Greater Bendigo, Loddon, Moonee Valley, Mount Alexander, Murrindindi and Yarra Ranges.

That assistance was already available for those in Campaspe, Greater Shepparton, Maribyrnong, Mitchell and Strathbogie.

The statement said eligibility could be expanded to more areas as the flood situation evolved.