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

There are still 13 major emergency warnings current as part of Victoria’s flood crisis this morning.

As of 6am today, residents of Echuca, Charlton, Bunbartha, Zeerust, Mundoona and Kaarimba in Victoria’s north were still being told to evacuate their homes immediately.

By 3pm, Charlton had been downgraded to a watch and act alert, but Barmah – on the Murray River north-east of Echuca – had been issued with an emergency warning to evacuate immediately.

Those in Shepparton, Mooroopna, Orrvale, Murchison and Kialla West are still being instructed that it is too late to leave their properties, and they should shelter at the highest possible location due to flooding.

VicEmergency has 60 current warnings and advice notices – primarily related to floods – which can be viewed on its website.

That brings our live flood coverage to an end for today - thanks for reading.

Here’s the situation as it stands:

• More rain is threatening to exacerbate Victoria’s flood crisis, with thunderstorms expected in the north of the state from Wednesday.
• Flood affected families will be able to send their three and four-year-olds to kinder for free this term, while VCE students affected by floods will get special consideration for exams.
• In Echuca, a 2½ kilometre levee will protect the regional centre, but leave 190 homes at risk of inundation.
• The defence force is doubling the number of personnel in Victoria, from about 200 to 400.

Please stay safe and keep up to date with the latest warnings on www.emergency.vic.gov.a

A great earthen levee wall now runs down 2.5 kilometres of Echuca’s suburban streets, separating parts of the city’s east from the rest of the regional centre.

When the Murray River floods – and the only question now is by how much – that earthen wall will protect hundreds of properties from inundation.

Workers have been moving at speed to construct the levee to protect homes and businesses in Echuca.Credit: Steve Huntley/Riverine Herald

On the other side of the levee, floodwaters could pool and rise, spelling possible disaster for about 190 homes.

“That’s a bit of a kick in the guts for us, and for everyone who’s behind it,” said Hayden Moore, whose home on Pakenham Street is all but certain to be flooded this week.

You can read more about Echuca’s levee here.

Environment reporter Miki Perkins has spoken about the Victorian floods and what they have to do with climate and La Nina – and if this is the new normal – on our podcast Please Explain.

Listen and share your thoughts on what’s happening in Victoria.

In case you missed the furore earlier today, the Bureau of Meteorology is rebranding and wants to be called “the Bureau” rather than BOM.

The weather bureau sent a media release this morning calling for media outlets to update internal guidelines and refer to the agency as “the Bureau” rather than the acronym.

The release said it was “more crucial than ever” that the Bureau of Meteorology’s insights, data and information were shared, understood and acted upon because of increasing severe weather events.

“To support this need, the Bureau of Meteorology asks that media outlets update editorial style to ensure references to the organisation are by its full name, the Bureau of Meteorology or the Bureau for short, and not BOM or the weather bureau,” the statement reads.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has addressed the Bureau of Meteorology’s rebranding.Credit: Oscar Colman

Federal Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek said she wasn’t focused on the rebranding amid ongoing flood and weather disasters and that the decision came under the directions of the former government.

“I am focused on making sure the Bureau of Meteorology is providing the most accurate and timely information to communities affected by floods,” Plibersek said in a statement.

“The rebrand commenced under the previous government for reasons I don’t quite understand.”

The contract for the bureau’s rebranding was awarded to The C Word Communications Agency and signed in September 2021 for $69,300.

The Bureau of Meteorology also announced it would change its Twitter handle to @TheBureau_Au, with new variations such as @TheBureau_NSW for each state and territory.

AAP

More defence force personnel will be deployed in Victoria to help with the flood emergency and evacuations around the state.

Australian Defence Force Brigadier Matt Burr said there were currently more than 200 personnel on the ground helping emergency services.

Of those, 170 were deployed in the north-east and another 40 were helping with Taipan helicopters and rotary wing aircraft, he said.

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

“At the request of the state, the ADF will grow to a full size of 400 personnel deployed into the state, and there will be an additional two Chinook helicopters that will be deployed,” Burr said.

These would be used to help with evacuations, delivering food and feed to livestock, he added.

Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said Victoria was in “all phases of emergency” with evacuation orders across several parts of the state.

He said more than 700 flood rescues had been carried out since the start of the flood emergency, with more than 7000 requests for help.

Warning: Post contains images some readers may find distressing

The small riverside town of Mooroopna is usually accessed from Shepparton by a four-kilometre-long causeway that is raised above river flats dotted with red gums.

Since Saturday, this road has been closed by the flooding, but this afternoon it opened to emergency vehicles and walkers, with a steady procession of people on foot and riding bikes – and horses crossing – to see how the shut-off community had fared.

Mooroopna locals ride to Shepparton to buy bread after the small town was cut off by the floods. Credit: Jason South

Only the pub and the bottle shop were open, and army trucks and emergency service vehicles rattled through the main street.

Some Mooroopna streets had seen significant flooding, with houses still covered in water past the window sills.

A dead kangaroo lies on the side of the road in Mooroopna – unhappy collateral of collisions with evacuating vehicles, as animals and humans were forced to share what dry land remained.Credit: Miki Perkins

The causeway itself had bubbled in sections, with the road swelling over the water underneath and an audible sound of rushing water under the asphalt.

On the sides of the causeway were a couple of dozen kangaroos, both alive and dead.

The live ones stood, blinking in the grass, forced onto the solid ground of the verges as the swollen waters of the Goulburn rushed past.

And the dead ones lay, pink crosses marked on their chests, unhappy collateral of collisions with evacuating vehicles, as animals and humans were forced to share what dry land remained.

Premier Daniel Andrews was quizzed today about Melbourne Water’s review of the Flemington Racecourse flood wall and whether it contributed to floods in the city’s inner north-west.

Andrews said:

I remain confident [Melbourne Water] will be able to conduct an appropriate review. They are a statutory authority and they may well – out of an abundance of caution, to make sure there’s no real even perceived issue with that – I’m certain they will look to get external advice.

They will do that work in good time and it will be there for all of us to look it. I think the chair has made the appropriate decision and I think, I’m certain that Melbourne Water can do this work and to believe in and they will report on it once that work is finished.

Maribyrnong residents had campaigned against the wall before it was built in 2007, and argued it would direct floodwater away from the natural flood plain and into their homes.

As mentioned at the Premier’s press conference earlier, the Bureau of Meteorology is expecting more rain to develop from tomorrow.

The storms and showers forecast are not as severe as those which hit the state and caused widespread flooding last week, but could worsen the current conditions in Victoria’s north.

Weatherzone is also predicting that wet weather will hit the state on Thursday and worsen across the weekend.

The graphic below also appears to show particularly heavy falls on Sunday.

Storms have already hit South Australia and the Northern Territory over the past 24 hours.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews was in Shepparton earlier today and viewed the floodwaters around the town from a helicopter.

Watch below to see some flooded areas near the northern Victorian city from above:

An emergency warning for the town of Barmah on the Murray River has been extended to include the nearby Lower Moira area.

The alert, first issued at 2.26pm today, says major flooding that exceeds or is similar to the 1993 flood event is likely to occur and could isolate the area in the next 24 hours.

Barmah is north-east of Echuca, in the state’s north.

A relief centre has been opened at Nathalia Community Sports Centre at 42 Robertson Street, Nathalia.

Cobram is also listed as a safe location evacuating residents can travel to.

The safest evacuation route is through Picola to the B400, according to the alert.