By Lachlan Abbott and Alex Crowe
A woman almost drowned in a Daylesford stormwater drain as Victoria was drenched with heavy rainfall overnight.
Victoria Police said a 58-year-old woman fell down an embankment into a drain on Raglan Street about 8.50pm on Easter Monday. The fast-flowing water swept her away before she stopped in a culvert and grabbed hold of a metal pole.
“With water reaching her neck, she cried out for help but wasn’t heard over the roar of the water,” police said in a statement. “Miraculously, the woman was able to fight against the force of the water and climb up the embankment to safety.”
She walked to a nearby friend’s Daylesford home with only cuts and bruises.
Overnight, heavy rainfall continued in Melbourne after thunderstorms first hit on Monday afternoon, causing some isolated flash flooding in parts of the state – including the running track at the Stawell Gift.
The Victoria State Emergency Service received more than 500 calls for help in the 24 hours to 8am on Tuesday, including 267 for building damage and 117 for flooding. The busiest crews were in Melbourne’s western suburbs like Altona and further towards Geelong in Lara, an SES spokeswoman said.
A man rides his bike through floodwater on Lloyd Street in Kensington.Credit: Paul Rovere
Emergency services responded to four separate flood rescues from midday on Monday, SES duty officer Erin Mason said. “Mainly it’s been people driving through floodwater,” she said.
In West Melbourne, flooding shut the Dudley Street underpass. Fire Rescue Victoria said its crews found a driver stuck in waist-deep water under the rail bridge at 6.40am.
“The man was not confident that he could get out of the car,” a spokesman said in a statement. “FRV’s swift water rescue operators were able to remove the man from the car. The situation was under control at 6.50am.”
In Kensington, another man was rescued when his car failed to start in knee-deep water on Lloyd Street shortly before 6am. The SES later pulled his car out of the floodwater and the road was shut.
More than 53 millimetres of rain fell over the city in the 24 hours to 9am on Tuesday – eclipsing the city’s average total rainfall for the entire month of April.
Ferny Creek, in the Dandenong Ranges, recorded 83 millimetres of rain in the 24 hours to 9am on Tuesday – the highest total in Victoria.
A severe weather warning for heavy rainfall and damaging winds for parts of central and eastern Victoria was cancelled by midmorning on Tuesday.
Before then, some Melbourne roads were shut due to flooding, causing traffic pain for morning commuters.
In Upper Ferntree Gully, two eastbound lanes were temporarily blocked on the Burwood Highway. In Dandenong South, part of the South Gippsland Highway outbound was closed due to flooding for a short time.
In Footscray, two citybound lanes on Ballarat Road near the Geelong Road intersection were briefly closed due to a collision amid wet weather. In Preston, another crash at the Bell Street and St Georges Road intersection caused significant morning delays.
On Easter Monday, the AFL match between Geelong and Hawthorn was briefly halted as lightning struck close to the MCG.
Lightning strikes twice forced staff working on the tarmac at Melbourne Airport to move to a safe area.
The Easter wet weather also shattered several long-held daily rainfall records across the state.
Falls in Mornington totalled 65.2 millimetres, the highest daily April rainfall in 157 years. Wonthaggi in Gippsland received 64.4 millimetres, breaking a record set 114 years ago.
Showers are forecast for Melbourne with an expected maximum of 17 degrees on Wednesday.
There is a high chance of light showers, most likely in the morning and afternoon.
with AAP
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