Victorians battle severe storms leading to intense rainfall and life threatening flooding
Residents across one state are preparing for major flooding after heavy rainfalls broke records in regional centres.
Thousands of Victorians have been urged to evacuate immediately as dangerous floodwaters continue to rise, and authorities reveal up to 184mm of rain fell just overnight in one town.
Emergency warnings have been issued for the towns of Yea, Seymour and Rochester, in central Victoria, after the state was pelted by severe rain and thousands of lightning strikes.
Victoria’s State Emergency Services (SES) added Rochester, which was flooded in 2022, to the evacution warning list early on Monday evening.
“If you live, work or are holidaying in this area, you should evacuate immediately,” the alert says.
“Floodwaters are continuing to rise and will continue overnight.
“Flooding is expected to impact the Rochester township tonight and into tomorrow morning with a number of properties predicted to be inundated above floor level.”
Residents of Miller Street, Loan Street, Whatton Place or Court Street in Yea have now been told it’s too late to leave.
“It is now too late to leave for people in Miller Street, Loan Street, Whatton Place and Court Street. If you have not evacuated, you should shelter in the highest location possible,” the SES warning said.
Residents of Mulqueeny Lane, Clarence Way, Newberry Chase and Buckland Court have been urged to evacuate.
A relief centre has been opened at the Yea Shire Hall in High Street.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan received a briefing on Monday evening.
“The heavy rain we’re seeing is causing widespread flooding and damage to communities across our state,” she said on X.
The warnings come after hundreds of millimetres of rainfall fell in parts of Victoria over 24 hours.
Bureau of Meteorology Senior Meteorologist Michael Efron said up to 184mm fell on the town of Heathcote in central Victoria.
Footage from a local business in the area captured the extent of the rising floodwaters as trucks ploughed through the inundated roads.
The mechanic shop Skilly’s Tyre & Auto shared the video with the caption: “It’s a little wet out here today! Stay safe and dry everyone! See you when the boat ramp dries out!”
At least 117mm fell in Redesdale, which Mr Efron said was a daily record for any month after BOM analysed 120 years of data.
Bendigo copped 92mm – breaking another record with over 90 years of data.
Despite the falls, Mr Efron said weather activity would ease by Tuesday.
He confirmed isolated showers and thunderstorms were forecast for the rest of the week, but they would not be on the scale of the deluges experienced over the past few days.
Major flooding is also expected in the Seymour area, with authorities warning levels could be slightly higher than records set during the 1993 floods.
The SES has warned Emily Street, Tierney Street, Lesley Street, Tallarook Street, Wallis Street, High Street, Elizabeth Street, Butler Street, Alexander Street, Edward Street, Station Street, Tristan Street, Hanna Street, Jubilee Street and Industrial Court are likely to be impacted, urging people in the area to evacuate.
Local river caravan parks and Kings Park are also in the firing line.
A Relief Centre that has been opened at Seymour Sports & Aquatic Centre at Chittick Park.
Moderate flood warnings remain in place for the King River, Fifteen Mile Creek and the Goulburn River from Lake Eildon to Seymour.
VICSES Chief Officer of operations Tim Wiebusch said crews had responded to more than 1200 calls for assistance during the flood emergency.
38 were for rescues in floodwaters – the majority of which involved “people taking their lives in their own hands and attempting to drive through flash flood waters”.
“We cannot emphasise enough, do not attempt to drive through flash floodwaters,” he said.
“It could be the last decision you make.”
Meteorologists had earlier warned between 40 and 70mm of rain are likely to fall across the Northern Country, North Central, Central, North East and East Gippsland districts over six hours, including Bendigo, Shepparton, Seymour, Kyneton, Wodonga and Wangaratta.
The huge influx of water has seen streets covered with water and fields completely flooded, with warnings it will worsen on Monday as rain continues to fall.
Some areas could receive up to 100mm of rain, likely leading to dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding.
This is of particular concern in north central and north eastern catchments where 60-100mm is “likely”, authorities have warned.
There’s also a severe thunderstorm warning in place for Swan Hill, which is also at risk of serious flash flooding.
More than 60mm of rain has fallen in just three hours in multiple towns in the state’s north, including Redesdale, Flowerdale, and Avalon Station.
In just half an hour, Mt Dandenong saw 22mm of rainfall.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued flood warnings across much of the state’s north, with 25 catchments likely to be affected from the huge influx of water.
Residents along the Campaspe River have been issued a major flood warning, while the Bureau has issued a moderate flood warning for the King River and Fifteen Mile Creek.
Initial minor flood warnings have also been issued for Broken River, Bunyip River, Goulburn River, Loddon River and Maribyrnong River.
The town of Kerang, along the Loddon River, has seen entire streets engulfed by water.
There have already been more than 337 requests for assistance made in Australia, with the busiest units located in Warrnambool (56 requests), Bendigo (32 requests), and Kerang (23 requests).
7pm update for #Kerang - work continues to remove water from the northern parts of the town. It’s the same story for those in the south. pic.twitter.com/yj1kAlYP3t
— Scott Bourne (@scottie_bourne) January 7, 2024
Despite being out of the firing line for the worst of the storms, Melburnians will also have to endure considerable amounts of rain.
Up to 20mm is expected to fall throughout Monday, especially in the morning before easing in the late afternoon to evening.
“The chance of a thunderstorm, possibly severe about the ranges, and most likely during the morning,” the BOM warns.
More than three thousand Victorians remain without power on Monday morning, with at least 1800 homes and residences in the dark in the state’s west while there are more than 1400 customers affected in the east.
Meanwhile, any hope of respite from the wet weather and severe storms that have lashed the country for weeks has been dispelled, with a new warning Australia’s eastern states are likely to face more weeks of wet weather and a meteorologist criticising a “common misconception” that an El Nino summer guaranteed dry conditions.
Sky News meteorologist Alison Osborne said there was a “high chance of above-average rain through northeastern and eastern Australia” before the conditions begin to dry out in February.
She said the “spiteful” positive Southern Annular Mode (SAM) – a ring of westerly winds that hug Antarctica – was promoting easterly winds and driving rains across Australia’s east coast.
“That is pretty difficult to predict in advance beyond a couple of weeks, but at the moment that has been a big driver of the rain and storm events through eastern Australia in particular,” she said.
“That thing has been wobbling positive since early December, and it’s likely to remain that way for at least the next two weeks.”
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