Flood fears as Victorian communities risk being cut off after bushfires
Eastern Victorian communities could be cut off for up to 48 hours if heavy rain persists as areas still grapple with Tuesday’s bushfires.
Residents in northeast Victoria have been offered sandbags as the communities hit with scorching bushfires on Tuesday now turn to flood watch.
Authorities have warned eastern Victorian communities located around the Macalister and Mitchell River that they could be cut off for up to 48 hours if heavy rainfall persists.
It comes as East Gippsland and surrounding areas faced two out-of-control bushfires yesterday, spanning more than 20,000 hectares and requiring 650 firefighters to battle the flames.
But as up to 115 millimetres of rain poured down on the Eastern Ranges, communities now face riverine flooding in the Gippsland and Northeast catchments.
On Wednesday afternoon an alert was issued for parts of Tinamba, Tinamba West, Newry, Mewburn Park, Bellbird Corner and Riverslea to evacuate immediately with a sudden increase in water level expected.
Macalister and Ovens River have been upgraded to a major flood warning.
A number of ‘watch and act’ warnings for moderate flooding have been issued for La Trobe River, Goulburn River upstream of Lake Eildon, the King River at Docker Bridge, Yarra River from Millgrove to Coldstream, Yarra River from Coldstream to Warrandyte, Buffalo River downstream of Lake Buffalo and Seven Creeks to Euroa.
The alerts advise residents to either move to higher ground, avoid the flooded area or prepare for flooding.
There are also 31 flood alerts urging people to stay informed.
The SES Euroa Unit posted on Facebook at about 12pm to offer sandbags to people in the area who needed them.
Earlier in the morning the unit said they had no concerns for property and would not offer sandbags for collection.
The alert for Seven Creeks to Euroa said moderate flooding was likely on Wednesday with minor flooding possible on Thursday morning.
In the 24 hours to 9am Wednesday, rainfall totals of up to 110mm were observed in the catchment.
“This has caused strong river level rises and areas of minor to moderate flooding. Further showers are forecast during Wednesday. This situation is being closely monitored, and warnings will be updated as necessary,” the alert said.
SES Deputy State Duty officer Shane McBride said sandbagging has not been established “at this stage” and urged people to call SES if they need assistance.
“If they do have any issues with flooding or anything call 132500 or they can keep on the Vic Emergency website and then there will be updated locations if there are sandbags available from local units,” Mr McBride said.
SES chief operations officer Tim Wiebusch said he expected the flood warnings to increase with another 90 to 150mm of rainfall expected to fall on Wednesday in parts of Gippsland and the Northeast.
The state’s emergency services have responded to 308 calls for help overnight, including one flood rescue in Alexandra where a local found himself stranded in flood waters with a large tractor.
245 calls for assistance were made for fallen trees for trees, 117 for building damage, and 82 for flood.
He said people living close to the upstream area of the Macalister River and the Mitchell River face the most risk of being cut off.
“In the main we’re probably going to see minor to moderate flooding at most locations, but there will be some isolated locations where there will be moderate to major flooding in some of these communities,” Mr Wiebusch told The Australian.
“And I guess the impact of that is that we’re likely to see inundation of farmland and also isolation of properties or some small townships for a period of up to 24, maybe 48 hours. In some cases, we’re going to see road closures, which people need to be thinking about alternate routes.
Watch & Act - Riverine flood - Move to Higher Ground
— VICSES News (@vicsesnews) October 4, 2023
Yarra River from Coldstream to Warrandyte
More details at https://t.co/HYnI3sR9kB...
This Moderate Flood Warning is being issued for Yarra River from Coldstream to Warrandyte. pic.twitter.com/T4aWd5g0KH
“The other reasons that we’re likely to see over the coming 24 to 48 hours is the risk of debris flow and landslides in some of the steeper terrain.”
The highest rainfall in the state overnight was at Mount Hotham, with the area receiving 222mm of rain, followed by Buckland River with 179mm then Falls Creek at 165mm.
Senior meteorologist at The Bureau of Meteorology Michael Efron said more than a month’s worth of rain had fallen in the regions, with some parts of the state experiencing their wettest October day on record.
Yea had its wettest October on record, from data going back 140 years, with 83mm of rain. East Sale also broke records with 99mm of rain.
“So we’ve seen a number of records broken over eastern parts of the state and it’s all as a result of a low pressure system which is deepening over Eastern Victoria at the moment. As well as the rainfall we also have seen some very strong winds. Through the east we saw Mount Buller recorded gusts of 139 kilometres an hour,” Mr Efron said.
“On Thursday, we’re likely to see damaging winds develop over parts of East Gippsland so those winds could reach around 90 kilometres an hour.
“This is a very significant rainfall event and also wind event, and that’s followed by very dry conditions across a lot of the state during September.”
He said heavy rain conditions are expected to ease on Friday but that a number of flood warnings will most likely continue through the week.
“Spring is normally a season where we can see significant rainfall events. However, this one is a little bit unusual in that we’ve seen significant rainfall,” Mr Efron said.
“And on top of all that we’re actually going to see some snow falls across alpine areas as well as we head into Thursday.”
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