Thousands left without power as wild weather sweeps across Victoria

The SES has received at least 900 calls for help in Victoria after severe thunderstorms rolled across the state causing flash flooding and damaging winds.

Intense storms on Tuesday night has resulted in flash flooding in Wangaratta. Picture: Facebook

Wild storms in Victoria have left thousands of homes and businesses without power as regions across the state tackle flash flooding and the aftermath of severe thunderstorms.

Parts of Victoria received up to 50mm of rainfall during Tuesday’s storms, with Wangaratta, Ballarat, Bendigo and Euroa among the worst hit communities.

Some 20,000 AusNet customers were left without power after the rain and lightning activity blasted much of the state.

By late Wednesday, 2200 homes remained without power.

As the deluge battered parts of Victoria, 24,000 homes serviced by Powercor were left in the dark and by Wednesday evening about 1500 still had no power.

The company noted Ballarat and surrounding communities were among the hardest-hit areas with 13,000 homes and businesses navigating power outages amid severe storm conditions.

The SES received almost 1000 calls for help in 24 hours following intense rainfall and severe storm conditions.

An SES spokesman said Ballarat was one of the busiest regions on Tuesday evening, with 159 requests for assistance coming from the community.

Wangaratta also remained a busy “unit” on Tuesday evening as the SES responded to 87 calls for help, with a large portion of the incidents resolved with the help of SES Chiltern volunteers.

Nearly 400 calls involved fallen trees on properties and over roads, 260 calls were in relation to flood-related events and 219 calls involved building damage, including trees and limbs falling onto properties.

It is understood 11 flood rescues were conducted during the storms.

Flooding through the Campbells Forest in Bendigo after storms battered much of Victoria. Picture: Facebook

Residents in badly affected towns took to Facebook to warn others of dangerous flood conditions as one woman urged Victorians to “avoid going to Bendigo” as she snapped photos of rising flood waters in the Campbells Forest.

The damaging weather continued for the state, as the Bureau of Meteorology warned “severe thunderstorms producing heavy rainfall, flash flooding, damaging winds or large hail” remained a risk across Victoria throughout Wednesday afternoon and urged communities in the eastern ranges and Gippsland hills to be aware of “intense rainfall” that could cause “life-threatening flash flooding”.

The bureau predicts thunderstorms could continue to roll across Gippsland and the state’s north on Thursday afternoon.