Rain builds in flooded Victorian areas

RESIDENTS in Victoria’s flood-affected northwest will be assessing possible damage and tracking water levels as heavy rain lashes the state.

RESIDENTS in Victoria’s flood-affected northwest will be assessing possible damage and tracking water levels as heavy rain lashes the state.

A rain band carrying between 20-40mm of rain was tracking over the northwest of the state by midnight, and would remain until this morning, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

Higher rainfall up to 60mm is expected if thunderstorms hit, with the potential of flash flooding.

Incident management teams have been stationed at towns surrounding the Avoca and Wimmera rivers, which have been at major flood levels for more than a week.

Emergency management commissioner Craig Lapsley says the flooding threat is high with the amount of rain that has fallen in the past 10 days.

“The rivers are full, the reservoirs are full, the dams are full, so every drop of rain that falls from the sky is going to be in the river system and has the potential to increase flooding at that local level,” he said yesterday.

The worst of the rain will have eased by lunchtime today, the bureau said.

“The whole system will gradually contract eastwards and I think most of the heaviest falls will have eased by midday,” senior forecaster Dean Stewart said yesterday.

“So it will be mainly during the early part of the morning.” The threat of more landslides along the Great Ocean Rd is also being monitored.

Parts of the road between the coastal holiday towns of Lorne and Wye River remain closed due to erosion.

The towns and the Twelve Apostles are still accessible by alternate routes.

More than 190 roads are closed around the state, and 25 local government areas have been affected by floodwaters in the past 11 days.

There have also been 21 people rescued from floodwaters and a man has died after being swept away in his car.