There are currently 91 flood warnings around the state with the SES issuing evacuation warnings for areas of regional Victoria including Benalla and Rochester with residents in Seymour told it’s too late to leave.
Earlier this morning, The Goulburn River had risen to 8.2m near Seymour with the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) saying that major flood warnings are still in place for the Maribyrnong, Campaspe, Ovens and Kings Rivers, and the Seven and Castle Creeks.
BOM says that rainfall will peak at 60-100mm, with flooding and heavy rain expected to last for several days.
Some experts are saying that this event could be worse than the 1974 floods.
Flooding hits Australia… again 🌧🌊
Watch as a huge atmospheric river dumps rain over South Australia, Victoria, NSW and Tasmania.#VicFloods #MelbourneWeather pic.twitter.com/f4butOw3e8
— Zoom Earth (@zoom_earth) October 13, 2022
Thousands of people have fled their homes in search of higher ground and safety according to Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews who told ABC Radio that so far, it’s believed 500 homes have been flooded, but things will get worse.
“It’s far from over, we’ll see waters rise, there’s a little bit more rainfall,” he said.
“But as that weather event passes through, we’ll see more and more waters continuing to rise, more and more houses being inundated, more and more communities being closed off if you like, then of course we move to clean up and all of those issues.”
The Premier has now made emergency payments available for people impacted by floods.
While Victoria is seeing the brunt of the weather system, parts of Tasmania and New South Wales are also being hit.
Major #flooding across #Victoria threatens to #inundate and isolate hundreds of homes, prompting #evacuation orders Thursday.#floods #Australia #Seymour #climate
(🎥: @madeleinecate via Spectee)
Visit AP Video Hub / Reuters Connect / https://t.co/ZacBeDDzdG for more videos. pic.twitter.com/nyRJK4tIEL— Spectee Inc. (@SpecteeInc) October 13, 2022
Parts of Tasmania’s north have been issued evacuation warnings as rising waters in the Mersey and North Esk Rivers are threatening surrounding towns.
SES acting assistant director David McCambridge said that they’ve seen “approximately 150 call-outs” amid the wild weather.
NSW has seen the first fatality of flooding event with a 46-year-old man found fully submerged in his vehicle earlier in the week.
It’s believed the man was attempting to cross though floodwaters when he died.
Evacuation orders were put in place for people surrounding The Lachlan River which is expected to peak at 10.6 metres.
