Regional communities in northern Victoria and southern New South Wales are being asked to prepare for flooding with more rain expected in areas that are already saturated.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a flood watch for northern and parts of southern Victoria and major flooding is possible in the north-east from Friday afternoon.
Catchments in the flood watch area are already saturated after far-reaching falls on Wednesday.
"The most remarkable thing … is how widespread the falls are," BOM senior duty forecaster Miriam Bradbury told ABC Goulburn Murray Breakfast.
A second frontal system is expected to bring more rain across Victoria on Friday, with the north-east to experience the heaviest downpours.
With all of Goulburn Murray Water's storages effectively full, water storage services general manager Martina Cusack said as much water had been released as possible, including at Lake Eildon.
She said it was "very stressful" for the agricultural community and some were having difficulty harvesting bumper crops.
"A lot of the farmers and landholders in the valleys below some of our dams are actually looking at agisting their livestock to other locations," Ms Cusack said.
She said Goulburn Murray Water was trying to keep the releases below minor flood levels to minimise the impact downstream.
"Having said that, if we get a rain burst or get significant rainfall over a number of days, unfortunately we will have to release more water," Ms Cusack said.
"Downstream communities will see the river rise and yes, there could be flooding."
Cattle shifted, cricket washed out
Bungowannah cattle farmer Andrew Watson has spent the last two weeks moving hundreds of his 450-strong herd to agistment in Holbrook.
He estimated the animals would need to remain there for six to eight weeks until conditions on his soaked property improved.
Victorian Farmers Federation president Emma Germano said farmers should prioritise their personal safety in the event of a flood.
She was concerned about animal welfare as well as the impact on crops if conditions worsened.
In Wangaratta three matches in a T20 World Cup preparation tournament have been cancelled because of the weather.
Mayor Dean Rees said organisers were hoping Saturday afternoon's major match between Scotland and Namibia could go ahead.
"It will just be a huge dampener – pardon the pun – if it can't go ahead," he said.
"It's a great thing for Wangaratta Shire that we can host these events and put them on, but I can't control the gods up there."
'We've seen people die'
There is the possibility of flash flooding in the Victorian Mallee district and the NSW Riverina on Thursday, with the BOM forecasting potentially severe thunderstorms in the west with damaging winds, large hail and heavy rain.
Victoria State Emergency Service Hume region duty officer Charlie Sexton said he had observed minor flooding "almost every week" across the north-east catchment.
"Every rainfall event from here on is potentially going to cause some flooding somewhere," he said.
Mr Sexton said people in the flood watch area should read preparation information on the service's website and examine local flood guides.
His most urgent message was not to enter flood waters.
"We've seen people in the last fortnight in NSW die because of this," Mr Sexton said.
"We don't want that to happen to our people and I also don't want our volunteers to have to respond to those jobs."
