Floodwaters are surging across the nation’s south-east, with thousands of emergency evacuations, including in inner-Melbourne.
Up to 400 millimetres of rain has fallen in the past 48 hours, leading to flooding emergencies not seen in decades.
The affected states are Victoria, Tasmania and NSW. In Victoria, dozens of Melbourne suburbs are at risk as floodwaters continue to rise.
Although the rain was easing on Friday, many rivers are yet to peak, and more rain is expected in coming days. Emergency services expect flooding to continue for weeks.
Victoria
Up to 70 homes were evacuated overnight in the inner north-west Melbourne suburb of Maribyrnong, with the Maribyrnong River rising rapidly.
Local Matt Iozzi got a knock on the door in the middle of the night from police.
“I packed an overnight bag, chucked it in my car, grabbed the passports and family photos,” he told the ABC.
“I was actually shocked, the river has come up and completely swallowed the main esplanade street.”
The ABC showed footage on Friday of Maribyrnong locals being rescued by the SES in boats. Elsewhere, a popular riverside pub, the Angler’s Tavern, was submerged in water to the top of its first floor.
Other Victorian communities are also on high alert, with residents in six towns urged to flee to higher ground.
There are evacuation orders for Rochester along the Campaspe River, Carisbrook near Maryborough and Seymour on the Goulburn River, as well as the city of Benalla on the Broken River, and at Wedderburn following a breach at Skinners Flat Reservoir.
Authorities said strong, fast-moving water from a dam a metre deep was expected to course through Wedderburn township via the Calder Highway on Friday morning.
Victoria’s State Emergency Service has carried out 108 flood rescues in the past 48 hours. State Commander Josh Gamble said complacency was the main reason.
“We haven’t had that many flood rescues for quite some time, for some years in fact,” he told ABC Radio on Friday.
“Many of these people are putting their own lives at risk, their own children in some circumstances, but more importantly, other community members and responders and that’s in all parts of the state not just metropolitan areas.”
There have been no reported injuries or deaths relating to the flooding.
Premier Daniel Andrews said about 500 homes in Victoria were flooded and an additional 500 isolated. And the crisis was expected to worsen.
“It’s far from over, we’ll see waters rise, there’s a little bit more rainfall,” Mr Andrews said.
“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 … Then, of course, we move to clean up and all of those issues.”
Mr Gamble said the areas most at threat on Friday were Maribyrnong, Carisbrook, Seymour and Rochester. Emergency relief centres have been set up for all four.
Those along the Campaspe from Lake Eppalock to Barnadown have also been advised to get to higher ground, while an emergency warning has been issued for Seven Creeks to Euroa.
Watch and act alerts urging people to stay indoors are widespread across Victoria.
On Thursday, Victorian SES Chief Operations Officer Tim Wiebusch said Seymour faced its highest flood level since 1974.
He said it was likely hundreds of properties would be inundated and hundreds more isolated by floodwaters.
Authorities also expect the central Victorian town of Shepparton to experience its worst flood in almost three decades on Saturday afternoon, with up to 600 properties isolated.
One-off payments of $560 per adult and $280 per child have been made available to help those affected pay for emergency shelter, food, clothing or personal items.
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New South Wales
About 550 people have been isolated or evacuated, and a school has been closed due to flooding in the NSW town of Forbes.
While the state can expect clear skies and settled weather this weekend, emergency warnings have been issued for nine areas in Forbes and Wagga Wagga.
Another 29 watch and act alerts are current statewide.
The Lachlan River at Forbes was a centimetre below the major flood peak of 10.55 metres on Friday morning, with 250 premises estimated to be affected by floodwaters.
The SES said that 500-600 people were isolated or had to be evacuated overnight in the central-west town, home to about 8000. Forbes Public School has also been closed.
Meanwhile, people in three areas of the Riverina city of Wagga Wagga, including Moorong, have been ordered to leave due to dangerous flooding.
“Fortunately, the Murrumbidgee River peaked on Thursday and we’re starting to see the floodwaters decline in those areas,” SES spokesman Andrew Edmunds said.
Overnight, the SES received 264 calls for assistance in NSW, with five being for flood rescues, including of livestock.
Wee Waa and Warren are again isolated on Friday, with authorities working to resupply the cotton towns.
“If people do need assistance, please call 132 500,” Mr Edmunds said.
“For those towns, it’s a prolonged campaign, sadly.”
Tasmania
Flood-hit communities in north and north-west Tasmania are entering a “danger period” as rivers rise, with evacuation orders for multiple towns and part of Launceston.
Heavy rain that began on Wednesday night started to ease on Friday morning, with falls across the region over 400 millimetres.
Evacuation orders are in place for some 20 towns along the swollen Mersey River and Meander River, downstream of Lake Isandula dam and in the Launceston suburb of Newstead.
“This is actually the danger period. Our messaging to the Tasmanian public at this point in time is ‘don’t be complacent’,” State Emergency Services acting director Leon Smith told the ABC on Friday.
“All of that rain that’s fallen at the higher altitudes still needs to make its way down through the riverine systems. This flooding will be sustained.”
Mr Smith said it would take days for waters to subside.
Emergency services rescued a family of six who became isolated on their property, while a man and woman were helped to safety by helicopter after driving through floodwaters in their 4WD.
The SES issued an emergency evacuation alert on Thursday night for 42 homes south of the dam at Lake Isandula after being advised it was at risk of failure.
The dam’s water level is now considered stable. A full assessment will be undertaken on Friday.
About 70 homes in Newstead were also evacuated overnight, with the SES receiving 147 calls for assistance from flood-hit areas.
Authorities have warned river peaks in some parts could reach levels seen in mid-2016 when flooding claimed three lives and caused $180 million worth of damage.
The Great Lakes area in the state’s central north topped the rainfall tally with 220 millimetres in a 24-hour window on Thursday, while records were broken elsewhere.
