People cycle and cars drive down mud-strewn streets affected by floods in the Melbourne suburb of Maribyrnong on October 15, 2022. Photo: WILLIAM WEST / AFP
Emergency services say widespread flooding is expected to rapidly increase in the coming hours in northern Victoria, Australia towns of Shepparton, Mooroopna and Orrvale, and are advising it is now too dangerous for people to leave their homes.
As a muddy clean-up begins in parts of Melbourne and New South Wales, flooding continues to inundate communities in Victoria's north where evacuation orders remain in place and residents in Tasmania's north remain on alert.
On Saturday, thousands of people in parts of Shepparton and Echuca left their homes as some river levels rose higher than the January 2011 floods, sending torrents of water into townships, homes, and businesses.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will head to flood-affected areas in northern Victoria and Melbourne today, and says 60 Australian Defence Force Personnel are already on the ground, helping with evacuations and sand-bagging.
* Follow live updates from the ABC on Australia flooding.
Victoria
Tragedy struck Victoria's north on Saturday morning when a 71-year-old man was found dead in floodwaters in his backyard at Rochester.
It was the first death recorded during the current flood crisis.
While water levels in parts of the state began to recede, in others, the flooding was only getting worse.
Residents in Shepparton are waking up this morning to confronting scenes, with the local mayor saying close to 8000 have already been flooded as the Goulburn River continues to rise.
"Standing at the corner of Wyndam and Sobraon Street looking south, I mean it looks like one big lake," Mayor Shane Sali said.
Evacuation orders were made on Saturday afternoon for parts of Shepparton, Mooroopna, Echuca, and Echuca Village as the Goulburn River and Campaspe River crept towards major flood levels.
The Goulburn River has passed 11.8 metres at Shepparton, causing water to flow into the centre of the town, threatening businesses and partly submerging parked cars.
For Shepparton residents, it became too late to leave. But peak flooding in and around the town was not expected until Tuesday.
Major flooding also hit Kialla West in Greater Shepparton on Saturday night, with the Sevens and Castle Creeks expected to reach 7.2 metres by Sunday morning.
A pub is inundated by water during flooding in the Melbourne suburb of Maribyrnong on October 14, 2022. Photo: WILLIAM WEST / AFP
In Echuca, also in the state's north, residents were urged to prepare to be away from home for more than a week.
Victorian SES chief operations officer Tim Wiebusch said Echuca will remain an area of concern for the coming week as flood waters peak on the Campaspe and Murray rivers at different times.
"The real challenge is going to come mid to late this week on the Murray (River), particularly around Echuca where we'll have a number of these northern rivers around Victoria starting to feed in," he said.
Communities in Charlton and parts of Wangaratta were told to evacuate on Saturday morning, and Charlton and Mooroopna residents were warned power may be lost if water reached the towns' substations.
The Loddon River was expected to reach the levels of the devastating 2011 floods from Sunday onwards.
A man clears mud from a property affected by floods in the Melbourne suburb of Maribyrnong on October 15, 2022. Photo: WILLIAM WEST / AFP
The floodwaters were expected to stay above major levels for three to five days.
By Saturday afternoon, at least 500 homes had been flooded and 3000 families had applied for emergency payments.
Residents in Murchison, along the Goulburn River, and in Melbourne returned home to inch-thick mud covering their floors and furniture to begin the clean up.
Tasmania
Rivers peaked on Saturday in north-west Tasmania, but were yet to reach full height in the state's northern river catchments.
The river systems of the North Esk and South Esk were expected to peak by Sunday afternoon.
A prepare to evacuate warning was issued for the South Esk River on Saturday evening, with Tasmania SES warning locations between South Esk Drive and the river, and between Bartley Street and the river in Hadspen were likely to be affected.
An emergency warning to avoid flooded areas remained current for surrounding areas and flood watch and act messages are current for 10 waterways, including the River Ouse, the Macquarie River and the South Esk River.
An emergency warning to avoid flooded areas was in force for areas surrounding the Meander River.
Acting Premier Michael Ferguson said authorities would closely monitor the North Esk and South Esk river systems over the next day.
The rivers feed into the Tamar River, which is subject to tidal fluctuations.
Ferguson said high tides were expected at 6am and 6pm on Sunday.
New South Wales
On Saturday evening in southern New South Wales, the SES began directing people in parts of Narrandera South to evacuate by 8pm on Saturday night.
The Lachlan River at Forbes in the Central West region of NSW, peaked at 10.56 metres on Friday night and fell to moderate levels on Saturday afternoon.
Despite the drop, evacuation orders remained in place with aircraft dropping supplies to properties cut-off by floodwaters.
Six evacuation orders were in place affecting roughly 500 residents.
Rescue crews continued to search for missing man Phillip Alvaro.
The 63-year-old left a rural property on Lachlan Valley Way at Hillston at midday on Tuesday and had not been seen since.
- ABC
