Emergency workers look at a submerged car on a flooded street in the Melbourne suburb of Maribyrnong. Photo: AFP
Stranded residents have been rescued and dozens of others evacuated from Melbourne's west, after rapidly rising water from the Maribyrnong River flooded properties in the area.
An evacuation order was issued for the main street of the Melbourne suburb of Werribee, which is near the banks of the river.
State Emergency Service rescue boat crews spent Friday morning collecting people from their flooded homes around Maribyrnong, with some residents resorting to standing on their roofs and others holed up in multi-storey apartments.
Earlier, authorities said about 70 homes were affected by an evacuation warning, with police setting up roadblocks through the suburb of Maribyrnong.
Police knocked on Matt Iozzi's door in the early hours of this morning, telling him to leave his house immediately due to dangerous floods nearby.
"I packed an overnight bag, chucked it in my car, grabbed the passports and family photos," he said.
"I was actually shocked, the river has come up and completely swallowed the main esplanade street."
Views from a helicopter shows submerged cars, a pontoon floating down the river after being dislodged from its moorings, and water inundating nearby roads and buildings.
The evacuation warning advised that flooding was expected to reach above floor level for single storey homes.
Emergency workers evacuate residents from flooded properties in the Melbourne suburb of Maribyrnong. Photo: AFP
Flood relief payments announced by government
Premier Daniel Andrews said Victorians needed to prepare for the impacts of the floods to last up to eight weeks.
"Please be aware of your circumstances, that's how you make the very best decisions for your family and then by extension emergency services," he said.
The state government was offering one-off flood relief payments of $560 per adult and $280 per child for those who had been forced out of their homes, Andrews said. It was possible further payments would be granted, he said.
"It's far from over, we'll see waters rise," Andrews said. "We'll see more and more waters continuing to rise, more and more houses being inundated, more and more communities being closed off."
The state's purpose-built Covid-19 quarantine facility, closed last week after Australia scrapped isolation rules, could be reopened to shelter flood-impacted residents, Andrews said.
Rainfall totals in some areas had broken records dating back to the 1970s, he said.
Flooding hits regional Victoria
Significant flooding was also hitting regional Victoria, where authorities predicted 700 properties in the town of Rochester were at risk of isolation due to rising floodwater.
Regional Victorians were facing a one-in-200-year event flood event as rapidly rising river levels continue to threaten to cut off towns and flood city centres.
Andrews confirmed that 500 homes had been flooded across Victoria, and another 500 homes were isolated.
"That number will definitely grow," Andrews said.
Residents were told to evacuate Murchison, Benalla, Carisbrook, Rochester and Wedderburn.
Seymour, Tarnook and Baddaginnie residents were told it was too late to leave.
Flood levels in Seymour peaked above the previous record levels of 7.64 metres, recorded in May 1974. Major flooding was expected in Murchison from Friday evening, and expected to reach Shepparton late on Saturday morning.
The State Emergency Service said it had responded to more than 2500 requests for help since the rain set in on Thursday.
The volunteer service said it had been called to rescue 119 motorists that had been been trapped in floodwaters, and almost 5961 houses were still without power as of 11am.
NSW and Tasmania also hit by flooding
In Tasmania, the flooding crisis intensified after more evacuation orders overnight, while hundreds of residents in southern New South Wales spent the night in evacuation centres.
A Tasmanian Fire Service spokesperson said the rainfall had eased there but "the event's not over yet".
Though heavy rains were expected to ease from late Friday, flooding could continue through the weekend, officials said.
Devastating floods have repeatedly struck Australia's east coast since early last year because of a multi-year La Niña weather phenomenon, which brings more rain.
- ABC / Reuters