Flood damage impacts 300 homes

Victoria's swollen rivers have flooded 300 properties as authorities sandbag homes
and hospitals, bracing for more flood damage.
The raging Ovens and King rivers are likely to peak at Wangaratta in the state's
northeast on Monday night, with the occupants of 22 residences near where the rivers
meet ordered to evacuate late on Monday afternoon.
The Goulburn and Broken rivers, meanwhile, are threatening to inundate parts of
Shepparton, in the Goulburn Valley north of Melbourne.
The focus on Tuesday will switch to the west of the state, where the Wimmera River
is threatening parts of the wheatbelt town of Horsham and to the southern Mallee
town of Charlton, where the Avoca River has already inundated the main street.
The damage bill from the floods has topped $10 million in the worst flooding in more
than a decade, after heavy weekend rain washed over saturated soil into river
systems.
"We are seeing a flood emergency that is still evolving," State Emergency Service
(SES) state controller Tim Wiebusch told reporters on Monday afternoon.
"There are things happening literally hour by hour across the state as the
floodwaters continue to rise."
In northeast Victoria, warnings have shifted from Wangaratta to Shepparton, where
more than 60 homes are at risk.
SES volunteers and the army have gone door-to-door in the area to personally warn
more than 400 homeowners of the coming danger.
In Wangaratta, a levee protecting Wilson Road was at risk of collapse late on Monday
afternoon, Mr Wiebusch said, and evacuations of 22 homes in Wilson Road were ordered
shortly before 4pm (AEST).
Ten Wangaratta homes have so far suffered flood damage.
Residents had earlier reported the floodwaters in Wangaratta had nearly peaked as
the Ovens River was predicted to fluctuate in height by only a few centimetres,
saving the majority of the town, about 230km northeast of Melbourne.
Floodwaters further west are still rising with peak levels not expected until
Tuesday or Wednesday.
"By that stage, some of those rivers will remain steady at those higher peaks for
potentially several days," Mr Wiebusch said.
Charlton is facing flood levels not seen in nearly three decades.
Shopfronts are under 30cm of water with 30 homes inundated by flooding.
A nearby hospital has been sandbagged with patients on alert to be moved if the
waters keep rising.
In Horsham, up to 50 homes are at risk of rising floodwaters, which are expected to
peak there late on Tuesday.
Help has arrived from interstate with about 15 SES volunteers to help in disaster
management.
The flooding comes after some regions saw more than 200mm of rain fall over the
weekend.
It followed steady rain in July and the saturated soil sent most of the rain
straight into catchments, which have received more than 11 days of supply in less
than one day.
The weather bureau says Mount Buffalo, south of most of the flooding, had had more
than 260mm of rain in the past four days.
Authorities have warned residents by sending 55,000 text messages with a new
emergency warning system establish after the Black Saturday bushfire disaster.
Premier John Brumby travelled to Horsham on Monday to survey the damage.
"The worst I think is yet to come," he said, referring to the rising Goulburn,
Ovens, Avoca and Wimmera rivers.
He urged people in flood-affected areas to ensure they have access to
battery-powered radios.
"We've had a few issues where people have been without power and have not heard
warnings," Mr Brumby said.
The premier said safety and public health were the government's top priorities and
attention would turn to recovery and reconstruction in the next few days.



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