More Victorian towns to be evacuated

The torrential rain may have stopped but Victorian rivers are still on the rise and
more towns are likely to be evacuated over the next few days as unprecedented
flooding continues, say emergency services.
State Emergency Services state controller Trevor White says 12 towns in Victoria's
north and northwest have been evacuated during the crisis which began on Tuesday and
a similar number can be expected to be impacted.
The Murray River holiday town of Echuca is threatened because of the floodwaters
raging down the Campaspe River, which flows into the Murray.
The SES was conducting a community meeting in Echuca on Saturday with residents
given advice on the expected impact of flooding on the town over the next few days.
A relief centre has opened at Echuca Secondary College.
"We will continue to see extensive rural flooding over the next four to five days
and we will see people isolated," Mr White told reporters.
"The situation is far from over, we have more flooding to impact on communities as yet.
"We are advising them that if they stay they may not have essential services such as
power, communication and water."
Those who elected to stay at Rochester, a dairy town and the home of cycling legend
Sir Hubert Opperman and which is experiencing its worst flood in the town's history,
are running out of water.
Sixty-five patients at the local hospital were transferred to medical centres
outside the flood zone.
Bendigo Hospital accepted 24 acute and aged-care patients.
Rochester was split in half by the flooded Campaspe River with its peak not expected
to be reached until later on Saturday night or early Sunday morning.
About 200 properties, or 80 per cent of the community, are inundated, with warnings
that river levels will be much higher than previously expected.
The Loddon, Avoca, Campaspe, Glenelg and Wimmera rivers all have major flood warnings.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who has been comforting Queensland flood victims, says
she's "very concerned" about people battling massive flooding in Victoria and is
expected to visit the area on Monday.
Kevin Parkyn, senior forecaster at the Bureau of Meteorology, says an unprecedented
amount of rain has fallen in the state this week.
"Victoria is experiencing one of its worst flood events in its history," Mr Parkyn
said.
"It's been a week in which rainfall totals have been smashed in parts of Victoria."
A summer's worth of rain has fallen in a period of five days with up to 200
millimetres in some parts of the state.
Maryborough received 222mm, Inglewood near Bendigo 216mm, Kyneton 263mm and the
Wimmera community of Jeparit copped 161mm in a 24-hour period.
"The flooding is far worse than we experienced in September with four to five times
the number of properties impacted," Mr Parkyn said.
More than 1000 properties and in excess of 3000 people in the north to northwest of
Victoria have been affected so far with up to 8000 properties losing power.
About 400 properties at Charlton in north central Victoria have been flooded and
much of the town evacuated.
Supplier Powercor said the substation at Charlton was underwater and could not make
any guarantees on when power would be restored.
Tyrell Creek is expected to bring record water levels to the tiny township of
Culgoa, where residents have been warned to leave their properties if they are in
low-lying areas or near the creek.
A relief centre has been established at the Sea Lake Sports Complex.



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