Monetary help confirmed for Victoria’s flood victims
After wild weather drenched Victoria and flooded about 500 homes, Premier Daniel Andrews has announced that financial support will be available to those affected.
On Friday morning, the Maribyrnong River burst its banks and made inner Melbourne the latest community caught up in the state’s flooding emergency.
Mr Andrews announced the payments would be available to help those affected “to help with food, shelter, clothing and medication”.
Record-breaking rain has seen waterway levels rapidly rise, with residents in the areas surrounding the Maribyrnong River being urged to evacuate earlier this morning.
"Some are waking up to find floodwater right at their door," 3AW's Pat Mitchell told Today.
"I have spoken to some people getting their cars out, moving things to higher ground before they leave. Really, they haven't had a lot of time."
Senior meteorologist Dean Narramore at the Bureau of Meteorology said people in north-west Melbourne could expect “major flooding” as the morning progressed.
"We're expecting the flood peak to occur later this morning into later this afternoon, into the upper reaches of the Maribyrnong River then to the more populated areas to the west of Melbourne into this afternoon and into this evening," he said.
"Thankfully the rain has eased, so we're expecting it to peak into tonight and start easing quickly into tomorrow."
Tim Wiebusch, the chief operations officer of Victoria SES, said Maribyrnong residents could expect the flood threat to remain for the next 24 to 28 hours, and that there was flooding “pretty much right across the state”.
"But we've also got the Yarra river with all our bike paths, all our recreation reserves that are now underwater at minor flooding," he said.
"So people need to be aware that our rivers are in flood pretty much right across the state now."
Residents in Wedderburn, Carisbrook, Seymour, Benalla and Rochester have been urged to evacuate, while some along the Seven Creeks and Goulburn and Campaspe rivers were told to head to higher ground.
currently stuck in seymour whilst en route from melbourne to albury. @VLine coaches ‘promised’ to meet us here after boarding at broadmeadows non-existent.
big love to the staff here at seymour station, doing the best they can with no info in this wild weather 💕 #vicfloods pic.twitter.com/x0aVqWObsw
— Madeleine Sargent (@madeleinecate) October 13, 2022
SES Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said that despite the rising water levels, they are hoping that they will quickly lower again.
The water has already started to recede in Seymour, but some residents still saw their homes taken over by water.
"I just came to have a look, and my house is just down that street, so I would say that it's gone underwater," one woman told Today.
"Pretty sad to look at. Pretty devastating, because I'm a single mum and got my mum, I look after my mum as well, so, yeah, we just got my daughter and my mum out."
Mr Narramore said flood levels were to ease later today in Seymour and Euroa, but that water levels won’t reach their peak in Rochester and Charlton until Saturday morning.
"Some major flooding expected (at Rochester) tonight and especially into tomorrow," he said.
"They're expecting major flooding into Saturday, slowly easing Sunday but hopefully by Sunday night dropping out of those levels. But there's so much water in the systems at the moment."
Any who stay in Rochester past this afternoon could face being stranded until Wednesday next week, with floodwaters expected to surpass top levels experienced in 2011 and cut off roads entering the community.
For those who need to access the government’s emergency payments, an online application can be filled out here.
Image: Nine