Urgent evacuation warnings have been issued overnight for large swathes of Victoria as devastating floods continue to lash the state, with residents in one town being told it is “too late” to leave.
Residents in Murchison woke at 5.57am on Saturday to an emergency warning urging them to shelter in the highest possible location if they had not evacuated.
“The flood is impacting some areas now which means there is no longer enough time to safely leave your property,” the emergency alert on the Victorian Government’s website reads.
The widespread flooding has prompted a drastic response from emergency services as Victorian residents scramble to get to safety.
Urgent evacuation warnings were issued overnight for the towns of Charlton, Wangaratta and Maribyrnong after floodwaters rose rapidly through the night.
Major flooding is occurring on the Ovens River at Wangaratta, with waters peaking at 12.8m.
Properties within the Parfitt Road levee system need to evacuate immediately, according to an urgent warning on the Vic Emergency website.
“River levels are expected to remain above the Major Flood Level for a number of days, meaning that properties located within the Parfitt Road Levee could become flooded,” the warning reads.
In Maribyrnong, water levels exceeded the river’s minor flood level but are expected to fall on Saturday morning.
The sudden surge of alerts comes after Premier Daniel Andrews on Friday announced thousands of homes had lost power amid the flooding chaos.
About 500 properties were isolated by rising waters, he told reporters.
“We have choppers in the air at the moment making damage assessments, flood impact assessments … they’re fed back in real-time,” Mr Andrews said.
Amid the urgent alerts, the Bureau of Meteorology also issued major flood warnings for the Avoca, Wimmera and Loddon Rivers overnight as the banks swelled.
The alert for the Avoca River – issued at 4.44am – said major flooding was occurring at the Yawong Weir and flood levels had peaked at downstream Charlton.
No significant rainfall is forecast for Saturday and there are signs it could ease through next week.
BOM has forecast light showers on Sunday, which will ease to cloudy conditions until Wednesday.
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