Key Points
- Victoria, Tasmania and NSW are battling flooding.
- Here's the latest on the ground.
Five hundred homes have flooded, another 500 have been isolated and at least one person is missing in Victoria.
Torrential rain has affected regional and metropolitan areas alike, while authorities warn sodden catchments will mean weeks of flood risk.
Meanwhile, flood-hit communities in north and northwest Tasmania have entered a "danger period" as waters rise, with evacuation orders for areas around several rivers and part of Launceston.
Heavy rain that began on Wednesday night started to ease on Friday morning. Records were broken in parts, with the Great Lake region registering 398 millimetres in about a day.
And in NSW, hundreds of residents have been evacuated and teachers are being driven to work in fire trucks as the effects of major flooding are felt across the state's central region.
Victoria
Evacuation orders are in place for Skinners Flat in Wedderburn, low-lying parts of Benalla on the Broken River gateway, Murchison along the Goulburn River, southwest of Shepparton, Maribyrnong in Melbourne and the town of Charlton at the foothills of the Great Dividing Range.
Authorities warned a dam failure at the Skinners Flat Reservoir would likely result in three feet of strong, fast-moving waters flowing through the Wedderburn township.
About 70 residents were ordered to leave Maribyrnong in Melbourne.
Authorities earlier also issued an emergency alert for residents of Rochester along the Campaspe River to evacuate immediately.
Floodwater is seen in Rochester, Victoria, which is under an evacuation order. Source: AAP / James Ross
Complacency was being blamed for the number of rescues.
Premier Daniel Andrews urged people to heed warnings and not drive into floodwaters.
He announced one-off payments of $560 per adult and $280 per child for people displaced by the floods.
About 1,500 applications had been made by Friday afternoon.
Emergency relief centres have been set up near flood-affected areas.
Opposition leader Matthew Guy called on the government to declare a state of emergency.
The historical town of Seymour, 100km north of Melbourne, is facing its highest flood level since 1974.
Authorities also expect Shepparton in the Goulburn Valley to experience its worst flood in almost three decades on Saturday.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has spoken to the premier about using the $580 million Mickleham quarantine facility as emergency accommodation a week after it was officially closed.
A man is helped through floodwater in Maribyrnong, Melbourne, where about 70 residents were ordered to leave their homes due to flooding. Source: AAP / Erik Anderson
Tasmania
Heavy rain that began on Wednesday night started to ease on Friday morning. Records were broken in parts, with the Great Lake region registering 398 millimetres in about a day.
Evacuation orders are in place for people living along the swollen Mersey and Meander rivers, downstream of Lake Isandula dam and in the Launceston suburb of Newstead.
There is also a move-to-higher-ground emergency warning for the St Patricks River.
"This is actually the danger period. Our messaging to the Tasmanian public at this point in time is don't be complacent," State Emergency Services acting director Leon Smith told the ABC on Friday.
"All of that rain that's fallen at the higher altitudes still needs to make its way down through the riverine systems. This flooding will be sustained."
Mr Smith said it would take several days for the waters to subside.
Emergency services rescued a family of six who became isolated on their property, while a man and woman were helped to safety after driving through floodwaters in their 4WD.
Authorities warned river peaks in some parts could reach levels seen in mid-2016 when flooding claimed three lives and caused $180 million worth of damage.
The Bureau of Meteorology predicts record highs for the Meander and Macquarie rivers.
Floodwaters in the Deloraine region in north-west Tasmania on Friday, 14 October, 2022. Source: AAP / Tasmania Police
Thursday night for 42 homes south of the dam at Lake Isandula after being advised it was at risk of failure.
TasWater manager Tony Willmott said the dam filled more rapidly than expected, with an inflow of 70,000 litres per second and was within half a metre of "overtopping".
The dam is now considered stable and will be assessed further.
About 70 homes in Newstead were evacuated overnight, with the SES receiving 147 calls for assistance in flood-hit areas.
Thousands of people were without power across the state on Friday morning, and some could be cut off for days.
NSW
About 250 properties are subject to evacuation or isolation orders in Forbes after the Lachlan River crept up to its major flooding mark on Friday morning.
The orders affect about 550 people in the town of 8000, the SES said.
While water is not expected to enter classrooms, Forbes Public School has been ordered to close.
Norm Haley, from Forbes Community Mens' Shed, said some farmers had been isolated for weeks after water flooded their driveways.
The flooded Riverside Tourist Park in Forbes, NSW, on Friday, 14 October 2022. Source: AAP / Stuart Walmsley
Elsewhere, the cotton town of Wee Waa is again isolated, with an SES high-clearance truck delivering bread and milk.
People in three areas of the Riverina city of Wagga Wagga remain under evacuation orders issued earlier in the week.
Overnight, the SES received 264 calls for assistance, with five being for flood rescues, including livestock.
Significant falls in northern Victoria will affect the Murray River, leading to possible minor flooding in Albury and other NSW towns on the southern border.
