Updated ,first published
Residents in Victoria’s north were warned to stay inside on Monday morning as “life-threatening” flash flooding and intense rainfall threatened their communities.
A severe weather warning was issued for parts of Victoria’s north after Mildura recorded almost half its usual annual rainfall between Saturday and Sunday.
However, the rain eased significantly on Monday – only 0.6 millimetres fell in Mildura between 9am and 6pm. Instead, the north central and north-east regions of the state were the hardest hit.
The small town of Highlands received 44 millimetres between 9am until 6pm on Monday, while 38 millimetres fell on Wangaratta.
The State Emergency Service fielded more than 320 calls for help between 7am and 6pm on Monday, with the majority of calls in the Mildura, Kyabram and Echuca areas. Ninety-three calls were for fallen trees, while 138 were for flooding.
Mildura endured heavy rains over the weekend, leading to flash flooding and homes being inundated. Sixty-six millimetres of rain fell on Saturday and another 83 millimetres after 9am on Sunday.
Up to 80 millimetres of rain fell over other parts of northern and western Victoria between 9am Sunday and 7am Monday.
Tutye, west of the Mallee town of Walpeup, recorded 91 millimetres of rain between Sunday morning and Monday morning, while Kerang recorded 80 millimetres.
Rainfall was just starting to clear the Mallee region on Monday morning, meteorologist Dean Narramore told The Age – but the danger was far from over.
“That rainfall is going to continue through central Victoria, then twist to northern Victoria for the coming hours, and then move to north-eastern Victoria this afternoon, before clearing much of the state by tonight,” Narramore said.
Melbourne’s humidity would also clear out from late Monday into Tuesday, the meteorologist said.
A severe weather warning was in effect across parts of the central, north central, north-east and Wimmera districts, along with the Northern Country and Mallee.
People in Mildura, Swan Hill, Bendigo, and Hopetoun and surrounds were warned to prepare to take shelter on Monday morning, ahead of thunderstorms and possible six-hourly rainfall totals between 70 and 100 millimetres.
Lingering showers and storms were predicted to persist over far-eastern Victoria on Tuesday, before sunshine returned to much of the state on Wednesday and into the long weekend, Narramore said.
A number of advice-level warnings for minor to moderate flooding remained in effect across Victoria’s north on Monday.
The state’s south was spared from heavy rain from Sunday into Monday, recording falls of between five and 10 millimetres, including in metropolitan Melbourne.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
