Victoria has been battered by a month’s worth of rain in just six hours with the wild weather prompting more than 600 residents to call for help.
Three people had to be rescued by SES workers as flash floods wreaked havoc across the state on Friday – the wettest day in ten months.
Two had to be rescued after attempting to drive through flood waters in South Melbourne and Bendigo, while one person was trapped in a house in Avoca in the state’s Central Highlands.
Some areas received as much as 70mm of rain while Melbourne was dumped with 40mm.
Dean Narramore, from the Bureau of Meteorology told reporters the state had ‘copped a drenching’ within the last 24 hours and the rain is expected to last well into the night.
Victoria saw its wettest day in ten months on Friday with the rain expected to last into the night
Some areas received as much as 70mm of rain while Melbourne was dumped with 40mm
A car in Melbourne is seen driving through a huge downpour of rain as wild weather batters Victoria
‘Melbourne metro itself has seen 40mm in four hours and the month’s average for January is 47mm,’ he said.
‘Many locations, not only in Melbourne, but right across western and central Victoria, have had a month’s worth of rain in less than six to 12 hours.’
Most of the state saw rainfalls up to 50mm, with the highest in the Grampians with Mount William and Stawell seeing 70mm and 60mm respectively.
A chemist in Bendigo was so badly flooded staff were forced to put nappies on the floor to act as makeshift sandbags.
Shocking photos obtained by Nine News show dozens of drenched nappies lining the walls of the pharmacy.
Severe thunderstorms warnings have also been set in place for the Mallee district in Victoria’s north, while flood warnings have been issued for the Yarra River.
Severe weather warnings have also been given to residents in Bendigo, Shepparton, Seymour, and Wangaratta.
A cyclist does his best to peddle through flood waters in Victoria on Friday
A chemist in Bendigo was so badly flooded staff were forced to put nappies on the floor to act as makeshift sandbags
A street in Melbourne is seen completely flooded after the city received 40mm of rain in just four hours
The rain is expected to continue to hammer down all night with conditions easing around the state by midmorning on Saturday
The rain is expected to continue to hammer down all night with conditions easing around the state by midmorning on Saturday.
‘For the summer season and also for the year, since it’s pretty early, it’s the wettest we’ve seen for this season across many parts of Victoria,’ Mr Narramore said.
‘It has been a dry run for most of the state since around December, but generally across state and through metro Melbourne it’s the wettest we’ve seen so far.’
Meanwhile, the SES responded to 647 calls for help within the last 24 hours with more than 200 being related to flooding, and 234 for building damage.
SES spokesperson, Josh Gamble, said it was ‘disappointing’ to see so many Victorians attempting to drive through flood waters.
Meanwhile, the SES responded to 647 calls for help within the last 24 hours with more than 200 being related to flooding, and 234 for building damage
Victoria has been battered by a month’s worth of rain in just six hours with the wild weather prompting more than 600 residents to call for help
‘Luckily there were no injuries, however, responding agencies put our lives and our equipment at risk trying to get to these people and it only takes 15 centimetres of water for vehicles to float and cause further risk and near-drowning,’ he said.
‘So we please recommend people use their common sense and do not drive through any form of floodwaters and put further community and emergency responders at risk.’
He also warned residents in heavily affected areas to prepare their homes for floods.
‘We need residents of low-lying areas to monitor conditions and have their flood plan in place,’ Mr Gamble said.
‘If they want to stay they need to make sure they have sandbags at the ready or have other plans in place to get to higher areas of their property, should floodwaters come into play.’
Meanwhile, Sydney suffered its wettest day of the year so far on Thursday with 19mm of rain falling in some parts.
More rain is expected to fall over the weekend with the miserable conditions finally clearing up on Monday with just a 40 per cent chance.
A map of Australia shows the rain forecast to lash NSW, Victoria, QLD and WA on Friday
Brisbane will see a hot weekend but there’s a 60 per cent chance of rainfall on Sunday ruining an otherwise sunny end to the week.
Those on the other side of the country in Perth will see perfect conditions over the next few days with endless sunshine and temperatures soaring into the late 30s.
Adelaide will also see a dry and sunny weekend reaching a top of 26C on Saturday and 29C on Sunday.
Rain is expected to fall in Hobart on Saturday but those in the Tasmanian city should see a dry and sunny day on Sunday.
Those in Australia’s capital will see a wet weekend with Canberra seeing a 60 per cent chance of rain on Saturday and a 40 per cent chance on Sunday.
Heavy storms however will hammer down across Darwin over the weekend with the next five days seeing a 90 per cent chance of rain.