As at least 1,000 houses are submerged or cut off by floods, the Bureau of Meteorology has issued a warning that Victoria may see further downpours in the coming days.
The ground is “very moist,” and even if the weather is forecast to clear for many days, flooding are still projected to rise over the next several hours.
Thousands of people living in inner-city Melbourne were forced to flee on Friday when Marbiyrnong’s whole street system transformed into a river, submerging homes and automobiles.
More than 4,000 houses throughout the state are without power, significant flood warnings have been issued for the Werribee and Yarra Rivers this afternoon, and SES teams have carried out more than 200 river rescues.
Premier Daniel Andrews said flooding won’t reach their height “for quite a long” at a news conference on Friday.
Then, he said, “there is the other matter of rain events that are anticipated in the next weeks and, of course, the land was already sodden before these last couple of days of record rainfall.”
We are aware that even mild rain occurrences in the next weeks will be difficult for us. Therefore, this will continue to affect everyone.
In the state, at least 500 residences have been flooded and another 500 have been cut off. With floods expected to reach their height in Shepparton and Wangaratta over the weekend, those figures are almost certainly going to go up.
The flood catastrophe is still “very much changing,” the Bureau of Meteorology cautioned, even as conditions improve.
Diane Eadie, a meteorologist, stated, “We are monitoring another low, possibly forming over South Australia on Monday and Tuesday of next week.”
The path of this system will have a significant impact on where the heavy rain falls.
“For Victoria, Wednesday (of next week) through Thursday and Friday might see some increasing rainfall throughout northern areas.
But at this point, it’s more plausible that we are outside of that system. The grounds are, however, quite moist. Over 2600 calls for assistance were answered by the SES in a single day, and over the course of the previous two days, they performed at least 200 flood rescues.
Within hours following Friday morning’s announcement of the one-time payouts, more than 1500 Victorians had submitted applications for emergency assistance.
Each affected adult will be entitled for a payment of $560, plus an extra $280 for each kid.
Mr. Andrews said, “We’re processing them as quickly as we can.” As a temporary housing option for flood victims, the federal government keeps the state’s Mickleham Covid-19 quarantine facility available.
Matthew Guy, the leader of the opposition, urged the state administration to declare a natural disaster in regions hit by flooding.
According to him, the flooding in his state, which has almost reached the center of Melbourne, is disastrous.
According to Mr. Guy, “it is obvious that impacted towns, families, and small businesses will require both immediate emergency help and longer-term support to rebuild.”
The Victorians devastated by the flood catastrophe are in the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s thoughts, and he has spoken to Premier Andrews to offer help.
There will be a call for assistance there, Mr. Albanese said.
“There are currently ADF members in Victoria who are offering that support and help.”