A major flood warning is running on the Loddon River in central Victoria, issued by the Bureau of Meteorology at 10.14pm on Monday and updated through Tuesday morning as the catchment drained.
The Loddon is one of two rivers at major level. The other is the Ovens in the north east, where a moderate warning also covers the King River. Moderate warnings are current for the Kiewa River and Seven Creeks. Minor warnings cover the Broken River, the Bunyip River, and the Goulburn and Yea rivers with Sunday Creek. The Bureau issued an initial minor warning for the Avoca River, which is the last catchment in the sequence to respond.
The rain came from a strong cold front supported by an upper level trough, which crossed southern Australia between 8 and 10 August. Bureau figures for the week to Tuesday have 15 to 50mm through southern Western Australia, much of South Australia, western Tasmania, Victoria and most of New South Wales. Totals passed 50mm across central and north eastern Victoria into south eastern New South Wales, and passed 100mm in the Flinders Ranges and in north eastern Victoria.
The highest gauge reading in the country was 178mm at Myrhee, north east of Wangaratta. Myrhee also recorded the highest daily total, 159mm in the 24 hours to 9am Monday.
In the Loddon catchment the water arrived faster than the river gauges did. VICSES units from Marong and Bendigo pulled two people out of floodwater at Lockwood South on Monday, from flash flooding rather than from a river in flood. When the Bureau's earlier warning was written the Loddon at Laanecoorie Reservoir was sitting at 0.77 metres and rising, well under the 1.50 metre minor flood level. The reservoir is now full and spilling.
“Heavy rainfall has caused localised flash flooding," VICSES said in its advice. "Floodwater can be very deep, rise quickly and move fast even after rain has eased." Properties around Marong, Shelbourne, Eddington, Newstead, Lockwood and Lockwood South were listed as likely to be affected, with some at risk of being cut off. Bet Bet Creek at Bet Bet is running near major flood level.”
The gauge network is built to forecast rivers, not the paddock runoff and blocked culverts that arrive within an hour of the rain. Both rescues on Monday were the second kind. That gap is why the Bureau runs a flood watch ahead of the warnings, and why the watch covers catchments rather than gauges.
The severe weather side of the event has closed out. The Bureau cancelled its severe weather warning for East Gippsland and the sheep graziers warning for the same district. Final flood warnings are in place for the Werribee River and Tallangatta Creek, which means those rivers are falling.
The Bureau issued its final flood watch for the event at 12.14pm on Tuesday and said flooding is no longer expected in the Yarra River upstream of Warrandyte or in the Upper Murray and Mitta Mitta rivers. No further watches will be issued.
Warnings on the Loddon, Ovens, Kiewa, Broken, Goulburn, Avoca and Seven Creeks remain current and will be updated as gauges report. Marine wind warnings are still out for the Victorian coast.
