As it happened; Shepparton, surrounding areas, warned of Saturday flooding risk

Darren Asquith and wife Vikki own the Benalla Newsagency on Bridge Street.

They say they managed to get their papers out of the way of rising floodwaters to their “sub-agents”, but not to homes in Benalla, as the town is divided by the Broken River and delivery proved impossible.

After 21 years in the business, this is the first time their papers cannot be delivered.

“[The] town is very supportive and all helping each other. It brings back a lot of memories for those who lived through the 1993 floods,” Vikki said.

CitiPower has de-energised a number of submerged electrical assets in Kensington, in Melbourne’s west, due to flooding in the Dynon Road area.

The power provider said about 1150 customers would have their power affected, but maintained the assets were a risk to the community while submerged and could be further damaged and forced out of action for longer if not switched off.

“We will continue monitoring conditions and will restore power once conditions improve and it is safe to do so,” CitiPower said in a statement.

“We thank customers for their patience and understanding during these difficult conditions.”

CitiPower said it would continue to keep customers informed via text messages and the Powercore website.

A man missing in floodwaters near Bendigo in central Victoria has been found alive, clinging onto a tree branch.

A Victoria Police spokesman said the man was rescued after “ignoring a roadblock” and driving his Toyota Landcruiser into floodwaters on Lyons Street, Newbridge at 10.45am.

“His vehicle was washed downstream a short distance before colliding with trees,” the spokesman said.

“The man was rescued by police about half an hour later after climbing onto a branch.”

The safe rescue of the missing man comes after SES commander Tim Wiebusch said earlier today there had been no serious injuries reported as a result of Victoria’s widespread flooding.

A community meeting will be held at St Patrick’s Hall in Wangaratta as rivers in north-eastern Victoria rise heading into the weekend.

Residents are advised to head to the hall at 25 Ford Street, Wangaratta for a 4pm meeting today.

Authorities have been concerned about the King and Ovens rivers in the area.

Lisa Quinsee and daughters Jordan, 16, and Lulu, 12, are relieved after they were rescued with their dogs from their flooded home on Chifley Drive in Maribyrnong.

SES crews patrolling on boats spotted the family huddled on their second-storey balcony because their ground floor was inundated, so much so that the fridge had toppled over.

“It looks like we’re in a boathouse. We’ve got full glass doors and it’s just surrounded by water, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Quinsee said.

She said she bought 10 sandbags last night but they “made no difference” because the water rose so quickly.

“I had a front yard and about 10 minutes later I didn’t.”

Quinsee spent the morning trying to move as many belongings as she could upstairs.

The family was rescued via the Maribyrnong River, where they saw rubbish bins and car seats carried on the strong current.

They’ve packed their bags for a stay at Crown to try to turn the situation around.

“I’m trying to flip it for the girls,” Quinsee said.

Daniel Foley was one of several people living in Ace Caravan Park, which sits right next to the banks of the Goulburn River at Seymour’s lowest point.

He was evacuated by boat this morning as an aluminum cabin from the campground lifted up and floated downstream into the town centre.

Police later told him the water had reached the top of his caravan.

“The guys who do live there, I’m not the only one, everyone has lost everything. It’s all gone,” he said.

The SES warned him last night that he should evacuate.

“They said, ‘We advise you to, but we can’t force you to, that’s up to you.’ And I said, ‘Well, this is my life in my van, all my possessions, everything.’ I’ll try to stay till the last moment to protect everything. And I’ve lost everything now,” he said.

Mr Foley said he, like many here, was not insured.

In better news for Seymour, floodwaters continue to recede as the waters flow downstream.

That’s good news for this community, but means we may soon see similar scenes of flooding in towns downriver.

But for now, there’s optimism the worst has passed here – as long as the rain holds off.

A person is missing at Newbridge in central Victoria after major flooding on the Loddon River.

SES chief operations officer Tim Wiebusch said authorities were advised about the person missing in the town west of Bendigo just before 12pm, and rescue teams had begun searching for the person.

“Fortunately, we haven’t seen any serious injuries at this stage [from flood areas],” Wiebusch said.

Premier Daniel Andrews said authorities would update the public with more details of the missing person shortly.

He said he hoped the person would be found “safe and well”.

Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp says Victoria is not currently under a state of disaster, but a declaration would “continue to be explored” over coming days.

He said with initial assessments of how widespread flooding has been still taking place this afternoon, it will take “some time to determine” when residents in evacuation areas can return to their homes.

Premier Daniel Andrews said the SES had completed more than 200 rescues since the major rain event began, and urged those in flooded areas not to drive through water.

“Many of those [rescues] could have been prevented, and a key point here is it’s very dangerous for you and it’s also very dangerous for the emergency services … to come and rescue you,” he said.

“Please don’t play in floodwaters and don’t drive into floodwaters.”

More than 200 main arterial roads are currently closed due to flood impacts.

The Bureau of Meteorology’s Diane Eadie said while the rain had largely eased across Victoria, the flood situation was “still very much evolving”.

She said Strathbogie North had received 224 millimetres since the rain event began and Charnwood had received almost 210 millimetres.