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Two people have been plucked from the roof of a flooded car in Victoria’s east on Friday morning after rivers swelled, with hundreds of Gippsland residents still unable to safely return to their homes.
An emergency alert was in place on Friday morning for part of the regional town of Sale, home to more than 15,000 people, where the Thomson River was expected to reach major flood levels before lunchtime.
Emergency services cautioned evacuated residents who live around the Port of Sale that it was unsafe to return home.
The Bureau of Meteorology had predicted the Thomson River would reach three metres overnight before rising to four metres late on Friday morning.
Premier Jacinta Allan said on Friday morning that Sale residents had largely evacuated from their homes ahead of the expected peak of floodwaters.
“We expect there will be some homes inundated, but in terms of the actual number of properties inundated that is yet to be fully assessed give the floodwaters are still rising,” she told ABC radio.
Residents of Tinamba, Tinamba West and Newry near the Macalister River were told it was not safe to return to their properties because dangerous floodwater remained in the area.
The swollen Macalister River – which peaked at the major flood level of 6.96 metres on Thursday morning – is likely to drop below the moderate flood height of 4.30 metres on Friday. Water is still being released upstream from Lake Glenmaggie.
State Emergency Service deputy chief operations officer David Baker said at least three homes had been inundated in the area around Tinamba, as early impact assessments continued.
The SES had predicted that up to 130 homes in the region to the west of Maffra could be flooded.
Dan O’Connor (left) standing on a makeshift levee outside a property in Tinamba, eastern Victoria.Credit: AAP
Two people were rescued in Bairnsdale after they attempted to drive a Holden Commodore through floodwater before 6am on Friday, which Baker said was a “disturbing incident”.
After the water entered the car, the pair had to climb on the vehicle’s roof to wait for the SES and Victoria Police to rescue them.
“It is a salient reminder never enter floodwaters, always choose an alternative route,” Baker said.
Earlier this week, less than 20 kilometres from the edge of the Maffra flood warning zone, the out-of-control Briagolong bushfire destroyed one home and threatened communities.
A major flood warning is current for the Thomson and Broken rivers. Moderate flood warnings are in place for the Kiewa, Latrobe, Mitchell, Ovens, King and Yarra rivers, as well as Seven Creeks.
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