THE Murray River could be flooding into late November, Victoria’s Emergency Management Commissioner has warned.
Andrew Crisp told ABC Radio this morning that floodwaters were moving “quickly towards the Murray” and that it would work its way along the Murray River over the next four to six weeks.
Meanwhile, Victorian Premier Dan Andrews has warned there may be “another challenging” week in store for many Victorians as further rainfall is forecast across the state.
Speaking to media in Melbourne, Mr Andrews said after last week’s “massive” rain events, and due to the existing full catchments of water, any more rain could pose a “challenge” to communities.
“We've still got the Murray to peak,” Mr Andrews said. “A number of communities haven't peaked yet and we're going to get more rain off that higher base so that's going to present really significant challenges.
“This is a little bit different to other flood events … in terms of the magnitude it is bigger. But also, it's a kind of a rolling flood event as well. We're going to see more and more rainfall.”
Mildura may receive between 20 and 50mm this week, after receiving just over 64mm last Wednesday and Thursday.
The Bureau of Meteorology has given a 50 per cent chance of 30mm of rainfall in Echuca, 34mm in Shepparton, and 28mm in Swan Hill.
Kerang residents were told to evacuate on Sunday as the major flooding was expected to hit the town overnight on Monday.
The Loddon River at Kerang was at 76.88m Australian Height Datum (AHD), which is just below the minor flood level, but was expected to exceed major flood level 77.80m overnight Tuesday into Wednesday.
The peak flood levels (78m) are expected to be similar to 2011. Authorities expect Kerang to remain dry, but isolated and residents have been asked to evacuate and expect to be away for 7-10 days.
Parts of the Calder Highway remain closed as Charlton prepares for major flooding today.
The Calder is closed from just 4km south of Wycheproof through to Charlton and then further southeast to Wedderburn.
An emergency warning has been issued for Charlton residents to evacuate immediately, with the flood expected to last three-to-five days.
Several routes between Mildura and Melbourne have been affected by wet weather and flooding events.
The Sunraysia and Henty highways remain open, while the national highway through Ballarat to Melbourne is open - though there is water across sections of the road.
VicRoads has encouraged Victorians to avoid driving through the state where possible.
Mr Andrews announced that the government has allocated $160 million to fund immediate running road repairs around the state.
The Premier said he had received reports that 10,000 potholes had been filled, but said the repairs were temporary in nature and would require “more substantive” work after rains and floods subsided.
He said flooding would likely affect the state’s food production.
“Whether it be in terms of fruit and veg, cropping more broadly, dairy,“ he said. “Beef, sheep, meat - this is a very important part of our state and a very big part of our state.
“There's almost certainly going to be production impacts.”
V/Line services from Mildura are running to Melbourne via Ballarat. Some services are also running to Swan Hill, but services to Melbourne via Swan Hill remain cancelled until further notice.
Mr Crisp said hundreds of homes had been affected by floodwaters hitting Shepparton and Echuca at the weekend.
The Campaspe River has peaked in Echuca at (96.5m AHD) but emergency services expected it to remain at major flood level for another 48 hours with a second peak later this week.
Residents with properties near the Campaspe River in Echuca were advised to evacuate immediately as the river reached major flooding levels last experienced in 2011.
The Goulburn River reached 12.1 metres on Monday morning, cutting off residents in Mooroopna and parts of Shepparton.
BOM has advised that the Murray River at Mildura Weir may reach the minor flood level (36.00mAHD) mid November, while the river at Swan Hill may reach minor (4.5 metres) to moderate flood level (4.60 m) late October or early November.