Five hundred homes have flooded, another 500 have been isolated, and at least one person is missing in Victoria.
Evacuation orders are in place for the town of Rochester along the Campaspe River, north of Melbourne, the central goldfields town of Carisbrook near Maryborough, Skinners Flat in Wedderburn and Seymour on the Goulburn River.
Strong, fast-moving water from the dam a metre deep was expected to course through Wedderburn via the Calder Highway, authorities said on Friday.
About 70 residents were ordered to leave Maribyrnong in Melbourne.
The State Emergency Service has responded to more than 2600 requests for help in 24 hours and rescued at least 200 people in two days.
At least one person had been reported missing in central Victoria, SES chief operations officer Tim Wiebusch said.
“Just before coming into this media conference, we did have a report of a missing person at Newbridge and a search and rescue are out there at the moment,” he told reporters on Friday.
State commander Josh Gamble said complacency was the main reason for people getting into trouble.
“Many of these people are putting their own lives at risk, their own children in some circumstances, but more importantly, other community members and responders and that’s in all parts of the state not just metropolitan areas,” he told ABC.
Premier Daniel Andrews has announced one-off payments of $560 per adult and $280 per child for people displaced by the floods.
He urged Victorians to heed warnings.
“Please do not drive into floodwater,” Premier Andrews told reporters on Friday.“We have had more than 200 rescues, and many of those could have been prevented. The key point here is it’s very dangerous for you, and it’s also very dangerous for the emergency services.”
“At this stage, we don’t have access to it,” a spokeswoman said.
“Obviously, there has been flood damage to the venue, and we'll assess that once we have access—hopefully, tomorrow, depending on the weather.”
The federal member for the Melbourne seat of Maribyrnong, Bill Shorten, said the situation was devastating.
“It’s really upsetting for residents in my local community,” Shorten told reporters in Melbourne.
“These are areas where I’ve lived for the last 30 years. The last big floods were in 1974, so for a lot of people, this would be a new and devastating experience.”
A Victoria SES spokesperson said more than 50 sandbag collection points had been established, with more becoming available throughout the state.
Multiple emergency relief centres have been set up, including in Bendigo, Seymour, Echuca, Wedderburn and Maryborough.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has spoken to the premier about using the $580 million (US$366 million) Mickleham quarantine facility as emergency accommodation a week after it was officially closed.
Opposition Leader Matthew Guy called on the government to declare a state of emergency.
Traffic has been disrupted across the state, and regional V/Line trains and replacement buses were cancelled on the Shepparton, Seymour, Albury, Echuca and Swan Hill lines.
The historical town of Seymour, 100km north of Melbourne, is facing its highest flood level since 1974.
Authorities also expect Shepparton in the Goulburn Valley to experience its worst flood in almost three decades on Saturday.
