Water has begun creeping through the streets of Horsham as the Wimmera River swells toward a peak that is expected to cause the worst floods in the Victorian town's history.
An evacuation warning has been issued for Horsham as streets on the north and south side of the Wimmera had minor flooding by 4pm (AEDT) on Monday, while some local roads were already closed.
Residents in more than 100 Horsham homes received emergency alerts earlier on Monday.
The rising Wimmera is expected to peak late on Monday night or Tuesday morning.
Homes on the south side of the river, which runs through the town, are expected to be the worst hit.
"SES has been busy undertaking sandbagging for what is expected to be a one-in-200-year event," SES spokesman Hugo Zoller told AAP.
The SES says there is a risk at least 200 people could be isolated from power if the Wimmera peaks as high as expected.
Authorities are confident that sandbagging will protect the electricity sub-station at Horsham.
Extra bags are being put in place to build a second levee around the sub-station at Kerang which would affect 20,000 people in northwestern Victoria if hit by the floods.
Kerang is expected to be cut off as floodwaters reach the town in the next few days.
Levee banks protecting the town of Kerang in Victoria's north have been breached and residents have been told to get out while they can.
The State Emergency Services (SES) says the integrity of the levee has been compromised in many locations and that the townspeople should evacuate their homes and get to the relief centre set up at the Barham Services Club.
"You should ensure you have left your property immediately," the SES said.
Walls of water kilometres wide are flowing across northern and western Victoria in the wake of record rainfall last week.
In the wheatbelt town of Warracknabeal in the state's west the SES said residents around the Yarriamback Creek are likely to be impacted by floodwaters.
It said houses from Rainbow Street to Henty Highway on the western side of the highway, and streets around the Warracknabeal Secondary School and across to the cemetery are under threat.
Almost 200 houses are threatened.
SES state duty officer John Parker says work is continuing in Kerang and Horsham to protect two key substations that supply much of western and northwestern Victoria and some parts of southwestern NSW with power.
The Mallee town of Beulah, on the Yarriambiack Creek, is also a concern for emergency crews in coming days, Mr Parker said.
"We're also mindful of what impact all this water will have on the Murray River, he said.
"We're concentrating on preparation work in smaller communities along the river to keep the water out."
The Wimmera River is expected to peak in the town of Dimboola, downstream from flood-hit Horsham, home to about 1,800, on Thursday and at Jeparit further north the same day or Friday.
Levee saves Warracknabeal
17:23 AEST Wed Jan 19 2011
A six kilometre long levee bank built mostly by residents may have saved Warracknabeal from a disastrous once-in-200 year flood.
Hundreds of residents spent all of Tuesday and Wednesday building the levee and sandbagging in an operation co-ordinated by Yarriambiack Shire council and local businessman, Richard Wilken.
The Yarriambiack Creek peaked in the western Victorian town at (AEDT) on Wednesday but will still pressure the town's struggling temporary levee banks until Thursday.
By the time the creek peaked, the water was close to the top of the levee banks and would have flooded homes if not for the levee.
State Emergency Service incident controller Ray Jasper said the levee was holding but 177 homes were still under threat in Warracknabeal.
"The worst is not over here in Warracknabeal. The water will push on the temporary levee until tomorrow lunchtime," Mr Jasper told reporters.
"The levee's leaking ... and they're patching as it goes. We have enough resources now to fix those when we can, we've got to make sure the temporary levee holds."
He said 42,000 sandbags are already in place and another 13,000 will be put down to protect the 177 homes.
Exhausted residents in the most vulnerable streets close to the creek watched the floodwater flow close to their homes, but Mr Jasper said only one home - outside Warracknabeal - had been inundated.
"There's one just upstream that has (been flooded), it's outside the levy, but none in town yet, due to this temporary levee," he said.
Many locals stayed optimistic.
"It's okay, as long as no one gets hurt," one local, who called himself Slim, told AAP.
Premier Ted Baillieu visited flood-affected towns, including Warracknabeal, on Wednesday and said people had to keep preparing and stay vigilant as the floodwaters moved downstream towards the Murray River.
"There is a large inland sea moving its way down these northern rivers, the Wimmera, the Avoca, the Loddon, the Campaspe and heading to the Murray, downstream towns like Warracknabeal are now at risk," he told reporters."
Mr Baillieu extended thanks to volunteers and organisations such as the SES and the Country Fire Authority Victoria.
"An enormous amount of effort has already been put in here at Warracknabeal ... the efforts from the SES, the efforts from the CFA workers, the efforts from service clubs and volunteers, from towns and communities has been extraordinary ... it is a part of what is an extraordinary demonstration of Australian spirit right across eastern Australia the last few weeks."
Rose
Well done for all the information etc you have posted up in this and the other thread regarding the floods.
Hoping all site members are safe and well.
Three flooded Victorian rivers are heading into the town of Swan Hill in the state's north where residents hope a levee will save their homes.
More than 120,000 sandbags have been sent to the town to protect the most vulnerable properties among the population of about 10,000 people.
The levee is expected to hold and protect the town with flood levels expected to peak in the next two days, a State Emergency Service (SES) spokeswoman said.
"There might be a small amount of water get into the town but a lot of work is being done in Swan Hill," she told AAP.
However, little can probably be done for outlying communities which have already been inundated in record floods that have swamped Victoria's north and west.
When the flood crisis is over, a huge reconstruction task awaits, with severe damage to towns and vital infrastructure and businesses and the farming sector suffering losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
More than 70 towns are affected, including 4300 people and 1700 properties.
Relief centres have been opened at Swan Hill and Cohuna.
The Avoca, Loddon and Campaspe rivers were among a myriad of water courses that could cause the Murray River to spill its banks between Kerang and Swan Hill, SES spokesman Kevin Monk said.
"It's a braided network of waterways," Mr Monk told AAP.
One of the affected townships, Pental Island, is seven kilometres southeast of Swan Hill and is expected to be isolated with up to 50 homes expected to be evacuated ahead of flooding from the Murray to the north and the Little Murray to its south.
"Pental Island will be isolated for one to two weeks as waters flow into the area," Mr Monk said.
Pental Island has a population of about 380, with two bridges linking the area.
Mary and Alan Greenham, who run the Pental Island Caravan Park and Holiday Farm, are looking across at an empty campground as waters rise around them.
"Everyone has gone home," Mrs Greenham said. "We had a group due to come in this week and we told them not to come."
She said her husband was on Sunday using a grader to help hold the Little Murray levee bank, with waters in both rivers due to peak by Tuesday.
The south bridge to the island was closed, Mrs Greenham said.
The waters are causing major flooding in the Murray, Australia's longest river, and in coming days will threaten townships downstream of Swan Hill towards Mildura, more than 200km away.
Kerang remains isolated and could stay that way for another two weeks, with the waters having dropped only eight centimetres in the past two days, the SES says.
Further southwest in the Wimmera, the floodwaters that swept through Horsham remain high at Jeparit but are receding and much of it will be absorbed by Lake Hindmarsh, which is Victoria's largest freshwater lake and may be filled for the first time since 1996.
Police said on Sunday the use of boats has also been banned in flood-affected rivers.
