PORT Fairy was on alert last night as the town's Moyne River continued to rise, sparking a flood warning during yesterday's relentless downpour.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The river at Toolong was 4.12 metres last night and rising, far exceeding the severity of the 2001 flood when it reached a height of 3.7 metres.
With about 75mm of rainfall descending on the waterway in the past two days, rising streams were expected to arrive in Port Fairy late last night or this morning.
It will put more pressure on residents and local emergency crews, who are already battling with the clean-up from yesterday's deluge.
A caravan park was evacuated about 2.30pm after the river broke its banks, forcing preparations for flooding damage. The SES was delivering sand bags to nearby residents, as the town felt the brunt of a fierce storm that battered the south-west of the state.
Water had almost reached the town's Golf Course Road by 7.30 last night and the airstrip was under water as was the local footy oval.
One Griffiths Street resident said she was expecting a long night.
''The kids think it's exciting, but I am going to keep a watch on it,'' the mother of three said.
Standing in a sea of water in Southcombe Caravan Park, manager Bob Napier said water had gone into the garage and under the office but the building had evaded any damage.
"The main problem is when we get a lot of rain the Port Fairy stormwater pipes are under water and it sits there until low tide, when it can eventually run out," he said.
The Shaw River at Orford is also understood to have broken its banks, with flooding also seen at the river in Yambuk.
The Bureau of Meterology issued a flood watch for the Otway Ranges, with up to 30mm of rain expected for the region overnight into today.
With the catchments already wet due to recent rainfall, there is potential for minor flooding today.
While it has seen about 60mm of rain in the past 36 hours, Port Fairy is a long way off experiencing anything like the town was dealt in the famous flood of 1946.
At the same time as a peak tide, the town recorded its highest-ever rainfall of 205.5mm over two days and the bridge over the Moyne at Gipps Street was blocked by hay and debris sweeping down the river.
