Thousands of residents in eastern Victoria have been told to evacuate their homes as rising rivers break their banks, just days after the region was ravaged by bushfires.
People in Tinamba, Tinamba West, Newry, Mewburn Park, Bellbird Corner, Riverslea and Maffra were told to leave immediately on Wednesday night due to flooding expected from 10pm.
Early on Thursday, they were told it was not safe to return.
"We estimate up to 130 properties may be impacted," the State Emergency Service's David Baker told ABC TV.
"It's mainly homes in that area, rural homes, that may see what we call above-floor inundation."
Significant inflows into Lake Glenmaggie dam, near Maffra, continued into early Thursday, prompting an increase in the release of water to more than 58,000 megalitres a day from 1am.
The Macalister River downstream of Lake Glenmaggie also measured at 6.87 metres on Thursday morning, which was above the major flood level.
Residents were told to gather their pets, mobile phones and medications and head to a relief centre set up at Gippsland Regional Sports Group in Sale to bunker down outside the flood zone.
Most residents had heeded the evacuation orders and moved to higher ground, Mr Baker said.
"We have assets in the local area and crews staged in the Maffra township to be able to respond as need be," he said.
"But at this stage, encouragingly, we have not had to undergo any rescues."
A separate evacuation order was issued for residents near the Wonnangatta River at Waterford, with major flooding occurring.
In the 24 hours to 1am on Thursday, more than 80mm of rain had fallen.
Most of the state's east is under flood watch, with dozens of communities told to be on alert for moderate flooding.
The next few days would be challenging but further heavy rain was not expected, Mr Baker said.
"The big tap in the sky has been turned off - that's great news for us," he said.
"What we're dealing with now is what's currently in the river systems that will need to flush itself through the systems.
"We can assess that and we can manage that and put efforts in place to make sure that communities are out of harm's way."
The State Emergency Service received more than 300 calls in the 24 hours to 2pm on Wednesday as rivers continued to rise and damaging winds lashed outer Melbourne and Gippsland.
Most calls for assistance were connected to flooding and building damage, according to state duty officer Shane McBride.
A farmer had to be rescued from floodwaters on Tuesday night in Alexandra after getting into trouble while trying to rescue cattle on a tractor.
Footage from the incident showed the vehicle stranded in gushing water metres away from what appeared to be a dirt road.
The 43-year-old man suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to hospital.
In Gippsland, warnings for fires at Briagolong and Loch Sport have been downgraded to advice level, with the focus firmly on flood risk zones after about 100mm of rain fell in the area.
About 700 firefighters spent three days battling two blazes, with one home lost in Briagolong but no reports of serious injury.
The cause of that blaze, which burnt about 17,500 hectares, is under investigation.
