Floodwaters are rising across eastern Victoria, as emergency crews continue the fight to protect homes and farmland.
Residents of the Port of Sale were urged to move to higher ground late on Thursday, with fears the area could become inundated by Friday.
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State Emergency Service volunteers went door to door alerting locals.
Authorities say areas most at risk are likely to include the South Gippsland Hwy, Sale Mwy, Dargo St and other streets near the Thomson River.
Flood water submerges farmland outside Tinamba in eastern Victoria. Credit: James Ross/AAP
VicSES state duty officer Shane McBride said he was also concerned about communities around Wangaratta.
More than a dozen other watch and act alerts are in effect across eastern Victoria, including for the Mitchell River at Bairnsdale which the Bureau of Meteorology warned was likely to reach major flood level overnight.
McBride said flooding was unpredictable and urged locals to stay aware of updates through the VicEmergency App.
“It’s a dynamic situation we are in at the moment and unfortunately it keeps changing,” he told AAP.
He said there had been 115 calls for assistance in the 24 hours to 4pm on Thursday but no more reports of driving through floodwater.
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Crews are on standby to assist with the unfolding emergency over the weekend and anyone told to evacuate should leave immediately, McBride added.
“If people do knock on your door please listen to them, listen to the message that we are trying to get to people because sometimes it’s too late to leave,” he said.
An alert for Tinamba, Tinamba West, Newry, Mewburn Park, Bellbird Corner, Riverslea and Maffra was downgraded to a moderate flood warning late on Thursday.
An SES vehicle crosses through floodwater in Tinamba in eastern Victoria. Credit: AAP
Earlier the SES warned about 100 homes near Maffra could have been inundated, while some locals in Tinamba stayed behind to protect the town and farmland by building a levee and sandbagging homes.
The flood emergency comes days after 700 firefighters spent days battling two bushfires in Gippsland, with one home lost but no reports of serous injury.
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