Yarra bursts banks as floods hit Melbourne
Megan Levy, Thomas Hunter
January 14, 2011 - 2:11PM
Sunshine is coming... eventually!
Despite heavy rainfall lashing parts of Victoria in the past 48 hours, meteorologist Josh Fisher says conditions will be clearing for the weekend.
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Driving rain has caused flash flooding across Melbourne today, with cars stuck in deep water in the north of the city and the Yarra River bursting its banks this afternoon.
Victoria Police said a number of cars were inundated in Stubbs Street and Macaulay Road in Kensington, while many other city roads were failing to cope with the intense deluge.
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The Yarra River has burst its banks, with motorists on Alexandra Avenue and Batman Avenue saying the walking track beside the river had been completely swamped.
Meantime the Napier Street underpass in Footscray has also been closed as the intense rain continued to fall.
Roads have also been flooded in South Melbourne, North Melbourne, St Kilda, Research, Tarneit and Maribyrnong.
Eighty Melbourne homes and a popular pub in the city's west are in danger of inundation when floodwaters flow into the lower reaches of the Maribyrnong River late this afternoon, the State Emergency Service said.
SES spokesman Scott Hilditch said 85 millimetres of rain fell on the upper reaches of the Werribee River yesterday, which was coursing down the Werribee and Maribyrnong rivers.
‘‘We’re going to undertaking some doorknocking in Maribyrnong from 3pm this afternoon due to the flooding,’’ Mr Hilditch said.
‘‘For Maribyrnong, near the Angler’s Tavern, the river will peak about 6pm. The water will come close to inundating the pub, and possibly isolate 80 homes.
‘‘There will be a second peak tomorrow, obviously, following the amount of rain that has come down today.’’
Mr Hilditch said the township of Werribee was not under threat from rising water.
He said SES workers had been in contact with a number of businesses including the Werribee Zoo and boat owners around the Werribee South area.
At the Angler’s Tavern on the Maribyrnong, staff spent the morning sandbagging the front of the popular pub riverbank pub.
‘‘We sandbagged the hell out of the place and so far it is holding,’’ Justin Nott the tavern’s supervisor said.
‘‘It’s not high tide until about 6pm, so we will see what happens then,’’ he said.
‘‘We’re still serving and they are just watching the [swollen] river go by.’’
VicRoads is calling on residents in the areas to be aware of the road closures and avoid unnecessary travel.
VicRoads is warning the bad weather may cause slippery conditions, flash flooding, reduce visibility and cause debris and trees to fall over the road.
The chaos on the city's roads is also being experienced across the state, with police advising motorists not to use the Surf Coast Highway from Torquay to Geelong due to flooding. Drivers should also avoid Nillumbik in the Diamond Creek area.
Sections of the Calder and Loddon Valley Highways north of Bendigo have also been closed due to floodwaters.
In the state's north the Calder Highway has been closed at Marong, the Pyrenees Highway is closed between Newstead and the Castlemaine-Maldon Road, and the Wimmera Highway is closed between Newbridge and also Logan and St Arnaud.
In the western region the Sunraysia Highway is closed in both directions at Lexton, the Western Highway is closed between Ballarat and Horsham, the Wimmera Highway is closed between Newbridge and Marong, and Logan-Wedderburn Road and St Arnaud.
Meanwhile, a 40-kilometre section of the Great Ocean Road remains closed between Skenes Creek and Lorne today, two days after intense rain caused flash flooding and rockslides in the area.
VicRoads crews were scheduled to drive the Great Ocean Road early today to record damage from the strong winds and heavy rain that have battered the area.
A VicRoads spokeswoman said the road remained closed until further notice.
For the latest road closures see
www.vicroads.vic.gov.au
- with Paul Millar
