Australia live flood updates: Echuca locals watch levee as they wait for flood waters to peak; Sydney’s wettest October | Australia weather

Some shops are starting to reopen in Echuca, including the Echuca branch of the Beechworth Bakery.

Closer to the levee, things are more tense.

This is the latest from reporter Cait Kelly in Echuca. She’s standing on the controversial makeshift levee, which has divided the town into two halves. On one side houses are dry, on the other the water is rising.

Farmers facing tough decisions in Victoria

Wiebusch says he flew over flood-affected areas and saw the flooding on farming and cropping country, particularly in the Avoca, Loddon and Campaspe catchments – areas in the irrigation country in the north of the state.

That means our farmers are doing it tough at this time. They’re having to make decisions about where to put stock and the like. Again, to our farmers, if you find yourself in need of assistance, Agriculture Victoria is contacting primary producers, but you can contact 1800 226 226 and select option three for agricultural relief and recovery services.

He also mentioned the ongoing recovery efforts in Maribyrnong in Melbourne.

Disaster relief Australia has been coordinating around 100 volunteers, helping local communities clean up in their area, along with Fire Rescue Victoria that has been supporting the hosing out of those properties as well.

He says the focus of recovery and clean-up efforts will move to Mooroopna, on the Goulburn near Shepparton, and Rochester, on the Campaspe near Bendigo, in the coming days.

There is now a dedicated deputy incident controller at Rochester “to make sure there’s a focused effort on what has been a very impacted community,” he says.

About 80% of Rochester went underwater, and the town has complained of feeling abandoned by emergency services during the emergency and in the immediate aftermath.

Asked about reports people in Rochester are having difficulty accessing emergency accomodation, Wiebusch says:

Look, at this stage the emergency accommodation is provided through the relief centre out of Bendigo and also through local accommodation options. We have teams on the ground that are connecting with those community members that have been directly impacted and offering those services. But if there’s people that are now finding they do need that, … the 1800 number is the best location. 1800 560 760 and those accommodation options can be provided in the short term.

Water levels have peaks at Kerang and Echuca, Victorian SES say

SES chief officer operations Tim Wiebusch says water levels appear to have peaked at Kerang and Echuca.

At Kerang the river is at 77.88m AHD “and is likely to remain steady around that level for the next four to five days before it starts to recede”.

At Echuca Weir, the Murray River has reached 94.9m AHD, which Wiebusch says is expected to be the peak.

We may see a very small rise above that. But it’s intended to stay steady at that level for several days before we’ll start to see it receding in and around Echuca.

He adds:

With the rainfall that is anticipated, you have just heard we could be in [flood] response again in a number of catchments in the coming days, particularly the Seven and Castle creeks around Euroa. But I guess the good news for communities on the Goulburn River, from Murchison through to Shepparton, and the communities down stream of Rochester and the like, at this stage we’re only looking at moderate flooding levels, potentially at the upper end, if we see that upper flood level.

More rain on the way for Victoria; 10th wettest October on record

Victorian authorities are giving a flood update

We’re expecting to hear an update from the Victorian state control centre in just a few minutes.

Sydney’s wettest October

Evacuation warning for low-lying areas of Mudgee

This is some footage of the Cudgegong River at Mudgee in central western NSW yesterday.

The Windamere Dam, upstream of the town, is full. The WaterNSW website currently lists its level as 103.4% capacity.

That’s bad news for areas of Mudgee along the river, which used to flood regularly before the dam was built.

There has been an evacuation warning for low-lying areas of Mudgee including the Riverside caravan park, Loy Avenue and Costigan Court, all on the banks of the Cudgegong, since yesterday afternoon.

The latest SES advice for the area, released midday yesterday, says:

Moderate to heavy rainfall overnight has caused river level rises across the Cudgegong River and Windamere Dam catchment as well as localised flash flooding.

Windamere Dam is currently spilling into the Cudgegong River. As a result, flash flooding is a risk in downstream communities, as the water spilling form Windamere Dam is not controlled by flood gates.

The NSW SES are asking residents and travellers in the Mudgee region and surrounds to be prepared for changing road conditions, including flooded creek crossings and causeways.

Flood prep (again) in Lismore

The community at Lismore has sadly become very used to floods this year, so they know what to do.

The river could rise to 9.7m by tomorrow, making it the third major flood in the northern rivers town in eight months.

The crew at the Koori Mail, which was nearly lost to flood waters earlier this year, have started the flood prep again to protect the building.

Kangaroos seek higher ground in northern Victoria

The flood waters have brought kangaroos into town in Echuca.

BoM cancels severe weather warning for several Victorian districts

The Bureau of Meteorology has cancelled a severe weather warning for the central, Mallee, south-west, northern and Wimmera forecast districts.

This is where the area that was covered by the warning:

Earlier this hour, the BoM said:

Rainfall will continue over western Victoria today, but is no longer expected to be severe.

Our rural reporter Fleur Connick is in Deniliquin, a town in southern NSW, about 77km north of Echuca and the Murray River.

The Edward River, an branch of the Murray River, runs through the Riverina town. Moderate flooding is currently occurring at the Edward River at Deniliquin and Stevens Weir, with heights of 8m at 6.4m respectively expected later this week.

The SES in NSW has issued a watch and act for the town, warning low-lying areas may be impacted by flood waters.

Flood warning for South Australia

Heavy rain across South Australia’s mid-north and in the Riverland has caused localised flooding, closing roads and prompting dozens of calls for help.

More from AAP:

A watch and act warning remains in place for Stockport, about 75km north of Adelaide, where rising waters in the Light and Gilbert rivers pose a threat to local homes.

The State Emergency Service says people in the area should prepare for flooding and if they plan to leave should do so now.

Sandbags have been made available in Stockport and Tarlee.

A flood advice message was also issued on Sunday night for the Murray River towns of Renmark and Berri but by Monday morning the Bureau of Meteorology had cancelled a severe weather warning for the region.

The SES said it received more than 70 emergency calls on Sunday including one related to a motorist who drove into flood waters and became trapped.

Police said the heavy rain had closed a number of roads across the mid-north, in the Clare and Barossa valleys and in the Riverland.

They said others were also affected by water and urged motorists to take care.

The localised flooding at the weekend added to the concern for River Murray communities expected to be affected by rising water levels during the next few weeks.

Flows down the Murray are expected to rise to 120 gigalitres a day by early December as water from the NSW and Victorian floods makes its way down the river system.

Those high flows are expected to inundate some riverside homes, shacks, businesses and community infrastructure.

Aerial photos show extensive flooding in Moree

Here are some more of those aerial photos showing the extent of flooding in Moree in northern NSW.

Drone photos show extent of Moree floods

Rafqa Touma