Wangaratta on major flood alert after heavy downpour

The Ovens River could reach major flooding in Wangaratta by Tuesday morning according to the Bureau of Meteorology, as the rural city received a month’s worth of rain in one day on Sunday. According to the Bureau, 67.2mm of rain fell in Wangaratta, more than 11mm more than the rural city’s historical average rain total for the month of August. Up to 115mm fell in Cheshunt, 103.2mm in the King Valley, 51mm in Milawa, 48.8mm in Everton Upper and 39.2mm in Whorouly. Mt Buffalo recorded the heaviest rainfall within the region with 165.6mm. The King River at Cheshunt peaked at moderate flooding of 2.44m Monday morning before falling to 2.25m by 3pm. The Ovens River at Wangaratta reached 11m by 3pm on Monday and was expected to peak near moderate flooding levels of 12.4m throughout the night. At Rocky Point, the Ovens River sat at 3.75m and continued to rise towards moderate flooding. On Monday afternoon the Bureau issued a major flood warning for Wangaratta, with the potential for floodwater to surpass 12.7m. Wangaratta VICSES Unit controller Jess Zuber said local volunteers prepared sandbags at the Painters Island Caravan Park near Apex Park on Sunday and responded to multiple incidents overnight for fallen trees and flooding. “Our unit has been quite busy, volunteers have been out all night, morning and all Sunday,” she said. “Because of the previous rainfall, the rivers were already quite high, so it's not going to take as much. “We are expecting very similar to what we had a month ago, but we know every flood is different, so we just have to wait and see.” Following a multi-day deluge early last month, the Ovens River at Wangaratta peaked just below major flooding at 12.58m. In the early hours of Monday morning SES responded to two rescues within an hour of each other in the rural city. A VICSES spokesperson said a person and their dog were stranded at a campsite in Markwood and required help from Myrtleford and Benalla unit volunteers. The Wangaratta unit assisted two people who were in a vehicle stuck in flood water at Edi. The spokesperson said Ambulance Victoria paramedics assessed the person stranded at Markwood, but no one was hurt and the incidents were cleared. Ms Zuber said Chiltern, Yarrawonga, Benalla and Wodonga units remained on standby to assist with any further water rescues. A Rural City of Wangaratta Council spokesperson said more than 20 roads within the council area were affected by floodwater. Ms Zuber urged the community to take appropriate precautions around floodwater and avoid it if possible. For local emergency management warnings and advice visit www.emergency.vic.gov.au or download and visit the VicEmergency app. For SES emergency assistance, call 132 500.

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