Record spring rains drench Victoria, flood warning lingers in Gippsland

Why This Matters

• Record totals in towns such as Briagolong point to heavily saturated catchments, where any further rain could trigger flash flooding.
• The Thompson River at Wandocka remains at watch-and-act level, with the potential for major flooding still on the table.
• The wet start to spring follows a week in which Melbourne saw cars trapped under floodwater, highlighting the danger of the current conditions.

Background

Victoria's spring is typically a transitional period between winter's wet and the drier months of summer, with October often bringing changeable weather. What makes this event significant is the scale of the rainfall, with multiple stations breaking records for both single-day and 72-hour totals. The Bureau of Meteorology collects these measurements from stations across the state, and the records set over the weekend reflect how widespread the wet weather has been.

Key Perspectives

VicEmergency: The warning agency is treating floodwater as an immediate danger, urging residents not to enter it and maintaining a watch-and-act alert for the Thompson River at Wandocka. Bureau of Meteorology: The bureau is the source of the rainfall data and is forecasting warmer conditions later this week, which would ease the immediate flood risk. Affected communities: Residents of Gippsland towns including Briagolong, and areas near Lorne, face the immediate risk of flooding and the longer task of cleaning up after record rainfall.

What to Watch

• The Thompson River at Wandocka: whether the watch-and-act warning escalates to a major flood warning as water levels respond to the rain.
• The forecast shift to warmer weather later this week, and whether it arrives without further downpours.
• Any additional rainfall on already saturated catchments across Gippsland and the Great Ocean Road.