Residents In Melbourne’s North-West Ordered To Evacuate As Maribyrnong River Rises

Residents in areas of north-west Melbourne and six Victorian towns have been given evacuation orders after torrential rains lashed the state.

An emergency warning was issued for the Maribyrnong River at Maribyrnong at 5.40am, forcing hundreds of people to leave their homes and move to higher ground as water started lapping at doorways.

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About 30 homes and units have been evacuated in the area, with another 30 on high alert.

Streets impacted include Burton Crescent, Chifley Drive, Clyde, Duffy, Ensign, Leopold, Navigation and Oakland streets and Raleigh Rd.

The state's emergency management commissioner Andrew Crisp said the states emergency service had conducted 120 flood rescues as of 7am, with the number of assists “going up by the minute”.

Victorian SES, Josh Gamble, told Radio National this morning that "we haven’t had that many flood rescues in quite some time, for many years."

"People I think are a little bit complacent and they think a little bit of water will not float their vehicle and will not float their vehicle downstream and off bridges. But that is what occurs, and it only takes a very small amount of water.

- Victoria SES Josh Gamble

Evacuation orders have also been issued for Seymour, Wedderburn and Carisbrook and parts of Benella.

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