VicEmergency issued a flash-flood alert for Halls Gap about noon, warning heavy rainfall was causing localised flooding.
“If you are located in Halls Gap, you are in danger. You should immediately move indoors, away from floodwater,” the alert says. “Do not enter floodwater.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese cancelled a visit to Horsham on Wednesday due to a severe weather warning for the area.
Reid said river catchments that were already saturated from Victoria’s record-breaking floods in October could flood again.
“It is something that will be monitored very closely and people just need to be aware of if they have been flooded [recently], depending where they are,” she said.
Seven and Castle Creeks near Euroa, and the Upper Murray and Mitta Mitta Rivers near Wodonga, are also under watch.
Reid said the warning covered the western parts of the state, including the Wimmera, down through the south-west and up into the Mallee.
“We do also have that severe weather warning continuing along the Ranges for the damaging winds as well,” she said.
“So there’s quite a broad area that’s covered by that one warning, looking at heavy rainfall and damaging wind gusts.”
Radar images for Melbourne and Victoria on Wednesday.Credit: Bureau of Meteorology
The warning follows an announcement from the bureau on Tuesday that it was upgrading the chance of El Nino this year to 70 per cent, which typically means warmer and drier conditions.
Reid said even in the middle of an El Nino there is still a chance of heavy rain events.
“They just don’t add up to as much as you would expect over the whole season,” she said.
Reid said the areas that are likely to be affected by heavy rainfall could change over the course of the day, as the cold front moves from west to east.
The bureau will update its flood advice at 2pm on Wednesday.
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