Live blog, October 17: Greater Shepparton preparing volunteer register, Echuca-Moama bracing for record floods

A reminder: the most recent news updates are at the top of this blog. As you scroll down, you’ll be travelling backwards in time.

Ensure you stay across alerts on the Vic Emergency app, the Victoria SES website or calling 132 500 if you urgently need assistance. Call 000 in an emergency and remember to never drive through or enter floodwaters.

If you need to contact us, please email editor@sheppnews.com.au — all our editorial staff have been cut off from the office.

UPDATE, 6pm: Signing off

Unless we have some urgent news come through tonight, I’ll leave the blog here with a few more photos.

It’s been a heavy few days so if you’ll allow me to look at the lighter side.

This is senior reporter Monique Preston's cat Pippa hard at work getting information out to everyone during today.

I also liked this tweet from Chris from Katunga of one of Shepparton’s iconic cows at Monash Park.

UPDATE, 5.40pm: Mooroopna pharmacy getting ready to help

Paul Wickham Pharmacy in Mooroopna was already putting plans in place to help its customers get access to medications after it was flooded.

Mr Wickham, family members and friends waded into the pharmacy on the corner of McLennan St and Young St this afternoon to retrieve as much stock as possible out of the pharmacy by boat.

His partner Lea Campbell said they were hoping to dispense medications from the Tatura Relief Centre to people who needed them.

They are already working with retirement villages to coordinate access to medication.

They are also working on ways to get medication to clients who are not able to get out of flooded areas in Mooroopna, which may mean taking it by boat.

Dr Campbell said the pharmacy would also take on new customers needing to access medication.

While it is not known exactly when the pharmacy will move its relief efforts, the owners hope to do so as soon as possible.

The pharmacy will post on its Facebook page when it is up and running with services available from elsewhere.

UPDATE, 5.20pm: Ambulance services still operating

Ambulance services in Mooroopna are still operating from Tatura, and both Mooroopna and Shepparton ambulance services are working with the SES to access patients who are stranded and require emergency treatment.

Shepparton area manager Steve Doyle said Ambulance Victoria were keeping track of the situation.

“We are monitoring road closures and adjusting our responses accordingly. So far we have had no negative outcomes to access to the patients,” Mr Doyle said.

“Airlifting is an option we haven’t had to utilise at this point but we do have access to a helicopter at this point if needed.”

People are encouraged to contact triple zero (000) if they require emergency medical attention.

UPDATE, 5.10pm: Flood warning for towns downstream of Echuca

A moderate flood warning has been issued for Gunbower, Leitchville, Patho and Torrumbarry this afternoon.

According to the warning, modelling suggests the Torrumbarry levy may overtop and work is being done to reinforce the levy.

It is unclear how successful the works will be at this stage.

Break out flows from the Murray River at Torrumbarry may potentially affect Gunbower and Leitchville.

Residents are being urged to prepare for flooding now; “take actions to protect your life and property against potential hazards caused by flooding”.

UPDATE, 4.45pm: Volunteer register to be set up

For people looking for ways to help flood victims, Greater Shepparton City Council has put out some new advice this afternoon.

The council is working on a specific volunteer register to co-ordinate flood recovery efforts, which it will promote shortly.

When it comes to food donations, the emergency relief centres are unable to accept prepared meals from the community for food safety reasons and potential food wastage.

Arrangements are in place for bulk food provision for this week and next for the relief centres.

“We appreciate the offers of food for flood impacted residents which is heart-warming,” a spokesperson said.

“As an alternative we suggest you cook now and freeze either for yourself or for family, friends and neighbours in coming weeks.”

Council said relief centres also do not have any need for material donations, such as clothing, bedding etc at the moment.

This is being organised through organisations who specifically deal with emergencies, however if this changes council will reach out to the community.

Finally, council said the generosity and kindness of the community was “incredible”.

UPDATE, 4.30pm: Residents still preparing their homes

Residents along Broken River Dve near Archer St were far from celebrating the news that the river had peaked, with many still preparing their houses.

News reporter Daniel Webb spoke to resident Ricky-Lee who said she expected to see more water out the front of her home than she did this morning.

“When we got up this morning and heard that it had peaked we were pretty happy, but we feel sad for the other people that actually got flooded,” she said.

Still sandbagging her house, the Broken River Dve resident of nine years was receiving help from friends in order to protect the family home from further rises.

“It’s good to see everyone getting help, even from strangers,” she said.

Another resident said seven snakes had been spotted along the street, driven out by the floodwaters.

UPDATE, 3.40pm: Supermarkets still closed in Mooroopna

It’s business as usual for Shepparton’s supermarkets but Mooroopna’s Woolworths and ALDI remain closed.

News cadet journalist Patrick Morrow checked in with the big three to see how they were faring.

“Our Mooroopna store is currently closed as road access has been cut off,” a Woolworths spokesperson said.

“We will work to reopen it as soon as it is safe to do so.”

Coles and Woolworths said they were working hard to find alternative routes to get essential food and supplied into their Shepparton stores.

Read the full story here.

UPDATE, 3.30pm: Community wraps its arms around each other

Chargrilled Chicken owner Jerry Barolli and his team have fed more than 900 flood evacuees at relief centres across the region.

Today they dropped off meals to feed about 300 people, two pallets of bottled water and apples.

Last night they were able to provide food at the relief centre over the Goulburn River at the Ballantyne Centre in Tatura.

“A lady came up yesterday and started crying; you know, there’s a lot of heartache,” Mr Barolli said.

Read the full story here from News’ Caitlyn Grant.

UPDATE, 3.10pm: Thumbs up for sandbagging efforts

Joining local residents, emergency services and ADF personnel, the Rapid Relief Team (RRT) volunteers from the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church deployed their rapid sandbagging machine in Shepparton on Saturday.

RRT operations manager Michael Dunn said they left Emu Plains in NSW at 5pm on Friday, after packing the sandbagging machine onto a semi-trailer, alongside 18,000 sandbags.

The machine can usually produce up to one thousand bags per hour – or about two bags per second – depending on the quality of the sand available.

“Getting into Shepparton in the early hours of Saturday morning was understandably a little tricky – but no amount of rain was going to stop us from safely getting these bags to folk in Victoria,” Mr Dunn said.

“We cannot praise the efforts of the local residents and ADF personnel enough – everyone has rolled up their sleeves and pitched in.”

RRT also served 635 meals to locals based at the Shepparton relief centre who had evacuated from their homes.

RRT is hoping to set up their sandbagger next in Kerang, near the Victoria-NSW border, with 10,000 sandbags ready to go.

UPDATE, 3pm: Business owners under the pump

As if the past few years haven’t been hard enough on businesses, many in the Goulburn Valley are now dealing with impacts of the floods.

News reporter James Kleeman has checked in with a few in central Shepparton today.

On Maude St, Melissa De Temple, owner of Baking Dough, has re-opened today despite missing seven of her staff.

“We were open on Saturday and that was a bit scary because half our staff had to leave to go home because of the flooding; one of our staff members lives in Kialla West so she took off immediately before the roads shut,” Ms De Temple said.

“Now we’re down two bakers because they’re in Mooroopna, a packer who’s in Broken River Dve who’s flooded in; there was basically my husband and one driver doing all of last night on their own, when we usually have at least five or six people on.”

Meanwhile Arlind Nebiu, owner of My Mates Pizza, has had help from his son Albion, 12, with most of his chefs stuck at home.

“We're struggling with staff... most of the chefs are stuck in their house and can't go anywhere, we had one worker last night and that was about it,” he said.

“We were very concerned (about the flooding); I didn't have much sleep, we have three shops here, but now it's getting a little better.

“It's positive to see the water hasn't arrived here."

UPDATE, 2.40pm: Echuca-Moama major flood warning

Major flooding similar to or exceeding the 1993 flood is possible at Echuca and Moama from mid this week.

Major flooding along the Goulburn and Campaspe rivers is set to combine with flows down the Murray River at Echuca and Moama.

River levels have exceeded the 2016 flood level of 93.39m AHD with minor flooding.

Levels may reach higher than the 1993 flood of 94.77m AHD, and as this water moves downstream, significant major flooding is expected at Torrumbarry and Barham.

Forecasts will be updated as upstream peaks are observed along the along the Goulburn and Campaspe Rivers.

You might have noticed the Murray River level has AHD after it, this stands for Australian Height Datum and refers to the height above mean sea level.

Water is already making its way towards Moama’s main street, Meninya St, this afternoon, as seen in this video from the Riverine Herald’s sports reporter turned flood correspondent Josh Huntly.

UPDATE, 2.15pm: Major flooding easing at Kialla West

The Seven Creeks peaked at 7.2m at Kialla West on Saturday night and major flooding is easing.

It is now at 7.10 metres and falling, but is expected to remain above the major flood level of 6.6m during Monday.

UPDATE, 2.10pm: Minor flood warning for Nathalia

Minor flooding is happening along the Broken Creek at Walsh’s Bridge and is likely at Nathalia from Tuesday morning.

Heavy rainfall last week has caused river level rises along the Boosey Creek, Muckatah Creek and Broken Creek.

The Broken Creek at Nathalia is at 1.44m and rising slowly and is likely to the exceed the minor flood level of 1.5m on Tuesday morning.

The Broken Creek at Numurkah is currently at 5.95m and steady as at 10.10am.

A community meeting is being held at the Numurkah Town Hall today at 5.30pm.

UPDATE, 2pm: What we’re seeing around town

Our reporters are still out and about today, sending back photos and updates on the situation in Shepparton and Echuca.

(Unfortunately we have no access to Mooroopna due to the flooding but have been keeping in contact with locals to hear what they are experiencing.)

UPDATE, 1.55pm: Mooroopna sandbags available

Volunteers alongside council workers are filling up sandbags at Ardmona Resource Recovery Centre, 770 Turnbull Road.

There are 2000 bags filled and ready to go; residents are free to come now and take what they need.

Another group of volunteers are delivering sandbags around the area in canoes and 4WD.

The Facebook page Mooroopna Sandbaggers has been created to assist with immediate assistance of sandbagging in Mooroopna.

If you are unable to pick up sandbags and are in need of them, comment your address in the group and whether you will need them delivered by canoe or a 4WD.

Anything above the knee will need to be delivered by canoe.

UPDATE, 1.50pm: Country News delayed this week

Our agriculture editor Fiona Lloyd has just sent through this message regarding this week’s Country News;

“The print version of the week’s Country News will appear in the Shepparton News on Wednesday, October 19, due to distribution and production issues related to the current flood situation.

“Please note subscribers can access Country News from Tuesday, October 18 via Press Reader online for free.

“McPherson Media Group expects the print version of Country News to return to its normal publishing day (Tuesdays in Shepparton News) next week.

“We thank readers for their patience during this time.”

UPDATE, 1.40pm: Work begins to fix major roads

As Max Stainkamph mentioned earlier, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has announced a $165 million emergency road repair blitz to fix the mess caused by flooding across the state.

Some good news for our region is we’ve been told crews have already made significant progress on repairs on the Hume Fwy, the Goulburn Valley Hwy and the Murray Valley Hwy.

With more rain forecast in the coming days, the immediate focus is on making key roads usable and safe for emergency services and freight, so vital supplies can reach affected communities as quickly as possible.

UPDATE, 1.30pm: More than 1000 residents still without power

Power has been restored to about 4200 customers in Mooroopna, Tatura and the surrounding region.

However, about 1700 customers are still affected by a power outage.

News reporter Monique Preston said she had also just spoken to a Mooroopna resident who was still without power.

To support the reliability of the network, customers who have had power restored are being encouraged to keep their power consumption to essential use by turning off unnecessary appliances and setting their heating at 21 degrees.

It comes after significant flooding at the Mooroopna Zone sub-station, which saw Powercor de-energise the site at about 4am yesterday to minimise the safety risk to the community and reduce the potential for long-term damage to infrastructure.

The zone sub-station supplies about 10,600 homes and businesses in the Mooroopna, Tatura, Ardmona, Murchison, Dhurringile, Toolamba, Byrneside and surrounding towns.

Powercor is providing bags of ice for people who have lost power, and these can be picked up from Hastie St, Tatura, opposite the relief centre.

UPDATE, 1.05pm: Sewerage impacted in Rochester

Vic Emergency has put out a new update for Rochester, where the sewerage system has been impacted.

According to the message, it may take six to eight weeks for the service to be restored.

A relief centre is open at the Bendigo Showgrounds, Holmes Road, North Bendigo. The facility may have capabilities for small domestic pets, preferably in cages.

“Rochester is currently impacted with major flooding. If you are located in this area you are in danger - act now to protect yourself and move to higher ground,” the emergency warning reads.

“Infrastructure in Rochester is majorly impacted and it is unsafe to remain in the area.”

Major flooding has peaked along the Campaspe River at Barnadown, Rochester and Echuca, with river levels exceeding those experienced in the January 2011 floods.

UPDATE, 1pm: Impact on council services

Hi all, Anna taking over the blog now for the rest of today.

Greater Shepparton City Council services have been impacted by the floods, including diverting resources to manage the emergency.

Council’s offices will be closed to the public from today until further notice and the Customer Service Centre is closed to phone enquiries.

A brief rundown and reminder here from council of what it is doing to help and how some services have been impacted;

Emergency Relief Centres

•McIntosh Centre, Shepparton Showgrounds – pets, caravans, campervans, trailers and tents all accepted

•Deakin Reserve, Shepparton – no pets can be catered for. Tents allowed on the oval but no access for caravans, campervans or trailers.

•Ballantyne Centre, Tatura - pets, caravans, campervans, trailers and tents all accepted.

Sandbags

•Shepparton Showgrounds, enter from Fryers Street extension, off Archer Street – pre-filled bags available

•Ardmona Resource Recovery Centre, 770 Turnbull Road, cnr Midland Highway – bags and sand available but you need to fill your own

Kerbside Collection

•Kerbside collection is impacted due to flooded streets and driver availability

•We are unable to confirm when and where collections will recommence

•Residents should place their kerbside bins on the kerb ready for collection if safe to do so

Resource Recovery Centres / Cosgrove Landfill

•All RRCs are closed for waste disposal due to localised road closures, access to the facilities and staff unable to leave their flood effected properties and areas

•Facilities may be operational later in the week

•Cosgrove Landfill is currently closed due to road closures and operational staff unavailability

Animal/Livestock Welfare

•Those with livestock are encouraged to seek assistance from neighbours and friends with high ground in the first instance.

•The Shepparton Saleyards should be considered as a last resort due to limited capacity to hold livestock. More information on Council Animal Services can be found here.

•The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning’s Animal Welfare in Emergencies page provides a range of flood recovery advice and support on animal health and welfare and can be found here.

Important contacts

•For further information on flood information and important contacts and resources please visit Council’s Flood response web page. www.greatershepparton.com.au/flood-respond

UPDATE, 12.35pm: Watch and Act order sent out again

Residents along the Goulburn River downstream of Shepparton have been told to prepare to evacuate if required.

People in Bunbartha have already been told to leave, as we reported earlier this morning.

I’m logging off the blog for now and will leave you in the capable hands of Anna McGuinness for the rest of the afternoon and early evening.

UPDATE, 12.32pm: Premier’s comments from earlier

Hello all, sorry, I’ve been frantically tapping away on words you’ll see very shortly but here’s a primer on what the Victorian Premier said about an hour ago.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said more than $165 million would be provided to help fix roads destroyed by floods and storms in the past week, while more than 11,000 people had applied for payment relief.

The emergency road relief package will also cover larger works to completely rebuild some roads and bridges.

Mr Andrews said “there will need to be more money beyond that” and that would be announced over coming days, with more inspections of the more than 10,000 potholes across the state.

There were more than 350 roads closed across the state, and Mr Andrews said there would be a $150m for a coordinated cleanup effort and flood management plan for those in hardest hit.

UPDATE, 12.04am: Water level updates

I’ve whipped together what Victoria’s State Emergency Service chief operations officer Tim Wiebusch said at this press conference.

Check out the full story, which includes updates on Rochester, Echuca, Seymour and Greater Shepparton.

UPDATE, 11.42am: Expect flood waters to remain for some time

There is “light at the end of the tunnel” with the water level in Shepparton and Moooropna after the water level peaked at 12.06m on Monday morning despite the city bracing for an expected peak of 12.2m.

Victoria’s State Emergency Service chief operations officer Tim Wiebusch said that extra 14 centimetres made a “significant difference” to the number of homes and businesses which would be affected by floodwaters.

Mr Wiebusch said there were roughly 4000 properties isolated or indundated in Shepparton and Mooroopna, but said people should expect the water to stay high for four or five days.

“It will be Thursday into Friday before the water can recede and in regards to the Causeway ... it will need to be assessed before it can be opened,” he said.

“It will be some time before the Goulburn goes below the major level of 11m.

Mr Wiebusch said the Broken River at Orrvale had peaked at 8.35m and will remain at major flood level for a few days.

UPDATE, 11.20am: Daniel Andrews speaking

Sorry, just watching Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews have a chat from what looks like Bendigo? Will have a wrap on extra funding announced really shortly.

UPDATE, 10.56am: Goulburn River peaks at 12.06m

We’ve peaked! The Bureau of Meteorology has said the Goulburn River has peaked in Shepparton at 12.06m, 0.3m less than the 1974 flood level.

No further river rises are expected at Shepparton where the river peaked at 12.06 m, similar to the 1974 flood peak of 12.09 m. Rises are occurring at McCoys Bridge which reached 10.85 m in 1974.

Major flooding is still occurring at Murchison and moderate flooding is still occurring at Seymour.

Bransen Gibson is still at this meeting in Echuca.

There are a lot of concerned faces as the meeting concludes. ADF personnel will help reinforce and build sandbag walls. The levees in Echuca are not thought to be high enough, the race is now on to build up over 2km of levees over the next 24 hours.

UPDATE, 10.33am: Seymour bracing for recovery

Seymour Telegraph reporter Bianca Hall has done truly incredible work under the most trying circumstances any can work through down in flood-affected Seymour

She’s put these yarns together updating people on what the situation is.

UPDATE, 10.30am: Echuca set for a once-in-1000-year flood

That’s not a typo. Riverine Herald journalist Bransen Gibson is at a community information session in Echuca this morning where residents have been told to brace for what could be a once in 1000 year flood.

The Murray River is expected to peak at 95.9 AHD which would be the highest level since records began in 1870.

UPDATE, 10.15am: Broken River still high

The latest data I have from the BoM says the Broken River is sitting at 8.3m as of a few hours ago, with Broken River Dve well and truly under water.

The News’ Sandy Lloyd is safe and enjoying her new waterfront views near Broken River Dve.

UPDATE, 9.45am: Shepparton evacuation warning

The Shepparton evacuation warning still remains ‒ it is too late to leave.

This applies to areas:

From the river along Daldy Rd east to the Barmah-Shepparton Rd then south to the transmission lines crossing the highway then west and south to Wanganui Rd; across to Mercury Dr then south on the Numurkah Rd to Halpin Cres; then west up to Furze Ave, along Newton St, up to Hicken Cres to Fahey St down to Balaclava Rd across to Gowrie St, up to Allambi St then down to The Boulevard; follow The Boulevard down to Quinan Pde to the Midland Highway down Welsford St to the railway line. North up the railway line to Swallow St then down to Hayes St then down Hare St, Sanderson St, Wilmot Rd, Bradford Rd, Palmer Rd to Broken River Dr. Across to the Goulburn Valley Hwy across to Forest Rd, down to Settlers Dr and across to the Goulburn River.

An area bounded by Kittles Rd, the river, Wanganui Rd and west of Kingfisher Dr, Pelican Crt and Curlew Pl should remain unaffected however they will be isolated by waters to the east and north.

UPDATE, 9.40am: Photos from yesterday

Our wonderful photographer Megan Fisher made the rounds yesterday (obviously staying out of flood waters) and snapped the streets of Shepp.

She’s out and about again today, so stay tuned for updated shots.

Have a look-see at the rest here.

UPDATE, 9.30am: Mooroopna too late to leave

Mooroopna is still a too late to leave zone, Vicemergency said this evacuation warning is likely to remain in place for several days and will be reviewed daily.

UPDATE, 9.25am: Reminder for Bunbartha evacuation

Residents of Bunbartha have been told to evacuate by 10am or risk being cut off.

Specifically, properties located in Progues Rd from the river continuing along Boundary Rd to Moores Rd; Moores Rd down to Bowey Rd across to Buchanan Rd and back to the river.

UPDATE, 9.10am: Move to higher ground warning

A move to higher ground warning has been issued for the Goulburn River downstream of Shepparton.

Major flooding may develop along the Goulburn River around McCoys Bridge Monday afternoon, it is now sitting at 9.94m and rising with minor flooding.

The river level may reach the major flood level of 10.2m this afternoon. Further rises are possible.

McCoys Bridge was shut last night at 8pm.

UPDATE, 8.55am: Paper supplied

We’ve head down to the evacuation centres in Shepparton to hand out 200 free copies of the Shepp News.

Our thoughts are with all those who have been, and continue to be, affected by the floods.

UPDATE, 8.50am: Kerbside bin collection paused and Resource Recovery Centre closed

All kerbside collection is paused until further notice.

Shepparton, Ardmona and Murchison Resource Recovery Centre's are closed due to the effects of flooding.

When drivers will be able to return to collect bins will depend on when it’s safe to do so, we’ll keep you updated.

UPDATE, 8.45am: Uncertainty around the Broken River

Shepparton residents affected by Broken River flooding are still waiting for the river to peak.

Latest readings from the Orrvale gauge, just a few kilometres upstream of Shepparton, show the river level continued to climb overnight on Saturday.

The river exceeded major flood level on Saturday, according to the Bureau of Meteorology website, and was hovering around 8.3 metres on Sunday morning.

The Broken River joins the Goulburn River (which has also exceeded major flood level) in Shepparton not far from Aquamoves.

Residents on the Broken catchment are wondering whether the high level of the Goulburn will cause back-pressure on the Broken.

UPDATE, 8.40am: Tatura Community House needs donations

Tatura Community House has put up a post asking the community for tents for the relief centre.

If you are able to provide (safely), the centre is at Ballantyne Centre at 9 Hastie St, Tatura.

UPDATE, 8.20am: We’ve put out a newspaper

Something we like to do most days of the week is put out a newspaper.

We have somehow done it again, despite massive flooding across the region, continuing what I believe is an unbroken tradition of never missing a print edition.

I’m so proud of everyone who’s managed to do it.

For people who can’t leave their homes to get to a newsagency to pick up a copy, we’ve taken the paywall down on the digital edition, so everyone is able to check out the paper if you’ve still got internet.

Papers are being sold at Lovell’s Newsagency, Safeway at Benalla Rd and Marketplace, IGA Numurkah Rd, Verney Rd Takeaway, Knight St Takeaway, Poplar Ave Takeaway and Shepparton East Post Office.

200 copies are also heading to the evacuation centre and will be there shortly.

UPDATE, 7.40am: GV Health entry requests, water on Wyndham

If you are heading to GV Health on Graham St in Shepparton, the health service is asking people to enter Graham St from Monash St or Verney Rd, with flooding expected to impact the intersection of Graham St and Numurkah Rd.

The staff car park at the Numurkah Rd side of the hospital is closed.

UPDATE, 7.24am: Echuca updates now online

Our friends in Echuca have jumped into action to deal with the massive flooding happening down there.

Stay across the updates from editor Gregor Mactaggart here.

UPDATE, 7.18am: Peak expected between 10am and 12pm Monday

Deputy incident control officer Chris Eagle has just spoken on the ABC in Shepparton and said the peak is still coming.

He said the new expected peak is 12.1m and is expected between 10am and 12pm.

“People should still plan water will come up and potentially enter their premise,” he said.

“The levels are still at 12.05, there’s still a possibility of another five centimetres.”

He said police had used helicopters to guide boats in rescues overnight, and today would largely be about trying to get to people who’ve asked for assistance overnight.

Mr Eagle said one rescue overnight came through at about 4.30am and involved a five kilometre drive and a four kilometre boat ride around trees and across fences.

He urged people to stay calm over coming days, with the water unlikely to recede for a few days.

“People will start to get tired and frustrated that the water is still there. Human emotion will go through, and people will run out of the adrenaline.

We want to make sure people take t hose minutes to take a breath and don’t get angry with those around you.

UPDATE, 7.05am: New evacuation centre, some photos from this morning

Morning all, Max Stainkamph back with you this morning. All-round legend Megan Fisher has just arrived in Shepparton and taken a few snaps.

Before we crack in though, a new evacuation centre has been set up at Shepparton’s Deakin Reserve.

The message from Greater Shepparton City Council is when travelling avoid Nixon Street due to road works closures. Please travel down Knight and Harold Streets.

“Some sleeping arrangements may be available but please bring mattress, sheets, blankets, pillows and additional food supplies,” council said.

“Space is available for community members to pitch their own tents on the oval.

“No caravans or campers on the oval. Unfortunately we are unable to accommodate pets at Deakin Reserve.”

UPDATE, 6.45am: City breathes a (tentative) sigh of relief as flood water holds, Bunbartha told to evacuate

As Greater Shepparton went to sleep last night, it was bracing for flood heights of 12.2m or potentially 12.3m to arrive at about 4am.

However, the river stayed steady at 12.05m for most of the evening, dipping at 6am to a reading of 12.05m at the Goulburn River.

The ABC is reporting more than 200 rescues were carried out across the region.

Residents of Bunbartha have been told to evacuate by 10am or risk being cut off.

Specifically, properties located in Burgess Rd between Loch Garry Rd and the Barmah-Shepparton Rd; Loch Garry Rd between Burgess Rd and the Barmah-Shepparton Rd; Post Office Rd between the Loch Garry Rd and the Barmah-Shepparton Rd have been advised to evacuate.

A new relief centre has been opened at Deakin Reserve in Shepparton, with access restricted on Nixon St due to roadworks.

Some properties are now with power in Tatura.

In case you missed it yesterday, McCoys Bridge near Nathalia has shut. Check out yesterday’s blog here.