A six-year-old boy has been struck and killed by a falling tree branch in Victoria’s north.

The boy was with his family on a private property at Gowangardie, near Shepparton, when he was found injured just before 8am on Thursday, Victoria Police said.

He died at the property from his injuries, which police said were caused when a large branch fell from a tree.

Officers will prepare a report for the coroner.

Wild weather has lashed Victoria in recent days, with three people dying during storms in the state over the Christmas break.

The bodies of a man and a woman were found at Buchan in the state’s east after a camping area was hit with flash flooding on Boxing Day.

Earlier on Tuesday, a 44-year-old Bunyip man was killed after a branch fell on his property in Caringal, eastern Victoria.

A 29-year-old woman had to be rescued from the Werribee River in Melbourne after jumping in to save her dog.

She managed to pull the pet onto a small island and clung to a tree until a passerby called emergency services for help.

Much of the weather and flood threat for the state has passed but people have been warned to stay vigilant around waterways.

Swimmers have also been warned to stay alert as the weather gets better and check water quality, as rain has swept contaminants across Port Phillip Bay and into the ocean.

Victoria’s Environmental Protection Authority said beach conditions along the Bellarine Peninsula, much of Melbourne and the Yarra River were likely to remain poor on Thursday.

More storms for Queensland

Wild weather has claimed seven lives in Queensland in recent days, with the possibility of further storms bringing damaging wind gusts, heavy rainfall, and large hail between Mackay and Brisbane.

It came as heatwave conditions persisted in the state’s north, west, and storm-ravaged south-east, where maximum temperatures are well above average.

The hot weather will continue into the weekend when a trough, possibly bringing more rain and thunderstorms, will extend across western, central, and southern Queensland.

Seven people including a nine-year-old girl died on Christmas and Boxing Day as storms swept across south-east Queensland

The girl’s body was found on Tuesday night after she was lost in a Brisbane stormwater drain.

Three people died after their boat capsized in Moreton Bay on Tuesday afternoon.

They were a 48-year-old from Alexandra Hills, a 69-year-old from Meridan Plains and a 59-year-old from Tingalpa. Two have been named as Queensland rugby identity David Logan and school teacher Stephen Tait.

The trio was among 11 passengers on board the boat, with paramedics taking eight to hospital in a stable condition.

And the body of a 46-year-old woman was recovered in the Gympie Weir on Wednesday, following a search of the Mary River.

A 40-year-old woman’s body was retrieved from the river on Tuesday night.

One of the areas hardest hit by storms was the Gold Coast, where a woman was killed by a falling tree on Monday night.

-with AAP