The emergency flood situation in Victoria’s north has intensified as authorities warn it is “too late to leave” for many.

Evacuation alerts have been upgraded for Shepparton, Orrvale, Kialla West, and Mooroopna to reflect it is too late for residents to leave those areas.

The Midland Highway, also known as the Mooroopna Causeway, was slated to be closed on Sunday but authorities announced it would close between Mooroopna and Shepparton from 6.30pm on Saturday.

Properties in the region are expected to be impacted overnight Saturday.

The Goulburn River is expected to peak at 12 metres at Shepparton on Tuesday, making the flood the area’s worst in decades.

An emergency evacuation directive has also been issued for Echuca and Echuca Village, with authorities wanting residents to get out by last light on Saturday.

Some residents in Echuca could be away from their homes for many days as a second peak is expected mid-to-late next week.

As authorities prepare for one of the largest evacuation operations in  Victoria’s history a man has been found dead in floodwaters in Rochester in Victoria’s north,

The 71-year-old was discovered in the backyard of his High Street home about 9.30am on Saturday. Victoria Police and SES crews are near the scene but have been unable to reach the property which is cut off by floodwater.

Communities across the state remain under threat from floods, authorities warn, as many brace for an enormous clean-up and the government bolsters crisis accommodation.

As of noon on Saturday residents in several Victorian towns had been told to evacuate.

Evacuation orders were issued for Charlton Township in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range and Orrvale, Kialla West and Mooroopna near Shepparton in central Victoria.

In the towns of Murchison and Murchison East residents were warned that it is now too late and too dangerous to leave.

Shepparton residents were warned the area is expected to experience its worst flooding in almost three decades from Sunday.

‘Largest evacuations ever seen’

Significant parts of Echuca will be asked to evacuate from late Saturday, meaning people could be away from their homes for many days as a second rain front is expected to hit mid-to-late next week.

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Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner David Clayton said officers remain in evacuated areas to prevent looting.

“We anticipate that in coming days we’re going to see some of the largest evacuations that we have ever seen,” Assistant Commissioner Clayton told reporters.

By Saturday morning more than 460 homes had been damaged by floodwater rising above floor level and around 500 properties remained isolated.

The SES had performed about 350 rescues over the flood emergency.

Of those rescues, 160 happened at properties in Rochester when residents who chose to remain in their homes had to be saved, while 150 involved people being rescued from stranded vehicles.

As of 10am on Saturday there were major flood warnings for parts of the Avoca River, Goulburn River, King River, Mt Emu Creek, Loddon Weir, Ovens River, Broken River and Seven Creeks.

Fourteen relief centres and 55 sandbag collection sites have been established across the state.

COVID quarantine site put to use

The extent of the damage to hundreds of homes in inner Melbourne is just starting to become clear after the Maribyrnong River breached its banks on Friday.

The federal and state governments have agreed to use the recently retired $580 million Mickleham COVID quarantine facility as emergency accommodation.

The facility will reopen early next week for 250 people with crisis accommodation available for six to eight weeks and could eventually provide shelter for up to 500.

Premier Daniel Andrews said defence personnel were assisting with the emergency across regional Victoria and up to 60 additional ADF experts will help with the clean-up in coming days.

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“A lot of those northern catchments ultimately flow into the Murray, so (for) the Murray River we’re probably looking at a protracted flood event for the next four to six weeks,” Mr Andrews said.

“Some communities will be able to move to relief and recovery shortly, (while) others still be very much in emergency response over the coming weeks.”

Mr Andrews announced one-off payments of $560 per adult and $280 per child for people displaced by the floods. About 1500 applications had been made by Friday afternoon.

Some contractors working on major infrastructure projects have paused construction to carry out repair work in flood-affected areas.

More rain ahead

Mostly dry conditions were forecast until Tuesday across Victoria, however flooding is expected to return late in the week.

Water was receding in Maribyrnong on Friday afternoon, with the local council saying about 60 properties were impacted after the Maribyrnong River breached its banks.

Anglers Tavern is partially submerged in floodwater in Maribyrnong, Melbourne. Photo: AAP

The federal member for Maribyrnong, Bill Shorten, was in the area on Friday speaking to locals starting the cleanup.

However, the council warned there was still the potential risk of more flooding well into next week with further rain forecast and catchments already saturated.

The state’s southwest and South Gippsland areas were forecast to receive at least 1mm of rain on Saturday, with more widespread rain on Sunday.

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Mostly dry conditions were forecast for Monday and Tuesday, but flooding impacts would continue, the Bureau of Meteorology warned.

“Despite the easing rain, flood risk remains over coming days, with widespread moderate to major flooding expected across central and northern Victoria,” the Bureau of Meteorology said in a statement.

Tasmania’s danger

Flooded farm land in the Launceston and Inveresk area in Tasmania. Photo: AAP

Residents in parts of flood-hit Tasmania are “not out of the woods”, authorities warn, as those allowed to return start assessing the damage.

Several watch-and-act alerts are in place across Tasmania after widespread record-breaking rain across the state’s top half spanning days.

Areas on alert include near the Meander River, North Esk River, South Esk River, and Macquarie River.

The North Esk and South Esk Rivers were still yet to peak on Saturday afternoon, and authorities would monitor them closely over the next 36 hours, Acting Premier Michael Ferguson said.

Floodwaters would continue to move downstream over the weekend in the Tamar river system, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

State Emergency Service acting director Leon Smith said rainfall in some areas outnumbered falls in mid-2016, when three people were killed.

A road cut in the Deloraine region in north-west Tasmania. Photo: AAP

“In the northwest, we’ve already seen the peak. All of the accumulated rainfall at altitude has now made its way through the landscape into the riverine systems (and it) is now dissipating,” Mr Smith told reporters on Saturday morning.

“In the northern region, we haven’t peaked.

“Due to the complexity of the catchments, we will see peaks and ebbs during the next 24 hours.”

Mr Smith urged people in the northwest to remain vigilant and said residents had to be methodical in their return.

Reports that people had circumvented roadblocks were “extremely concerning”, he said.

While roads may appear to be free of water, they had to be assessed for damage, Tasmania Police Assistant Commissioner Jonathan Higgins said.

“We can’t have a police officer at every single road closure … but there is a very visible police presence in the north and northwest of the state where there are roads closed,” he said.

Police had to rescue some people who were taking risks with the floods, Tasmania Police northern district commander Stuart Wilkinson said.

‘Not out of the woods’

Mr Ferguson warned that while the wind and rain have eased, Tasmanians could not yet get back to normal life.

“We’re not out of the woods yet at all – our waters are in fact still rising in a number of catchments and river systems,” Mr Ferguson told reporters on Saturday afternoon.

“This is counterintuitive. With the rain effectively having abated, in fact the water is surging … through the river systems, and there are two river systems that are still seeing waters predicted yet to peak.

“That means that there are yet more properties that can be subject to inundation (and) could be still subject to an evacuation order.”

Authorities were monitoring the North Esk and South Esk Rivers “like a hawk”, Mr Ferguson said.

Up to 500 homes were within flood zones, but authorities expected the number inundated to be far fewer, he said.

It remains unclear when the port of Devonport will reopen after it was closed to commercial operations on midday Thursday ahead of flooding in the Mersey River.

The closure forced the Spirit of Tasmania ferry operator to cancel four Bass Strait sailings.

NSW towns’  lucky break

A reprieve from rainfall is forecast for most of NSW in the coming days, with flood-affected towns such as Forbes breathing a sigh of relief.

The Bureau of Meteorology says renewed flooding is still possible though for parts of central west and southwest inland rivers overnight before more rain will lash towns such as Gundagai from mid next-week.

Warnings for renewed flooding from recent rainfall are current for the Belubula, Gwydir and Macquarie Rivers.

The main flood peak along the Lachlan River is now approaching Forbes, where major flooding is occurring and river levels are likely to peak near 10.6m overnight.

These floodwaters are also causing major flooding at Cottons Weir, Nanami, and Jemalong.

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Rainfall over the past several days and weeks has caused prolonged flooding along the Lower Lachlan River, with major flooding continuing at Euabalong.

However, the state can expect clear skies and settled weather this weekend.

The fortnight ahead though will be soggy, with above-median rainfall (greater than 80 per cent chance) on the cards for large parts of the eastern two thirds of Australia.

Significant falls in northern Victoria will affect the Murray River, leading to possible minor flooding in Albury and other NSW towns on the southern border.

-with AAP