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Army sent to flood hit Victoria

Defence force personnel will be sent to Victoria's flood-hit north tomorrow to help with relief efforts evacuations and sandbagging with more rain forecast for later this week.

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Source: AAP


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Defence force personnel will be sent to Victoria's flood-hit north tomorrow to help with relief efforts evacuations and sandbagging with more rain forecast for later this week.

Premier John Brumby says he's been in touch with the federal government .. and help in the form of 50 defence force personnel are on the way.

He says 250 homes have been inundated so far and an extra 150 police have already been sent to the worst-hit areas.

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The state's new emergency alert phone messaging system has been used seven times so far with flood warnings and advice sent to 51 thousand Victorians.

While the rain expected later this week shouldn't be too heavy authorities fear it could cause extra flooding because the ground is so sodden.

Hundreds of homes have been inundated as Victoria faces its worst floods in more than a decade.

Victoria's northeast was the hardest hit on Saturday where the townships of Euroa, Benalla and Myrtleford were issued with emergency evacuation alerts and hundreds of homes are believed to have been affected.

State Emergency Service (SES) state controller Tim Wiebusch said it was not clear yet how many homes were flooded or people relocated in these areas and this would become clearer on Sunday.

He also said there was still a significant risk of further flooding in those areas.

"The rain fall emergency may be over but the flood emergency is yet to reach its peak," he said.

"There are many communities downstream from those already affected that can still be affected. In those communities there is a strong possibility of homes being isolated and several thousand people being affected."

The SES was also issuing a major flood warning for communities near the Macalister River in Gippsland.

It is warning residents along the river, including the communities of Newry and Tinamba, to be aware of the situation and monitor local media.

"Southern Rural Water has advised 36,000 megalitres will be released from Lake Glenmaggie in Gippsland, pushing the Macalister River to major flood level," he said.

"This will see flooding downstream and some local roads and farmland will be at risk of flooding."

The SES also received 625 calls overnight relating to severe winds and wild weather on Saturday night that affected central Victoria and Melbourne.

Most of the calls related to fallen trees and building damage, Mr Wiebusch said.


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