Flash flooding in Vic as rain lashes state

Flash flooding hit parts of Victoria's north as rain lashed the state with some areas recording more rainfall in 15 minutes than the first four months of 2019.

Victoria weather

A storm flattened holiday homes in south-west Victoria, with heavy rain in other parts of the state. (AAP)

Wild weather battered Victoria's north with a tornado-like event and flash flooding, as more rain fell in 15 minutes than the first four months of the year.

There was flash flooding across much of the Wodonga area, on the state's border with New South Wales, and nearby Old Baranduda on Thursday night.

Residents were warned to head indoors, avoid driving and entering floodwater.

Mildura received 15.6mm of rain in the 14 minutes after 9.15am on Thursday, compared with a total of 10.4mm between January 1 and the start of May.

Stawell received the heaviest falls with 68.6mm of rain, more than double the 30.2mm the town received since January in its driest start to a year since 1996.

The wild weather wreaked havoc in parts, with meteorologists trying to determine if a severe storm which flattened a caravan park in the southwest was a tornado.

Cabins were blown over and boats tossed around when the storm hit Lake Purrumbete Holiday Park about 10.30pm on Wednesday.

Camperdown SES controller Colin Brian described the damage as the worst he had seen in more than 25 years.

"Some of the cabins are just floors and a couple of walls now," he said.

"It was like a mini-tornado went through."

Much of western Victoria received between 25mm and 40mm, while areas to the north of Melbourne also received heavy falls.


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Source: AAP


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