RESIDENTS in Skipton remained on alert last night after the State Emergency Service issued a flood evacuation warning earlier that day.
A small group of residents gathered at the Smythe Street football oval where an evacuation centre had been set up. But by 10pm last night, all residents had left the centre.
Early last night authorities had closed the Glenelg Highway, though one lane was re-opened within a few hours.
Skipton Roadhouse owner Nigel Ponder said townspeople had spent the day piling sandbags along the main street to protect businesses from the floodwaters.
He said the water rose about 45 centimetres high along the sandbags in the street. Mr Ponder said many residents had worked throughout the day stacking sandbags to protect the town.
"It was just absolutely brilliant, it's just a credit to how a small town can get up and go," he said.
SES state commander Stephen Warren said one unit remained on standby in Skipton.
Mr Warren said he'd heard reports that two houses had been inundated with water while the cellar of a Skipton pub had been flooded.
The flood warning was issued after the water levels rose dramatically in Mt Emu Creek. Mr Warren said the SES had to rely on reports from residents about the creek's water levels because it had no official gauges.
Meanwhile, emotions ran high at a community meeting in Creswick yesterday as emergency workers briefed residents on the recovery effort.
The meeting was held at the Novotel Forest Resort where some residents were staying temporarily.
Some residents grew angry when they learned that sand set aside to fill sandbags had been washed away when the flood waters swept through the town.
SES incident controller Craig Coulter said sandbags had been delivered to the town hall prior to the flooding but the first two loads of sand were dumped around the corner and later swept away.
However, there was also praise for firefighters and emergency volunteers who rescued residents on Saturday.
Hepburn Shire Council will prepare an impact assessment in the coming months to determine the scale of the flood damage.
Yesterday the SES reported 93 properties were affected by flood waters in Creswick, although the extent of the damage was not clear.
In Clunes, 36 properties were affected by the flood including 32 which were considered to be uninhabitable.
Hepburn Shire general manager sustainable development Robert Jennings said residents' wellbeing followed by public infrastructure were the council's immediate concerns.
He said the impact assessment would help to prioritise the tasks the council would need to carry out.
Creswick resident Bob Hildebrand said he returned to his home yesterday and found his car had been completely submerged in water.
"The whole house is just flooded out. It's unlivable, we won't be able to live there for at least a month," he said. Hepburn Shire residents can call the council's customer services office on 5345 399 for more information on flood recovery.
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