Residents fled households and the driver of a milk tanker had to be rescued, but a country town managed to escape flood damage as the Glenelg River burst its banks in western Victoria.
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The river at Casterton, near the South Australian border, reached major flood levels about 4.30am on Saturday night, rising almost half a metre within 10 hours to 6.1 metres.
Send your flood photos and video to scoop@theage.com.au
Up to 700 horses had been expected in the town for Casterton Races. The jumps meeting had to be cancelled.
Further north, the township of Harrow had been bracing for flooding of its own, but the water level peaked just after midday on Sunday and continued to drop throughout the day, saving the township from flood damage.
State Emergency Service spokesman Bruce Farquharson said the Harrow Mechanics Institute Hall was affected, but there were few other buildings in town.
The water level in Casterton had barely dropped since its overnight peak, resting at 5.8 metres at 4pm on Sunday.
Ten homes were expected to be inundated and a further 40 to 50 were surrounded by water.
"It's been hanging on pretty well," he said on Sunday morning.
The Bureau of Meteorology forecast between 5 to 15 millimetres of rain for Sunday evening and warned that the showers would likely cause renewed stream rises.
With more rain forecast, the river is likely to remain around six metres into Monday.
But an incident control centre spokesman in Hamilton said the amount of rain was not expected to make the flooding much worse.
"We'll keep a watch on it overnight," he said.
He urged motorists not to drive through floodwaters or ignore road-closure signs.
"They are putting themselves at risk and emergency services at risk if something went wrong," he said.
Casterton Racing Club manager John Donnelly said between 600 and 700 horses were expected at the jumps track on Sunday for the club's annual spring meet. The event was cancelled.
Mr Donnelly said the track's turf was unaffected, but the club's two access roads were blocked.
"This has happened before, in 1991, so if it only happens every 25 years I don't think we'll complaint too much about it," he said, despite the event bringing an economic boost to the small town.
NOTICE: Today's Casterton race meeting has been abandoned due to flooding in the region blocking the road access into the course— Racing Victoria (@RacingInsider) September 10, 2016
Mr Farquharson said two residents of a house in Racecourse Road had to be relocated about 1.30am.
"They took a cautious approach and got out," he said. "They're in alternative accommodation now and are safe and sound."
Frank and Rita McInerney said they packed-up and left in the middle of the night after water began lapping around their house.
"It was really freely flowing, probably a foot or so high," he said.
Sandbags managed to keep the water from seeping inside, but the couple lost one of their chooks to the floodwater on Friday night.
Another house with a single occupant in McKinlay Street was evacuated later on Sunday morning.
"We expect the water will take about 24 hours to recede to the point where houses are able to be accessed for inspection," Mr Farquharson said.
He said about 45 Casterton residents attended a community meeting held on Saturday afternoon.
"The Casterton community knowns floods, they've had many floods over the years," Mr Farquharson said.
Troy Robbins, publican of the town's Glenelg Inn, said floodwaters came within metres of the hotel.
"It peaked here about 3.45am out the front of the pub, so we didn't have any water inside," he said.
Meanwhile, SES Dartmoor members came to the aid of a milk tanker that had become trapped in quickly rising water early on Sunday.
SES Dartmoor controller Dallas Oakley said the driver had to be rescued by boat about 1am.
"He decided to drive through floodwater and got stuck," he said.
It took about half an hour to rescue the tanker just outside Casterton.
The Bureau of Meteorology issued a major flood warning for the Glenelg River on Saturday night.
The SES advised Casterton residents not to walk, ride or drive through the floodwater.
People are also advised to keep children away from floodwater and to stay well clear of waterways, stormwater drains and fallen power lines.
The Glenelg River last flooded Casterton in 1996.
Residents in the nearby town of Coleraine were evacuated on Friday night, with tiger snakes seen swimming through the streets to escape the rising water.
Premier Daniel Andrews said on Sunday grants had been provided to five families.
Elsewhere in the state, a moderate flood warning has been issued for the Murray River at Corowa and a minor flood warning for the Murray River at Albury.
Current Emergency Information is available at Vic Emergency.
For emergency assistance contact the SES on 132 500.
Current road and traffic information is available at the VicRoads website.
