Locals have described the “absolute carnage” of record-breaking flash flooding, with cars and more washed out to sea in an extraordinary river overflow.
Clean-up efforts are under way after torrential rains brought havoc along Victoria’s scenic Great Ocean Road on Thursday, wrecking holidays for many.
The Wye, Kennett and Cumberland rivers were quickly swollen by an inland downpour on Thursday afternoon, carrying huge amounts of water downstream that swamped campgrounds and floated huge objects in its way.
Caravan hire owner Mel Strom and her husband spent overnight salvaging what they could after driving from Geelong.
“It was absolute carnage,” she told AAP on Friday, describing the scene at a Wye River caravan park.
“The flood took everything. There were cars, there were eskies, there were surfboards, you name it.”
The couple will count their losses on Friday after discovering one of their caravans half-submerged in floodwaters on the news.
“I’ve got hires for people supposed to be taking it out for Australia Day weekend, that’s obviously not going to happen,” she said.
After the tourist route was closed to non-emergency traffic on Thursday, those returning on Friday have been met with muddied roads and debris from mangled cars and caravans mixed with fallen trees strewn across the landscape.
Campgrounds at Lorne, Cumberland and Wye River remain closed as emergency crews assess safety.
“There is a risk of floodwater, electrocution, and biological hazards,” Surf Coast Shire Mayor Libby Stapleton told AAP.
“It may be some time before people can actually get back in there.”
Blindsided bystanders documented the rapid water rise, with dramatic videos showing powerful currents washing cars into the ocean.
About 200 people visited a local emergency relief centre in Lorne, with a few sheltering overnight after more than 170mm of rain was dumped on the region.
“A lot of people are filtering in this morning to have breakfast and get some reassurance and find out what’s next,” Ms Stapleton said.
Another 40 people stayed at the Lorne Surf Life Saving Club.
There have been no reports of injuries.
“We’re really fortunate that everybody’s safe,” Ms Stapleton said.
“We know that hundreds of people have been impacted, whether they’ve lost cars or caravans or personal property has been damaged.”
Federal Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain said the scenes were “extraordinary and terrifying”.
She said the downpour was the highest for any 24-hour period in the area since site records began in the early 2000s.
“It’s obviously still a pretty dangerous situation,” she told ABC Radio National on Friday morning.
The Victorian State Emergency Service described the intensity of the rainfall as “off the charts”.
“The previous totals down there for a whole day total was 123mm,” spokesman Alistair Drayton said on Thursday.
He said 178mm of rain fell over just six hours.
The area is a popular tourist spot, with hundreds of holiday-makers visiting at this time of year.
The Great Ocean Road is open from Torquay to Lorne but still closed south of Lorne to Skenes Creek, with the space between Lorne and Apollo Bay to be off limits for some time.
