He said residents should block their drains to prevent water coming up through toilets and showers and move furniture off the floor:“Our message has been bag it,block it,lift it and leave.”

On Wednesday afternoon it was not clear how many residents had chosen to leave their homes,Williams said. “If possible,self-evacuate. Don’t wait for an evacuation order because we might not be able to give one.”

The SES has put a limit of 25 sandbags per household.

Jenny Bibby,who runs a local funeral parlour,took a dozen sandbags to seal the doorways of her business near St Arnaud’s town centre.

She said some businesses had been regularly inundated during previous floods while hers was spared. But Bibby feared the water could reach her business this week.

“I reckon it might this time,” she said. “We’ve sandbagged all the doors. That’s about all we can do.”

Bibby said the town was apprehensive about the looming weather after about a dozen businesses were flooded earlier this year.

“We’re not looking forward to another cleanup,” she said.

In nearby Carapooee,farmer Graeme McLennan was worried water would reach his house.

“If we get heavy rain it could get six inches up the door,” he said.

Secondary students at Melbourne boys’ school St Kevin’s will switch to remote learning on Thursday to avoid the potential flooding of the Yarra River.

The school’s Heyington campus,located next to the Yarra in Toorak,experienced flooding in 2005 and 2009. Students at other campuses will attend school as normal.

A warning for Falls Creek and Bogong Village was issued on Tuesday because of a “slow-moving active landslide” on the Bogong High Plains Road above Bogong Village.

On Wednesday,the Bogong High Plains Road was closed from 12pm,cutting off access to Falls Creek. SES operations officer Charlie Sexton confirmed that the road closure meant residents at nearby ski lodges at Falls Creek had been told to leave.

Lisa Logan,who manages the Diana Alpine Lodge in Falls Creek,told radio station 3AW she planned to leave on Wednesday morning,as only a single lane out of the area remained open. The other road out was closed due to snow.

SES crews across the state have been mobilised to deal with the impacts of widespread rain,with thousands of sandbags prepared ahead of the downpour.

There were more than two dozen sandbag stations set up – including at Gisborne,Woodend,Echuca,Castlemaine,Maryborough,Ballarat,Avoca and Geelong – for residents to collect.

Landowners are also being urged to prepare their dams ahead of the rain and take precautions,including clearing spillways and repairing any cracks or defects.

Lisa Logan,who manages the Diana Alpine Lodge in Falls Creek,told radio station 3AW she planned to leave on Wednesday morning,as only a single lane out of the area remained open. The other road out was closed due to snow.

Wet weather began lashing Victoria on Wednesday morning in the central,northern,north-western and alpine regions.

Weather bureau meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said a severe thunderstorm warning was issued for western Victoria near the Grampians on Wednesday.

There was a risk of flash flooding as a result of the storms,she said.

But the worst of the weather is expected to start coming through late Wednesday and into Thursday morning.

“One way or the other,Thursday looks like the peak day of the rain system moving through,” she said.

The rain is expected to hit Melbourne with flash flooding a risk,with swollen rivers in danger of bursting their banks,including the Yarra.

“It will be pretty wet in the morning,but it will get more intense through the afternoon on Thursday,” she said.

“It’s really all about the next couple of days.”

Bradbury said the northern suburbs and the north-west could see rainfall above the 30 to 50 millimetres expected in Melbourne,with higher rainfall also expected on the Surf Coast.

The wet weather should settle by the weekend with very isolated showers expected,Bradbury said.

The bureau’s severe weather warning update on Wednesday morning said 24-hour rainfall totals on Thursday were expected to reach between 50 and 80 millimetres,with isolated totals possibly more than 120 millimetres over higher terrain.

Flood warnings are currently in place for the Loddon,Avoca,Kiewa,Snowy and Goulburn rivers in the state’s north-west,north and east.

Authorities are also concerned about the Campaspe,King,Ovens,Wimmera and Broken rivers.

Premier Daniel Andrews reiterated the warnings of the forecasters and emergency services on Wednesday.

“Please be aware of your circumstances;please get the best information so you can make the very best decisions for your safety and the safety of others,” he said.

“And please,please do not drive into floodwater because it’s dangerous for you,and it’s really dangerous for the person who has to come and rescue you.”

Tasmania is also on high alert,with predicted rain on par with the amount that caused devastating,deadly floods six years ago.

Falls of 60 to 100 millimetres are forecast in the north from Wednesday evening into Friday,with up to 180 millimetres predicted in the north-east highlands and 250 millimetres possible in the Great Western Tiers.

With AAP

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