FLOODS have left people homeless, inundated farms, cut roads and washed away bridges after torrential rain turned rivers and creeks into raging torrents.
The damage bill is expected to run into the millions of dollars but the threat is not over.
The floods are expected to impact on Corowa, Wangaratta and Yarrawonga today and tomorrow.
More than 200 millimetres fell on the mountains in little more than 24 hours from early Saturday morning.
Mount Buffalo Chalet received 159 millimetres in the 24 hours to 9am yesterday.
Homes in the Buckland Valley, near Porepunkah, and around Myrtleford have been flooded.
The Kiewa Valley Highway gave way near the Dederang Gap and the Great Alpine Road at Eurobin was under a metre of water, while many more access roads were cut as rivers and creeks broke their banks.
At least 18 families sought refuge at the Myrtleford relief centre because their homes were either under threat or flooded.
Authorities last night said that number was likely to go higher.
More than 100 people were evacuated from homes in Benalla on Saturday night, where Lake Benalla split the city in half.
Water across Bridge Street and the stock bridge forced those travelling between the east and west sides of the city to go via the Hume Freeway.
Water supplies have been tainted in Benalla and Myrtleford.
Authorities say they cannot guarantee water quality and boil water notices have been issued for both towns.
In a visit to Wangaratta’s incident control centre yesterday — the largest of more than half a dozen set up across the state to deal with the flood emergency — Victorian Premier John Brumby warned the worst wasn’t over.
“I think we’re at the sort of halfway stage, if I can put it that way,” Mr Brumby said.
“We are going to see a peaking of flood activity tonight through tomorrow and into Tuesday, and then of course it remains to be seen whether more rainfall later in the week may add to that activity.
“I think to anybody who’s lost a home, who’s had floodwaters inundate the home, it is a very distressing experience — you get the water, you get the mud running through, you often get the valuables that are lost — so we are providing as much support as we can to those families.”
Last night river levels were still rising with the greatest threat coming from the Kiewa River at Tangambalanga, the Ovens River at Myrtleford and Rocky Point, the Murray River at Jingellic and the Broken River at Caseys Weir and Orrvale.
The Ovens River exceeded the moderate flood level of 12.4 metres at Wangaratta late yesterday and is on course to peak at 12.8 metres early tomorrow.
More showers are expected today, ahead of another front likely to bring up to 20 millimetres of rain on Thursday.
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