Torrential rain lashed and battered Victoria late Friday evening, with people in parts of Myrtleford and Buckland, urged to flee as floodwaters continued to rise.
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Victorians have been warned that the worst of the forecast super storm is yet to come, with Saturday expected to bring heavier downpours and more risk of flooding.
Emergency authorities said anyone labelling the rainfall a fizzer on Friday was badly underestimating the storm.
Premier Daniel Andrews said on Friday afternoon that Victorians needed to be prepared.
"We are having significant flooding right across the state and things are set to worsen [Friday] evening and right through the weekend," Mr Andrews said.
The north-east, particularly communities along the Ovens and King rivers, are bracing for possible floods on Saturday afternoon.
Major flood warnings have been issued for parts of the Ovens and King Rivers.
A moderate flood warning has also been issued for the Kiewa, Goulburn, and Murray Rivers, upstream of Lake Hume, while an initial minor flood warning for the Yarra River was issued early Saturday morning.
People living in Harris Lane and Wallace Drive in Buckland were warned that the bridge over the Buckland River may become impassable as flooding continued overnight and were urged to evacuate as storm water crept closer to their homes.
Those in the low lying areas in Myrtleford were also told to evacuate Friday evening, with emergency services warning residents, if they wait until Saturday morning, it may be too late to leave safely.
A relief centre had been set up at the Myrtleford senior citizens centre for those choosing to leave.
Peak flooding is expected to drench low lying parts of Myrtleford about lunchtime on Saturday.
A severe weather warning for heavy rain remains in place across Victoria.
In Melbourne, the Friday falls were not as dire as expected but the heaviest rains were forecast to fall from midnight and continue through to 10am Saturday morning.
"This is an event that isn't just Friday alone. The forecast for Saturday is in the hundreds of mills and could go as high as 250 mills in the north-east," Emergency Management commissioner Craig Lapsley said on Friday afternoon. "Saturday is the day".
"The forecasted rain for Saturday is in the hundreds of millimetres. It could go as far as 250mm in the north-east."
The CBD and inner Melbourne had between 10 and 15 millimetres of rain by about 5pm on Friday while the outer suburbs had between 20 and 40 millimetres.
