Clearing in the hills of Ovens could have contributed to a landslip that crashed into homes and businesses along a one-kilometre section of the Great Alpine Road.
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Bright Senior Sergeant Doug Incoll said investigations were continuing into what occurred on the hill when the weather turned nasty about 5.45pm Tuesday.
Bureau of Meteorology data stated 85 millimetres of rain fell at nearby Eurobin, but the storm varied as it ripped through surrounding towns.
“It was caused by a large deluge in this area,” Senior Sergeant Incoll said.
“They’ve just done a lot of clearing in this area so the integrity of the ground was compromised.”
He said an engineer assessed the area and declared the damaged structures as right to repair.
Alpine Shire enacted its disaster plan and expected crews to repair damage over the next few weeks.
“It’s never happened before,” Senior Sergeant Incoll said.
"It is an unusual event, but it demonstrates the intensity of the storm activity."
Great Alpine Road at Ovens was closed for an hour, before being reopened with just one lane until debris was cleared early Wednesday afternoon.
Wangratta-Whitfield Road at Whitfield and Carboor-Everton Road at Markwood also closed for a short time on Tuesday evening due to flooding.
Carboor Upper recorded 95mm of rain.
Wangaratta State Emergency Service volunteer Tracy Harper said it was hectic as the unit was confronted with roads completely submerged and covered in debris.
“We had a lot of trees down, but only a couple we had to clear,” she said.
“It was unreal.
“I hadn’t seen anything like that before.”
