Residents both upstream and downstream of Lake Hume have been warned by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority to be "flood-ready" as widespread rain lashes the region.
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SES units on both sides of the Murray have also urged householders and motorists to be prepared as more rainfall was predicted by the Bureau of Meteorology after a two-day deluge.
At Albury, SES volunteers were flat out keeping up with demand for sandbags. Unit commander Curtis Kishere said on Thursday residents were scrambling for the barriers.
"We were expecting a lot more rain coming in after watching the bureau alerts so we have plenty of sandbags available - but we have to keep restocking the pile," Mr Kishere said.
The bureau said rainfall totals of 50 to 100 millimetres with isolated falls in excess of 150 millimetres were expected in NSW and Victoria.
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While the MDBA said it had been pre-releasing large volumes of water, if rain continued there would be a risk of flooding. The Hume Dam is at 92 per cent capacity.
MDBA executive director of river management Andrew Reynolds said rainfall in the basin this week was widespread along slopes and ranges in southern NSW and Victoria.
"We're reminding those who live downstream of Hume Dam to be flood-ready as we enter the wettest period for southern Basin catchments," Mr Reynolds said. "The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting rain in the Hume Dam catchment in coming days. The MDBA has been pre-releasing water from the dam since May.
"We have close to 250 gigalitres of airspace available to capture the inflows.
"However, if rainfall is more intense or totals are greater than forecast, there is a risk of flooding both upstream and downstream of Hume Dam."
The Bureau of Meteorology, Victoria, issued a minor flood warning for the Kiewa River downstream of Mongans Bridge.
The bureau said river rises have been recorded along the Kiewa River and minor flooding was likely to develop.
In the 24 hours to Thursday morning, rainfall totals of 25-50 mm were recorded in the river.
The bureau said rainfall totals of 10-40mm were expected for the remainder of the day.
Warm, moist and unsettled air ahead of a front triggered significant thunderstorm activity across Victoria, bringing heavy falls and strong winds, the bureau said.
The Bureau of Meteorology has confirmed that a cold front bringing vigorous north to northwesterly flows would result in continuing damaging winds and heavy rain.
The Victoria SES said volunteers were enhancing readiness arrangements to assist communities at risk.
"We are asking Victorians to prepare now and remain vigilant, particularly to the risk of damaging winds," the service said. "This may cause trees and branches to fall and cause potential damage to homes and property.
"A flood watch is also in place for catchments in northeast Victoria, as rivers rise leading to potential of minor to moderate flooding across these catchments."
The NSW SES Albury unit's collection point for sandbags is on Hoffman Road, Thurgoona.
Mr Kishere said: "We've been mostly attending to broken roofs - people need to keep an eye on their gutters - but we do expect to be very busy and part of that has been restocking the sandbags at Thurgoona."
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