SYDNEY, Oct 16 (NNN-AAP) – Police of the Australian state of Victoria, said yesterday that, a 71-year-old man was found dead in floodwaters, in the backyard of his house at Rochester, a rural town in northern Victoria.
Access to the scene was difficult, given the surrounding floodwater, but emergency services have been able to extract the deceased, as well as, a woman, who was unharmed but trapped at the address, according to a statement released by the Victoria Police.
As there have been concerning reports about people driving around Road Closed signs and becoming trapped in flood, the police urged Victorians to avoid unnecessary travels.
Areas of concern are the Shepparton and Wangaratta regions, Loddon Valley and the North-East, however, all areas of the state have been impacted, said the police.
The latest report from Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), indicated that flood impacts will continue over the weekend and into next week, with widespread moderate to major flooding across central and northern Victoria.
“We’re not out of the woods. Far from it,” Victoria Premier, Daniel Andrews, said, after a briefing at the State Control Centre.
“There are about 500 homes flooded, and more which are inaccessible. Those numbers will rise,” he said, warning of a massive amount of water in catchments, to move down rivers in the coming days.
Besides Victoria, the northern half of Tasmania also saw significant flooding, with floodwater forecasted to move downstream over the weekend, in the Tamar river system, said the BOM.
Tasmania State Emergency Service also predicted, isolated showers are expected to continue, as rainfall may reach up to 10-25 mm for the north and north-west region.– NNN-AAP
