Rains are expected to ease in Victoria after a summer's worth of rain fell in 24 hours, causing flash floods and forcing people from their homes.
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Melbourne weather: A summer's worth of rain in 24 hours
Flood warnings remain in place across north-eastern Victoria, but the wet weather is expected to ease after the deluge dumped two days of record-breaking rain, causing flash floods and forcing people from their homes.
The storm front hit the state on Friday, with the northeast the worst affected as Euroa, Myrtleford and the Buckland Valley faced severe flooding.
"We think after that the main low will move away and we will just see showery, cool weather through most of the state for the remainder of Sunday," Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Scott Williams said.
Most of the rain will have stopped by 9am but the forecaster warned there would still be flood risks with water yet to reach lower parts of rivers.
"This (floods) will continue to go on for quite sometime after the rain stops," Mr Williams said.
On Saturday, rainfall in parts of the state broke 100-year records.
A flash flood warning was issued for suburbs including Bentleigh, Carnegie, Caulfield, Elsternwick, Elwood, Gardenvale, Glen Huntly, McKinnon, Moorabbin, Ormond, Ripponlea, St Kilda, Brighton, Cheltenham, Highett, Malvern East and Murrumbeena.
A State Control Centre spokeswoman said residents were being doorknocked at 10pm on Saturday.
"They're expecting high tide to affect the Elwood Canal and with steady rain - there's about 10 millimetres an hour - it's looking like that will impact the water there and along that area that's affected by the Elwood Canal," she said.
"There has been some doorknocking done to make people aware of what the situation is around the most affected part of the Elwood Canal."
Port Phillip mayor Bernadene Voss said on Saturday night that the council was ready to help if people needed to evacuate. The Elwood Canal will reach high tide at 2.58am.
Heavy rainfall is causing localised flash flooding, with a minor flood level of 2.1 metres likely to be reached.
Between 20 millimetres and 50 millimetres were predicted to bucket down on the city over Saturday night.
After a day of light drizzle on Saturday, "a significant band of rainfall" hit Melbourne around 5pm.
Within 20 minutes of the latest band of rain sweeping across the city, flooding was reported in Brighton East, Yallambie and Thornbury, trees were down in Hawthorn, Yarraville and Wantirna, and building damage was reported in Northcote, Ringwood, Brunswick and Greensborough.
A landslip closed Lower Heidelberg Road at Eaglemont on Saturday, from Carlsberg Road to Burke Road, with local traffic access only.
Drivers were being advised to take Bulleen Road or Upper Heidelberg Road instead.
Two middle lanes eastbound on the Maroondah Highway before EastLink at Ringwood were also closed due to road damage from a burst water main.
It is expected to be closed until Monday morning.
Rain radar, December 2
How it fell
On Saturday, Melbourne had the coolest day for December since 2013 with a top of just 16.4 degrees at 2.16pm and a low of 13 degrees.
Mr Williams said the state had experienced record-breaking rainfall, with some areas in the north and north-east reaching rainfall up to 200mm.
Rainfall reached 123mm by Saturday morning in Echuca, 223km north of Melbourne, breaking a 159-year record.
In Euroa, 164mm north-east of Melbourne, rainfall reached 146mm, breaking a 132-year record. Officials urged residents in the township, as well as further east in Myrtleford, to consider evacuating.
A one-off payment of up to $540 per adult and $270 per child, capped at $1890 per household, is available to those forced to leave their homes because of the floods.
Applications for financial assistance can be made at the relief centres for up to seven days after the event, the state government said on its emergency website.
In Eildon, 139 kilometres north-east of Melbourne, rainfall reached 149mm, breaking 131-year record.
"Others at Strathbogie, Stanhope ... all setting new daily records, certainly for some parts of the state that is fairly exceptional," Mr Williams said.
"The event is not quite over, and we always watch out for these events for what we sometimes call here at the weather bureau the 'sting in the tail' before the low finally moves away. We've still got quite a bit more rain from the north-east, there's a lot of thunderstorm activity and heavy rain in NSW and some of that will still spill into the north-east."
The residents of Wangaratta and Benalla are watching the King and Ovens Rivers nervously as the rainfall that was dumped in the Apline region swells catchments and flows downstream over the next day towards the towns.
Flood warnings have also been issued for Broken River between Benalla and Shepparton. VicEmergency is warning that local roads in Benalla may be closed or flooded. Rowville residents near the Dandenong Creek, those near Murray River, upstream of Lake Hume, Harris Lane and Wallace Drive area in the Buckland Valley near Porepunkah and Macalister River upstream of Lake Glenmaggie had all been issued a flood warning on Saturday evening.
There was no flooding during the day in Melbourne, despite the serious warnings prompting officials to cancel major events, businesses to prepare for major flooding, and even workers to leave the city early on Friday upon the urging of the state's premier.
However, there was the risk of flash flooding Saturday night.
A number of vehicles became stuck in flood waters across the state including an elderly couple who were rescued by a farmer.
A Victorian SES spokeswoman said the incident happened late on Friday afternoon close to Seymour in Central Victoria. Emergency crew were on their way, but a farmer on his tractor managed to rescue the couple in their 70s.
In another incident, two vehicles became trapped in floodwater about 6.45am on Saturday in Cathkin in the north-east of the state. The two people in the car managed to get out, but the vehicle remains trapped.
Two vehicles became trapped in floodwater at 9am on Saturday on the Goulbourn Valley Highway in Molesworth in the north-east. No one is reported injured and there were no reports of a rescue.
Ambulance Victoria spokesman John Mullen said they received a call out about 5am onSaturday morning about a sinking vehicle on the Hume Freeway, Balmattum in the north-east.
There were reports the road had flooded and the water had washed the vehicle off the road. The two men in the vehicle were rescued, but no emergency care was required and no injuries were reported.
With AAP, Steve Lillebuen and Goya Dmytryshchak