Thousands of residents in eastern Victoria have been told to evacuate or move to higher ground as rising rivers burst their banks just days after the region was ravaged by bushfires.
A major flood warning was issued for the Port of Sale, with dozens of residents doorknocked by emergency services and told to move to higher ground.
More than a dozen watch and act alerts had been issued in the state's east, with major flooding expected by Friday in communities surrounding Wangaratta near the Ovens River and the Mitchell River at Bairnsdale.
An evacuation order Tinamba, Tinamba West, Newry, Mewburn Park, Bellbird Corner, Riverslea and Maffra was downgraded late on Thursday.
Earlier in the day State Emergency Service's David Baker told ABC TV it was estimated up to 130 properties could have been impacted in the area.
"It's mainly homes in that area, rural homes, that may see what we call above-floor inundation," he said.
A handful of locals stayed behind in Tinamba to protect the town and farm land by building a dirt levee, while others sandbagged homes and the general store.
Water had already reached well above ankle height outside some houses on Thursday afternoon, with gardens and roads inundated with murky liquid.
Turf farmer Steven Stead was waiting for the flooding to subside so he could see how much of his crop was impacted by an estimated 130 millimetres of rain but was hopeful the damage wouldn't be as bad as feared.
"I don't think we'll be harvesting any time soon," he told AAP.
"Normally what we would expect in a flood in Tinamba is that (particular) crop would entirely be inundated and that hasn't happened, not yet anyway."
He said it was a different story for his nearby dairy farm, which had been covered in water.
There were 115 calls for assistance in the 24 hours to 4pm on Thursday.
The Macalister River downstream of Lake Glenmaggie measured above the major flood level on Thursday morning but had eased by afternoon.
Locals were told to gather pets, mobile phones and medications and bunker down at a relief centre at Gippsland Regional Sports Group in Sale.
Most had heeded the orders, Mr Baker said.
"At this stage, encouragingly, we have not had to undergo any rescues," he said.
The flood level was expected to peak near Maffra about noon on Thursday, Premier Jacinta Allan said.
She thanked communities for following calls to leave, saying the level of damage and inundation would be assessed when waters recede.
Authorities were also closely watching Wangaratta, with at least two homes already inundated, Emergency Services Minister Jaclyn Symes said.
Mr Baker said the next few days would be challenging but further heavy rain was not expected.
"The big tap in the sky has been turned off - that's great news for us," he said.
"What we're dealing with now is what's currently in the river systems that will need to flush itself through.
"We can assess that and manage that and put efforts in place to make sure communities are out of harm's way."
A farmer had to be rescued from floodwaters on Tuesday night in Alexandra after getting into trouble trying to rescue cattle on his tractor. The 43-year-old was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
In Gippsland, warnings for fires at Briagolong and Loch Sport have been downgraded to advice level, with the focus on flood risk zones after about 100mm of rain fell in the area.
About 700 firefighters spent three days battling two blazes, with one home lost in Briagolong but no reports of serious injury.
The cause of that blaze, which burnt about 17,500 hectares, is under investigation.
