The Latest Breaking News on Floods

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Hundreds of properties are underwater or isolate and thousands of people remain without power, as Australia's flood emergency worsens.

Thousands of people across Australia's southeast were asked to evacuate their homes on Friday, including some in a western suburb of Melbourne, after two days of incessant rains triggered flash flooding and fast-moving waters burst river banks.

Residents in inner-city suburbs of Melbourne are rescued by boat as some of the worst flooding in decades hits Victoria. Meanwhile, thousands of people in in NSW and Tasmania are also under evacuation orders.

Floodwaters have forced thousands to evacuate their homes in parts of suburban Melbourne and regional Victoria on Friday after heavy rain.

Homes in Melbourne's west have been flooded, after areas near the Maribyrnong and Werribee rivers were evacuated and emergency services had to rescue trapped residents.

Friday: Towns worked to evacuate livestock and dig trenches as rivers burst, with some areas facing the worst flooding in almost 50 years. Plus: what can single people do to celebrate their lives

Victorian Premier Dan Andrews says the flooding in his state is extremely serious as NSW and Tasmania await their turn, and one in eight Australians live below the poverty line.

The Lachlan River is still shy of its expected peak in the Central West NSW town of Forbes. Meanwhile, the Murrumbidgee flood continues to move downstream and the search for a man missing since Tuesday resumes.