By Mark Russell
AN ENORMOUS inland sea 90 kilometres long and 40 kilometres wide was heading for the historic north Victorian town of Swan Hill last night, where the swollen Loddon River was set to merge with the mighty Murray.
As Swan Hill's 10,000 residents, aided by an army of holidaymakers, worked relentlessly to build levees along the riverbank and around homes, smaller towns in the flood's path faced evacuation.
India Graham waits as her family prepares for the Benjeroop flood.Credit: Felicia Chalmers, The Guardian Swan Hill
Senior weather bureau forecaster Terry Ryan said the encroaching floodwaters of the Loddon would threaten the towns of Lake Charm, Mystic Park and Lake Boga as they headed north to Swan Hill, which was expecting a peak of 4.7 metres by tonight or early tomorrow. The floodwaters are expected to rise to 4.8 metres by the end of the week.
The inland sea, however, was not expected to increase in size as no further rain was forecast in coming days, he said.
State Emergency Service spokeswoman Jamie Sofe said sandbags had been placed along the Loddon between Kerang - which remained isolated yesterday - and Swan Hill, to try to stop the flow of water. About 3000 bags had come from Echuca.
Swan Hill mayor Greg Cruickshank said the community had united to protect vulnerable areas. ''We believe the actual township is going to be safe. We're quite confident the levee system will hold,'' Mr Cruickshank told The Sunday Age.
''The outlying rural and semi-rural areas are the places in real strife around Lake Boga, Pental Island and the Tyntynder Flats.
''The approach we're taking is protecting the frontline.''
Dairy farmer Grant Davies is taking no chances. He called in excavators to build a metre-high levee around his home. His Fish Point property abuts the Little Murray River and he knows it will go under.
''We are as prepared as we can be, but is it enough? I don't know,'' Mr Davies says.
When Swan Hill's Riverside Caravan Park was told to prepare for inundation yesterday, the majority of campers pitched in.
Teenagers from Ballarat joined holidaymakers from Melbourne, council workers and Swan Hill business owners to build a levee bank along the river in just three hours.
And in a sign of how serious the situation is about to get, Premier Ted Baillieu toured the area with Water Minister, local Swan Hill MP Peter Walsh, who was keen to assure Swan Hill residents they were safe.
But just south of town, at Pental Island, there is real fear. All that stands between Francis Trezise's home and the encroaching sea is a makeshift levee.
''We just want it to come now so we can get on and deal with it,'' the father of three said.
In other developments:
■ The weather bureau warned severe thunderstorms would hit parts of Gippsland from 2pm yesterday. Heavy rainfall, flash flooding and large hailstones were forecast in areas including Orbost, Dargo, Buchan, Mallacoota, Bonang and Omeo.
■ SES figures show 1770 properties, 4400 people and 75 towns have so far been affected, 6400 requests for help received, 29 relief and recovery centres opened and more than 3140 people registered at relief centres.
■ In the north-west town of Jeparit, floodwaters were expected to peak last night or early today with 16 homes tipped to be inundated and another 20 at risk.
A relief centre has been set up at the Jeparit memorial hall and the army has brought in four wheel drive Unimog trucks in case the town becomes isolated.
with ELISE SNASHALL-WOODHAMS, THE GUARDIAN SWAN HILL