Melbourne floods: Historic photos of the city’s 1972 floods emerge as wild weather swept Victoria

Extraordinary photos have surfaced again of Melbourne’s catastrophic floods in 1972 – as a torrent of water once again devastates parts of the city and saturates central Victoria.

Historic images emerged on Thursday of the record-breaking February downpour that turned busy downtown streets into rivers and saw waves crash into buildings.

Cars, belongings and debris were swept across roads, pedestrians were evacuated to higher elevations and all forms of public transport were effectively shut down.

Melbourne recorded 75mm of rain in the span of 17 minutes soaking both the inner city and surrounding suburbs such as Carlton, Brunswick, Fitzroy and Richmond.

The flooding started to build up in the city between 4pm and 5pm, creating even more chaos during rush hour.

In some parts of the road the water was 1.2 meters deep.

Vehicles drifted through the street or were completely submerged in water.

Police officers tried to rescue Melbournians who became trapped or isolated.

At one point, an elderly woman had to be rescued after falling into a flooded manhole.

The storm began to subside around 5:30 p.m. when emergency services were busy clearing the area.

Trams and trains were shut down during the storm, while workers spent the night repairing services for the morning after.

Cars and belongings drifted on the road or were submerged in water as waves swept through the busy streets

Melburnians evacuated the area to seek higher ground or sheltered in storefronts to escape the Flood

No one was seriously injured, but all 50 ambulances in the city were in use during the storm.

Emergency Roadside Assistance received 1,200 calls in the four hours since the flood started.

Traffic exiting the city slowed to a crawl after the rain slowly dissipated and made little progress for the next three hours.

Abandoned cars or cars broken down by the floods significantly hindered the flow.

The historical scenes are reminiscent of the floods that rolled through Melbourne’s northwestern inner cities and towns in central Victoria.

Cleaning work is underway in Maribyrnong after the suburb was ravaged by flooding when heavy rains combined with a saturated catchment area pushed the Maribyrnong River’s peak at 4.18 metres.

The Flood damaged more than a hundred properties in the low-lying tidal area of ​​the municipality.

Water rose to 1.2 meters in some parts of Elizabeth Street, Melbourne as police tried to rescue pedestrians who were trapped or isolated

The images of the 1972 floods come as floods wreaked havoc on Melbourne’s northwestern suburbs and towns in central Victoria (photo, rescuers evacuate residents during Maribyrnong floods)

Cleaning work is underway in Maribyrnong (pictured) after the suburb was devastated by floods that damaged more than a hundred properties

Meanwhile, new evacuation orders have been issued for some residents living near Australia’s largest river, the Murray River, with warnings of further flooding and forecasts of more rain.

Residents in Echuca, near the border with Victoria, are preparing for the Murray River’s peak from late Friday, amid reports of empty supermarket shelves after road closures cut off supplies.

“We are currently driving some of those local roads with both supply and emergency services, but the next 24 hours will be critical,” Tim Wiebusch, head of the Victoria State Emergency Service, told ABC television.

Evacuation warnings are also in place for the smaller towns of Barmah, Lower Moira and Bunbartha, where swollen rivers threaten to overflow.

In Echuca, locals spent days building a two-kilometer-long makeshift causeway through the city to protect thousands of homes and businesses.

Residents of Echuca (pictured) and Moama near the Victorian border have been told to evacuate immediately as the Murray River rises to record highs

Pictured: Flood-affected areas in Rochester, 190km north of Melbourne, on Monday

Eighteen volunteers from the Queensland State Emergency Service were deployed to Victoria on Thursday, providing more flood boats and rescue teams for fast water.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said up to 500 defense personnel would help with flood recovery, while hundreds were already on the ground filling sandbags as military helicopters were deployed on evacuation and resupply missions.

Several layers of sandbags have been placed in front of shops and homes in Echuca, television images show.

Over the next five days, up to 100mm of rain could wet eastern Australia – about a tenth of the annual rainfall in some areas. Although the Bureau of Meteorology lowered its forecast on Wednesday, any amount of rain increases the risk of flash flooding from the already swollen rivers.

Residents in Echuca build sandbag walls against the possibility of rising water (photo, residents build the wall outside a local pub)

Residents of flood-prone towns in northern Victoria have been warned they could be isolated for up to a week if they don’t evacuate quickly.

Victoria emergency services urged residents of Echuca to limit water use after flooding damaged sewage systems.

Police reported one more death as a result of the flooding, which began last week, bringing the total to three.

The SES has received more than 8,000 requests for assistance since the floods began, including nearly 730 rescues.

Australia has been struggling with frequent flooding in the east since early 2021 as a result of La Nina, which brings more rain. The weather phenomenon is underway for the third year in a row and is likely to continue into next year, suggesting more flooding is likely to occur in the coming months.