Car swept out to sea as severe storm hits
Three cars were swept out to sea and a popular campsite on Victoria’s Wye River was flooded on Thursday.
Caravan Parks on rivers along the Great Ocean Road, including the Carlisle River and the Cumberland River, are now being evacuated. Lorne Foreshore caravan park is also being evacuated due to severe flooding.
Flooding on the River Wye on 15 January.Credit: Rebecca Scott
The Great Ocean Road is currently closed in both directions between Skenes Creek and the River Wye, and 6,500 homes in the area were without power as of 3pm.
Footage posted on social media and obtained by this masthead shows multiple cars being swept into the ocean on the River Wye. Other footage captured at Big4 shows parts of the holiday park underwater in rapid flood waters.
A popular seaside town on the Great Ocean Road, Wye River is approximately 150 kilometers from Melbourne and a short drive from Lorne.
The State Emergency Service issued a flash flood emergency warning for the River Wye, Kennett River, Cumberland River, Lorne and surrounding areas at 2.36pm. The warning states that people living in these areas are in danger and should immediately go indoors to protect themselves from flood waters.
Melbourne woman Rebecca Scott was camping at Big4 park with her daughter when the river broke its banks around 1pm.
“All of a sudden the water started rising,” Scott told this imprint. “You know that moment when you say, ‘This is a flood?’ These are dangerous waters.”
Scott described a frantic scene as campers unplugged electrical equipment and tried to salvage essential items. As the park’s playground became a “reservoir,” he was forced to abandon his tent, bed, and camp kitchen to escape in his car.
