A frantic search effort is under way for a driver swept away by floodwaters in Victoria’s east.
The man, aged in his 60s, was last seen in a Nissan Patrol near Sullivan Track at Thomson, north of Mt Baw Baw, at 1.30pm on Monday.
A friend who witnessed the incident from another vehicle said the man was attempting to cross a swollen river before falling into a deep section of the crossing.
He then unsuccessfully tried to rescue his mate before the 4WD became submerged and the alarm was raised.
A crime scene guard has been placed at the scene until divers and local police return on Tuesday morning.
It comes after Victorian residents were put on high alert amid a series of weather warnings ranging from danxjmtzywgerous flash flooding to potential cyclones.
The Bureau of Meteorology announced on Sunday that Victorian residents in the East Gippsland area would cop a rain bomb of up to 120mm as a low pressure system in the Tasman Sea crept southwest.
Authorities warned residents to “take shelter” and brace for flash flooding as well as damaging winds of up to 100km an hour.
The Victorian State Emergency Service asked residents near East Gippsland’s Bemm River to activate their flood plan as waters rose and remain wary of landslides and damaged roads.
Devastating floods in both NSW and Queensland have claimed 23 lives so far this year along with an estimated $2.5bn damage to thousands of homes.
