Residents of several Melbourne suburbs have been ordered to evacuate while others across the state have been told it’s too late to leave as Victoria experiences “one of the most significant flood events” in recent history.

As the Maribyrnong River in north-west Melbourne continues to rise, 42 suburbs across the city have been told to prepare for potential flooding.  

Those living in parts of Maribyrnong were urged to evacuate immediately by Vic Emergency as of 5.40am on Friday. Authorities have also warned residents in several suburbs in the riverine area to move to higher ground, with “flooding above floor level” in single-storey homes “likely to occur in many locations”.

River levels are expected to peak above flood level on Friday morning, with levels in Keilor expected to peak at 8.7 metres and levels in Maribyrnong expected to hit 3.8 metres, according to an alert issued by the Bureau of Meteorology.

The Bureau warned that flooding in the catchment of Deep River and the Maribyrnong River could result in “extensive inundation”, traffic disruptions and isolated properties.

It comes as a total of 91 flood-related warnings have been issued across Victoria, ranging in severity from Flood Watch alerts near inundated catchments to orders to evacuate immediately.

Between Thursday morning and Friday, the Victoria State Emergency Service responded to over 2500 calls for help, as staff assist in evacuating residents and clearing roads.

Premier Daniel Andrews told the ABC that the suburbs of Benalla, Wedderburn, the Maribyrnong, Carisbrook, Seymour and Rochester were his “chief concerns”.

“The most important thing is just to say to people get the best information, please be aware of your circumstances,” he said.

“If people are being called out driving through flood waters, that is dangerous for you and it is really dangerous for the emergency services (and the) volunteer or career staffer who has to come and save you.”

As of 6.30am on Friday, residents in Rochester, Maribyrnong, Benalla, Carisbrook and the township of Seymour have been advised to leave immediately, with some Seymour residents told it was too late to leave just seven minutes later due to the rising Goulburn River flooding roads and bridges.

While the Bureau reports that the deluge is expected to clear from 6am on Friday, rainfall totals have peaked above 200mm in just 24 hours and broken historic October totals, including one dating back to 1863.

ABC meteorologist Thomas Saunders reported that 76mm recorded in Mangalore exceeded records dating back to 1957, 71mm in Swan Hill is the highest total since 1884, and 66mm in Bendigo is the highest recorded since 1863.

The biggest falls affected Victoria’s lower northeast, with Strathbogie North, Charnwood and Moroko Park reporting totals of 221.6mm, 209.4mm and 187mm respectively.

On Thursday, Mr Andrews warned that the incoming weather event was “one of the most significant flood events” in recent history.

“That will pose a real challenge over the coming days,” he said.

Victoria’s soaking comes as widespread heavy rain and flash flooding continued to threaten northern Tasmania, central Victoria, and southern inland NSW, with the Bureau predicting that the weather event will finally move offshore on Friday.

Image: The Today Show