Emergency warnings have been issued for life-threatening flash flooding in vast areas of the southeast Australian states of Victoria and New South Wales. The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has issued severe weather warnings for heavy rainfall in central and northern Victoria as well as south and southwestern NSW. The warning area, spanning over 650 km from Seymour to Broken Hill, could experience up to 100 mm of rainfall in six hours on Monday, potentially leading to dangerous flash flooding.
The BoM has highlighted the risk of locally intense rainfall and thunderstorms in the warning area, urging caution. State Emergency Service branches in Victoria and NSW are advising people to avoid driving through floodwaters and to stay away from waterways. The BoM’s flood watch updates indicate that more than 20 catchments in both states are likely to be impacted by the heavy rainfall event.
An emergency warning for dangerous flash flooding was previously issued in South Australia on February 27 due to intense rainfall. The BoM had forecast heavy to intense rainfall in SA’s arid north and northeast, spreading south towards Adelaide over the weekend. Notably, the BoM weather station in Coober Pedy had seen minimal rainfall since October 2025, with no recorded rainfall in January or December.
