Clean-up efforts across parts of Victoria and New South Wales are underway, after days of heavy rainfall and flooding.
Victoria’s State Emergency Service said it responded to more than 1,000 calls for help over a 72 hour period with the state’s west being hit the hardest.
Among those was the regional Victorian town of Wedderburn where businesses and homes were inundated with water.
The central Victorian town of Elmore has also had warnings issued after reports of a faulty storage tank at the local water treatment plant.
Residents are being warned not to use their local tap water for drinking, food preparation or preparing baby formula.
Residents are also being told not to use tap water to wash themselves, to clean dishes and clothing, and not to give it to pets.
The storage tank has reportedly been drained and the local water authority is organising bottled water delivery for the town’s 800 residents.
Local water authority Coliban Water said it could be several days before the water is restored and safe to drink.
The cause of the fault is currently being investigated.
Several alerts remain in place across the state with residents urged to check the Vic Emergency website throughout the day for updates.
Most of the calls were from south-eastern parts of the state, where flash flooding impacted parts of the Illawarra, Goulburn and Eurobodalla.
Six flood rescues were also conducted, but no serious injuries were reported on Christmas Day.
SES spokesperson Emily Barton said some parts of the south coast experienced intense rainfall of up to 156 millimetres.
Meanwhile, Grenfell in the state’s central west was impacted by hail storms, with the SES receiving 41 calls for assistance.
More than a thousand volunteers were deployed to assist over the Christmas period.
NSW SES Assistant Commissioner Sean Kearns said further storms are forecast for Boxing Day, shifting towards the east.
“We’ve been prepared and we are ready for further rainfall today,” he said.
(ABC)
