Victoria hit by serious flooding

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MELBOURNE - Houses have been flooded and motorists had to be rescued over the weekend as heavy storms hit north-central Victoria.

Floodwaters are yet to peak with five houses in Rochester already flooded and the main street and some houses in Charlton to the west expected to be hit today or tomorrow.

Motorists had been taken by surprise on roads hit by flooding, said Superintendent Neil Paterson, of Bendigo police.

"We've had a number of people who've driven into areas where roads have been covered by water and been washed into creeks and drainways and had to be rescued from cars," he told ABC Radio.

"At this stage we've been very lucky, we've had no serious injuries or loss of life or anything like that.

"Some were just plain unlucky. One lady drove through earlier in the evening and got through quite comfortably and then later on coming home the water had risen quite dramatically and being dark she couldn't see it."

The State Emergency Service (SES) says it does not expect this week's weather to be as severe as September's floods - the worst in 15 years - but there was still the chance of more roads, houses and rural properties being affected.

The weather has also affected Melbourne with flood warnings on rivers including the Yarra, Maribyrnong and Werribee Rivers and bike and walking paths.

Melbourne has already exceeded the rainfall average for the first time in 13 years and its dams stand at 51.7 per cent, the highest in years.

- AAP s