Rescuers desperately trying to save horses trapped in floods near Melbourne

Horses have become trapped in floodwaters in Victoria as their owners and locals try desperately to rescue the animals.

Major flooding has inundated the town of Mangalore and the surrounding region after central Victoria was drenched with rain all week.

The severe wet weather hit local horse breeder Yulong Stud and flooded the paddocks and nearby fields.

Horses at breeder Yulong Stud in Mangalore, Victoria, have become trapped in rising floodwaters as severe wet weather devastates the region 

Scores of horses have been caught in the floods and are struggling to get out of the raging waters.

Owners have attempted to save their thoroughbreds by herding them out of the water.

They are using a single boat vessel to rescue the animals and have called for urgent assistance for boats and life jackets. 

Yulong Investments said in a tweet: ‘We’re in desperate need of life jackets, boats, blankets, rugs and any other help people in the area of Nagambie can give us as we have a number of horses to rescue from flooded paddocks.’  

Trucks are reportedly heading to Mangalore to transport the rescued horses to higher ground. 

At least a dozen horses are still trapped in the floods at the property, according to 10 News.

Owners of the thoroughbreds are desperately trying to save them by herding them out of the water and using a boat vessel

They have called for urgent assistance, asking for more boats, lifejackets, rugs, blankets and hands to save the horses

Towns in Melbourne and central Victoria are being devastated by rising floodwaters after a week of heavy rainfall.

Evacuation orders have been given for Rochester, Wedderburn, Maribyrnong in Melbourne‘s inner city, Benalla and Carisbrook.

More than 450 properties in Rochester are expected to be impacted when the swollen Campaspe River peaks. 

The Victorian SES warned the floods in the town could be reminiscent of those in 2011 when 80 per cent of the township and surrounding rural areas were flooded. 

For those living in Seymour, which is just over an hour north of Melbourne, they were told on Friday morning it’s too late to leave. A relief centre has opened up at the Wedderburn Hall.

Evacuation orders have been given for suburbs in Victoria including Wedderburn, Maribyrnong in Melbourne’s inner city, Benalla, Carisbrook and Rochester

Flooding has inundated the small rural town of Rochester in northern Victoria

‘It is now too late to leave for people in the area bounded by the Goulburn River to Redbank Rd; along the Goulburn Valley Hwy to Whiteheads Creek up to the railway line and along the bridge crossing the river to the south,’ VicEmergency said.

‘If you have not evacuated, you should shelter in the highest location possible.’

The same warning has also been issued for low lying areas between Benalla and Baddiginnie.

Those unable to flee to safety have been told to find shelter at the highest ground possible, and ensure they have enough food and water.

‘Be aware that you may be isolated by floodwater for a significant amount of time,’ the alert reads.

Those living in Rochester, a small town 180km north of Melbourne, have been told to evacuate the area with the swollen Campaspe River expected to peak early on Friday morning

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Flood waters are seen encroaching on one Victorian family’s home on Friday morning

There have also been countless warnings to move to higher ground, and to avoid flooded areas around the state.

Forty-two suburbs have been declared at risk. 

Brunswick, Coburg, Fitzroy and Northcote in Melbourne’s inner-north and Essendon, Sunshine, Footscray and Yarraville in the west are all on the list of ‘at-risk’ suburbs.

There may be some relief on the way for Victorians with the Bureau of Meteorology declaring the severe weather warning that was issued for the state is now cancelled.

Scattered showers are forecast for the state’s southern and mountain districts for Friday but the wet weather has mostly eased.

But Victoria’s emergency management commissioner Andrew Crisp has warned the state’s flood risk won’t end after today, or even after this weekend.

He told 3AW’s Neil Mitchell ‘we’re in this for a while’, with the state experiencing a ‘campaign flood event’.

‘There is another low developing, so we’ll see, probably, that weather next Wednesday/Thursday,’ he told Mitchell.