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A woman fell into a flooded drain as wild weather hit Victoria, but no one could hear her screams for help over the roar of the water.
The 58-year-old man fell shortly before 9pm on Monday and ended up in the drain on Raglan St in Daylesford.
She was swept along by fast-moving water for a while until she reached a place where the water was up to her neck.
There, she grabbed onto a metal pole and screamed for help, but no one could hear her because of the noise of the water.
After fighting the strong water for a while, the woman managed to return to the slope and climb to a safe place.
She managed to walk to her friend’s nearby house and was treated for minor cuts and bruises.
Almost 500 requests for help were made to emergency services as thunderstorms, damaging winds and heavy rain battered the state.
There were nearly 250 reports of building damage and 110 food-related incidents across the state in the 24 hours to 7am, the SES said.
About 63 calls related to trees down on roadways during the wild storm.
The suburbs of Melton, Altona and Point Cook in Melbourne’s west were among the worst affected areas, along with Lara near Geelong and Horsham in the state’s west.
A severe weather warning for heavy rain and damaging wind gusts remains in place for much of eastern Victoria, stretching from parts of Melbourne to southern Gippsland and the High Country.
The alert extends along the New South Wales border to parts of the southwestern slopes and snowy mountains, with damaging winds and peak gusts of up to 130km/h expected on Tuesday morning.
On Monday, lightning caused a 40-minute disruption to the Geelong and Hawthorn AFL match at the MCG, while the Stawell Gift finals were delayed by about two hours due to torrential rain and water on the track.
Meanwhile, a woman in Daylesford, central Victoria, narrowly escaped after falling into a stormwater drain shortly before 9pm on Monday.
She fell down an embankment and was swept away by fast-flowing water until she grabbed onto a metal pole, Victoria Police said.
The 58-year-old man tried to call for help, but could not be heard over the sound of rushing water.
The force said he was eventually able to climb to safety, suffering minor cuts and bruises.