In a dramatic weather event, nearly 180mm of rain inundated the catchment areas around Mt Cowley near Lorne in just six hours. This deluge left caravan parks devastated and resulted in the destruction of numerous vehicles.

Many families had to make a hasty escape to higher ground, often with nothing more than the clothes they were wearing. Several residents reported that flood warnings arrived too late, only after the towns were already submerged.

“By the time I received a notification about the flood, it had already occurred,” remarked Shaun McKinlay, the manager of the Wye River General Store and Cafe.

Charlotte Armstrong and her family had been staying in a camper trailer just above the Cumberland River when it began to swell around 12:30 PM.

“I noticed the river’s flow was picking up speed while we were setting up lunch,” Armstrong recalled. “Within about three minutes, the water had risen to our site.”

“We knew there was rain coming, so we tightened our annexes and prepared for that, but nothing like what happened. It happened just so fast.

“We were just trying to take all the stuff from the riverside, but it was so strong and so fast, there were huge trees coming down the river.”

Holidaymakers have been told they can’t return to salvage their belongings for at least another 48 hours, leaving many unsure about the extent of the damage.

“With the heavy rain that came in, we have no idea what’s left,” she said.

Armstrong believes her Subaru Forester was destroyed in the flood, but the family still doesn’t know what happened to their camper trailer or the family car.

“We’ve been going there for over 20 years, we’ve never seen anything like it. There’s been flooding but yeah, nothing like that,” she said.

Another Cumberland River Holiday Park camper, whose caravan and car were swept up in the rapids, said the water reached waist height within 10 minutes of the deluge.

“We were up the other end of the caravan park, further away from the entrance, so we were some of the first people to get affected,” the teenager, who did not want to be identified, said.

“I managed to get most of the stuff out of the caravan… everything that was valuable.

“They’re still plenty of bedding and like cutlery and stuff in there but we got all electronics and stuff out.”

The caravan still has’t been recovered, he said.

“It’ll be in the ocean somewhere, probably, or on the beach somewhere.

“It might be jammed onto the bridge with the other cars. We don’t know.”

Campers who were fast enough fled to a nearby hill behind the park, while others had to wade through waters and jump on top of roofs to find safety.

“Lots of people you know couldn’t make it there in time, so they just got on top of like cabins or on top of the reception office,” the man said.

“A friend of mine helped some older folks get onto the top of the reception.”

A man in his 60s was later winched from the reception roof due to an existing injury that prevented him from getting down.

The 19-year-old’s family, who have been holidaying at Cumberland River Holiday Park for 16 years, had evacuated the area just last week as bushfires in the nearby Otways raged through bushland.

“I went into autopilot, honestly. I don’t think I felt any fear until afterwards and then I thought it was just like a profound sense of exhaustion,” he said.

“I think the main thing that’s shaken us up is like, if it happened at night, there would be almost certainly fatalities, like it was so quick.”

The threat of the flooding has now reduced, but people in the area are being urged to look out for hazards including debris, fallen trees, powerlines and damaged roads.

Traffic management points remain in place on the Great Ocean Road between Skenes Creek to Hird Street in Lorne, according to the State Emergency Service.