Rising floodwaters still threaten hundreds of homes in Victoria's fruit bowl while the rest of the state begins a messy clean-up from some of the worst flooding in decades.
Many swollen rivers have peaked and started a slow decline after a weekend storm deluged alpine regions with more than 200mm of rainfall, turning rivers into fast-flowing torrents and isolating rural townships.
But, as the multimillion-dollar disaster enters its fifth day with 300 properties statewide so far affected, only the city of Shepparton remains a major flood risk.
Victorian State Emergency Service spokesman Lachlan Quick said the rising Goulburn River a delayed peak is expected as late as 3am today could inundate hundreds more properties in Shepparton.
An 11.1m river peak is expected to flood 60 homes and impact 200 others but if the peak comes in at just 20cm higher, that number would jump to around 100 homes with another 600 impacted.
''Because the river is quite high you can see there's quite a significant difference with only a slight rise in the water level,'' Mr Quick said yesterday.
Elsewhere, residents were focused on cleaning up as Premier John Brumby announced a ministerial taskforce to visit the worst-hit areas and make recommendations on recovery efforts.
Authorities in Wangaratta, about 230km north of Melbourne, are still closely watching a levee which has weakened at two points, posing a threat to 60 homes.
But 10 home owners have already returned and decided to risk staying in the potential flood zone.
Nearby Myrtleford and Eurobin are in clean-up mode with the Ovens River receding after submerging most of the towns earlier this week.
Western Victoria has so far broken the biggest flood records with the main street in the township of Charlton flooded for the first time in more than 30 years.
More than 80 homes in the community of fewer than 1000 residents were hit by floodwaters, surpassing a record 1983 flood.
But the waters receded significantly yesterday with Charlton relief centres starting to close.
Further west, in Horsham, the Wimmera River peak came in much lower than expected, isolating less than a dozen homes.
All eyes are now on the skies to see if forecast rain replenishes the floodwaters.
Weather bureau senior forecaster Richard Carlyon said up to 20mm was forecast later this week for most of the state, with up to 50mm in alpine regions.
''It's a cold front approaching [tomorrow] so we don't expect the rain to be anything like the magnitude we saw last weekend,'' he said.
Officials say the imminent rain isn't expected to raise floodwaters beyond minor flood threat level, but could become a concern later on as it keeps the soil saturated until a potential big storm thunders across the state.
Mr Quick said, ''It could increase the risk further down the track, with three separate lower-range weather events [forecast] in 10 days. It maintains the moisture level in the soil.''
The heavy rain has caused more than 500 graves in central Victoria to sink.
Some of the graves, at five cemeteries managed by the Bendigo Cemeteries Trust, have sunk up to 30cm after 80mm of rain fell between Friday night and Sunday.
Trust chief executive Bruce Macumber said they had ordered 80 cubic metres of topsoil to refill the graves, however the wet conditions meant it could take days or weeks to complete repairs.
Thousands of racegoers stranded in Queensland's far south-west are on the move, with the reopening of a road out of Birdsville.
About 4000 people were stuck in the town after rain washed out the famed Birdsville races at the weekend the first wash-out in 128 years. One road leading north to Bedourie and beyond reopened yesterday.
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