A huge lake, caused by the recent floods in Australia, is threatening to swamp towns in the southeastern state of Victoria - a quarter of which is already under water.
The lake, which has been described as a huge ‘inland sea’, covers an area 90km long and 40km wide.
Thousands of people have been evacuated to higher ground, as the state faces its most significant flooding since records began.
Meanwhile, Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan has warned that the ‘epic' flooding would require difficult decisions.
Mr Swan said strong population growth and development meant the deluge had wrought unprecedented damage, hitting many more homes and businesses than major floods and cyclones in the 1970s or the 2009 wildfires, which killed 173 people.
‘The exact impacts of this epic disaster on our budget will be accounted for in time, but there's no doubting the final tally will be very significant,’ said Mr Swan in his first weekly economic note for 2011.
‘There is no doubt the recent floods will rank as one of the most costly natural disasters in our history.’
The muddy waters continued their march through Victoria today, surrounding the town of Swan Hill and nearby villages. Emergency officials delivered 120,000 sandbags to residents.
