Flash floods possible in Australia

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VICTORIA, Australia, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- Weather forecasters in Australia have warned residents in Victoria and nearby areas that flash floods could result from heavy rain.

Nearly 4 inches of rain has fallen at Mt. Buffalo, in northeast Victoria, and more than 2 inches has fallen at Moorabbin, southeast of Melbourne, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported Saturday.

"We've got flood watches current for the majority of Victoria, apart from east Gippsland and the southwest," the bureau of meteorology's James Taylor said. "Those flood watches may well turn into warnings, depending on how much and exactly where the rainfall occurs. Overnight tonight we expect there's a reasonable chance that we'll have to issue flood warnings."

Taylor said large parts of the state have already had 150 percent of its October rainfall.

"This weekend alone, we're forecasting rainfall totals that would be nearly equivalent to a whole month of rain for October," he said. "So, we're expecting that the total rainfall for October will be significantly above average for large parts of the state."