Australia reported the first fatality from days of widespread flash flooding Saturday, despite heavy rains easing and flood levels topping out across much of the southeast.

Hundreds of homeowners began a long clean-up after storm waters engulfed streets, houses and cars across three states, with Melbourne suburbs among the worst hit.

Two very wet years have left much of eastern Australia sodden, and floods now frequently follow even moderate downpours.

"It was frighting. I've been here for the other floods but I've never seen anything like that," 61-year-old Antoinette Besalino told AFP.

The apparent flooding victim was a 71-year-old man who was "found deceased in floodwaters in the backyard" of his property in the town of Rochester, a small town north of Melbourne.

"Crews are on scene and police are attempting to get to the property, which is currently blocked off due to floodwater," police said.

"The exact circumstances surrounding the death are yet to be determined."

As the waters ebbed, residents were left wading through mud-caked streets, passing collapsed fences, abandoned cars, tree branches festooned with debris and, in one instance, a marooned wheely bin.

"The cleanup is going to be huge," said 58-year-old Peter Dimauro. "Think about all of the branches and all of the garbage that has washed up."

About 466 homes have "above-the-floor flooding", according to Victoria state premier Dan Andrews. "Almost certainly those numbers will grow as we see flood waters peak in a number of communities," he said.

For some, the risk is not yet over, with water still funnelling into already-swollen catchments.

Evacuation orders remain in place for dozens of communities.

"This is serious, this is potentially very very dangerous," said Andrews.

Australia's east coast has been repeatedly lashed by heavy rainfall in the past two years, driven by back-to-back La Nina cycles.

The east coast flooding disaster in March -- caused by heavy storms in Queensland and New South Wales -- claimed more than 20 lives.

Tens of thousands of Sydney residents were ordered to evacuate in July when floods again swamped the city's fringe.

Climate change does not cause La Nina events, but scientists believe it could make periods of flooding more extreme because warmer air holds more moisture.

Major flooding in Crete kills two
Athens (AFP) Oct 16, 2022 - Two people were killed after torrential rain brought major flooding to the Greek island of Crete, firefighters said on Sunday.

Rain started to fall on Saturday morning in the southern Greek island, a popular holiday destination, hitting the Heraklion region particularly hard.

Greek firefighters said the body of a 49-year-old woman was found in the sea on Sunday, raising the death toll to two from the floods.

On Saturday, a man in his 50s was found dead after he was trapped in his car as torrential rains began.

The two individuals were going to Heraklion for work, Greek public television ERT reported.

A second missing individual was found alive on Saturday evening.

The rains forced the evacuation of several homes and unleashed extensive damage in seaside villages, where streets became rivers carrying away everything in their path, local media reported.

The flash floods pushed several cars into the sea along the beach of the seaside resort of Agia Pelagia, with some almost completely submerged in the water surrounded by debris.

The beach was covered in scrap including plastic bottles and toys, next to straw umbrellas.

The flooding also damaged more than 15 shops, mainly fine restaurants, in Agia Pelagia, popular with wealthy diners.

The Civil Defence department said it was mobilised and asked all citizens to be vigilant on Sunday in Crete and the surrounding islands of Rhodes, Karpathos, Kastellorizo and Kasos.

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Floods swallow cars, swamp houses in 'major' Australian emergency
Melbourne (AFP) Oct 14, 2022
Flash floods swamped hundreds of homes in southeastern Australia Friday with waterlogged residents now facing a "nerve-wracking" wait to assess the damage. A major flooding emergency was declared in Victoria - Australia's second-most populous state - where rapidly rising waters forced evacuations in the Melbourne suburb of Maribyrnong. Cars left on the streets of the suburb were almost completely swallowed by the floods, while some stranded residents had to be saved by inflatable rescue boats. ... read more