Victoria’s surf coast faced an "unprecedented" downpour on Thursday, causing flash floods and damaging about 20 cars that washed into the ocean at Wye River. Emergency management commissioner Tim Wiebusch confirmed 180mm of rain fell rapidly, flooding campgrounds and forcing around 600 people to evacuate, with 60 needing emergency housing in Apollo Bay and Lorne. Colac mayor Jason Schram criticized the warnings, asking, “How could they not predict 180 [millimetres] of rainfall?” Emergency Management Victoria called the event "unprecedented," saying over 180mm fell in six hours, the highest daily rainfall ever recorded at Lorne. More than 10,000 people got alerts to move to higher ground. Senior meteorologist Angus Hines warned Sydney faces its "soggiest weekend of summer" with up to 20mm rain possible each day and severe storms predicted, including damaging winds up to 100km/h. The Bureau of Meteorology issued severe thunderstorm warnings for heavy rain and flash flooding in the Illawarra and Sydney areas. Officials said the warnings escalated as rainfall intensified, with the first flood emergency calls coming just 30 minutes after warnings were upgraded. Despite the chaos, only one injury—a child airlifted after climbing on a roof—was reported. NSW also suffered heavy rainfall, with over 274 emergencies reported, cars trapped, and people stranded in flood zones. Meanwhile, Victoria continues battling nearly 10 major bushfires, which have destroyed at least 289 homes and damaged over 1,000 structures. Floods and fires have closed about 100 roads. Experts warn that climate change is driving more extreme and unpredictable weather, with 2025 among the hottest years recorded, pushing emergency services to their limits.