300 properties flooded in Victoria

The northern Victorian city of Shepparton is holding its breath as three swollen rivers converge.

ABOUT 300 properties have been flooded in north and western Victoria.

Premier John Brumby has announced the formation of a ministerial taskforce, headed by Treasurer John Lenders, to visit flood-affected areas and make recommendations to government about how to direct the recovery effort.

State Emergency Service (SES) acting director operations Tim Wiebusch said on Tuesday there were about 300 inundated properties in Shepparton, in the state's north, and in Horsham in the west.

SES crews alerted those communities overnight, and boat crews were sent to Kialla West, south of Shepparton, and Cosgrove, to the east, which have been isolated by floodwaters from the Broken and Goulburn rivers.

The Goulburn river is closed to all boat traffic except emergency services.

Mr Wiebusch said the Ovens and King rivers threaten to break a levee at Wangaratta. The water is expected to remain at its peak for another 24 to 48 hours.

About 60 properties in the area are directly under threat, but some residents have chosen not to evacuate, he said.

About 20 properties could be isolated in Horsham, but only a small number were expected to be flooded.

Mr Brumby said three rain events will move across the state in the next seven to 10 days.

He said there would be significant crop damage in flood-affected areas.

"For the areas that remain under water, obviously the longer they're under water, the greater the damage that will occur," the premier told reporters.

"At the moment I think the net benefit of seeing increased rains, particularly right over the Mallee and the Wimmera and the northern country, far outweighs the damage that's occurred, but that equation may just change a little over the next week to two weeks."

Mr Brumby said further flooding was likely in coming weeks.

"If we get much more rain in the next few weeks, with the ground already wet and many of the catchments full, you will see the continuation of circumstances that are prone to flooding," he said.

"So that would lead you to further minor to moderate flooding in much of the north of the state and potentially the Latrobe Valley in the next week or two, depending on how significant those rain events are.

"Any big rain event late in September or October, as we sometimes get, again would lead you to the conclusion there will be more flooding."