Driver trapped for an hour

Exclusive video of car going through swollen water

Multiple flood road rescues

Town's second dump disaster in a week

A MAN is in hospital tonight being treated for hypothermia after a his dramatic rescue from the swollen Nardoo Creek in Wedderburn.

His vehicle was pushed more than 500 metres by swirling flash floods - the second storm dump on the town in eight days.

Local off-duty police sergeant Ben Huisman and CFA volunteers waded through raging water with safety harnesses to rescue the man about 7pm.

The Wedderburn, aged 60, had driven into the torrent crossing Tantalla Street an hour earlier with video footage by local teenager Dylan Caruana showing the moment the man's car was turned by the torrent and propelled towards down the creek before stopping near Chapel Street, two blocks away.

Sgt Huisman tonight said the creek level was steadily rising when he arrived.

"Then all of a sudden there was a surge and the water level rose six inches," he said, "That was enough to lift the car ... once it lifted it went down the creek at least 400 metres, almost to Chapel Street."

That's when Sgt Huisman said community kicked in. His wife Gabby was on the creek bank, encouraging the driver to climb on the roof of his Ford Territory.

"I  kept telling him to hold on and to keep breathing," she said.

The man's dog swam to the creek bank where Sgt Huisman, and Andrew Roberts were being fitted with safety equipment, the ropes gripped firmly by Matthew Tansley, Scott Cunningham and his 15-year-old son Will.

Sgt Huisman and Mr Roberts were waist-deep in water. "And it was flowing," Sgt Huisman said.

"Andrew and I carried the man out of the water ... it was a real community effort."

Sgt Huisman said the man had been lucky that vehicle did not flip when it was pushed into the creek an Tantalla Street.

"That was sheer luck," he said.

"Once we rescued the man, the car kept floating and then became submerged apart from a few centimetres of the aerial."

The off-duty sergeant had been dressed in basketball shorts and singlet when he arrived at the scene. "I went back to the station, grabbed a radio and everything happened from there. We were all  (the rescue team) in shorts and T-shirts or singlets."

Witnesses to the dramatic rescue have hailed the six - Scott Cunningham and his 16-year-old son Will, Matthew Tansley, Andrew Roberts, Ben and Gabby Huisman - as local heroes who were guided from the side by SES volunteers from St Arnaud and Bendigo.

"I really appreciate the efforts of everyone involved, especially the locals. It was about community getting together to save a local," Sgt Huisman said.

The rescued man was taken by ambulance to Bendigo hospital.

The rescue was one of at least four during the afternoon and evening. At the northern end of Wedderburn, Cass Reeves saw the first car become stranded on Calder Highway as the Nardoo Creek near here property reached similar heights to Christmas Day and then a second just 30 minutes later.

Another vehicle was pulled from the creek in Wedderburn as flood waters kept pushing towards Korong Vale where homes were also being hit for a second in days.

CFA volunteers were frantically filling sandbags in Wedderburn and truck them over to Korong Vale before the full brunt of fresh flash flooding hit, among the volunteers helping was Will Cunningham.

Some homes in both Wedderburn and Korong Vale that had been flooded on Christrmas Day had water go through them a again.

Roads across the region were cut throughout the afternoon and late into the night, from near Tarnagulla in the south to key routes linking with Pyramid Hill in the north.

Widespread power blackouts have seen hundreds of properties without electricity until late tonight with some some still for restoration of supplies.

Most areas have received about 80mm of rain to 5pm with more falls into the night. Wedderburn has now received more than 250mm of rain since December 24.

Tonight's flash flooding saw people travelling the Calder Highway stranded in Wedderburn. The town's community house opened its doors for people wanting a temporary refuge and assisted with accommodation for the night.

The second call to action came after the Christmas floods damaged homes in Wedderburn and Korong Vale and caused damage in other communities across the Loddon including Borung and Tarnagulla.

More than 300km of farm fencing has been lost and farmers are counting the cost of stock losses.