SES has been inundated with calls for assistance overnight for power loss and damage from falling trees, as the Bureau of Meteorology alerts Victorians of more heavy rain tonight.

The ABC reported over 9,000 homes lost power overnight across Victoria’s central, north and north-east areas, as of this morning.

Premier Daniel Andrews has praised SES volunteers for their efforts in keeping Victorians safe.

“Obviously, we send out our deep gratitude to every SES volunteer and all of our emergency services who are doing a very good job at the moment trying to support everybody affected by this rain event which is now well and truly underway,” Andrews said at a press conference this morning.

SES chief officer Tim Wiebush urged residents to stay home unless absolutely necessary, and to have a backup route if driving on roads.

“We’re going to see quite a wash on our roads today, and if you don’t need to travel then our advice is to limit travel when you can,” he said.

“If you do need to travel, make sure you’ve got an alternate route if you do come across flash flood water, not to drive through it.”

BOM has signalled large parts of the state, including Melbourne, Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Mildura, Shepparton and Wodonga all within the warning area.

BOM’s forecast shows the worst of the rain will fall tonight, with some areas potentially receiving up to 120mm of rain.

However, some parts of the state have already experienced flood conditions, with Bendigo recording 57mm of rain overnight.

In total, 13 watch-and-act alerts are in place across the state. The VicEmergency website has the most up-to-date information.

Conditions will ease from the west by Friday morning, with early showers forecast before clearing tomorrow afternoon.