A SHORT, sharp downpour caused widespread damage in Swan Hill homes and businesses on Wednesday night.
Between 8.13pm and 8.30pm the Bureau of Meterology recorded 12.8mm, while one Swan Hill resident measured 24mm over five minutes.
Swan Hill's State Emergency Service received eight call outs -- all for the torrents of water that brought down trees and ceilings.
SES controller Rob Merrett said the Swan Hill CBD was hardest hit, with many businesses opening late or not at all in order to clean up.
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Many business operators had also worked late into Wednesday night to clean up their shops and try to protect stock.
"The main ones were the Swan Hill Club and Tristar, which had water enter in the ceilings and ceilings collapsing," Mr Merrett said.
Mr Merrett said it was the worst flash flooding he had seen in a decade.
"I can remember 10, 15 years ago we had three inches in the night and Federal Square went under in a night," he said.
"There were all the storages this time, (but) it just came so fast it took a while to get to the storages."
Swan Hill Club acting manager Kerrie Cooper surveyed soaked carpets after water came in through the gaming room ceiling.
"Our (centenary) celebration starts (tonight), and we will do what can be done, but it will be temporary," Ms Cooper said.
Byrne's Dry Cleaning's Michael Byrne said it was people driving through water on the road that pushed waves of water into shops, including his on the corner of Pye and Campbell streets.
"We cleaned most of it up this morning, it was full of leaves and mud, all coming in from the road," Mr Bryne said .
Just across the street, Autobarn owner Ian Decker said he and his staff had been working from about 8.30pm until after 11pm on Wednesday to clear out water that had flooded the store.
“The whole street was flooded, it's a massive mess,” Mr Decker said.
“We feel a little bit left out by the council, all their workers are down on (the main part of Campbell Street) and we don't get any assistance at all down here, and it's like that every single time."
Ongoing drainage problems at the back of Swan Hill post office and Sun Centre Travel and Holidays caused a 'swimming pool' of water up to 75cm deep.
With heavy downpours in past years creating similar results, employees from both buildings attempted to unblock drains and minimise damage on Wednesday night.
Post office employee Karen Mclennan said staff would be suffering with damp and smelly carpets for months.
"It's been a big discussion with the council and owners, but no-one wants to take responsibility," she said.
For more on this story, see tomorrow's edition of The Guardian (November 11, 2011).
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