In the southeastern Australian states of New South Wales and Victoria, water is still rising around several towns. In anticipation of more rain, residents reinforced their houses with sandbags and built dikes.

State authorities are urging residents to evacuate before this is no longer possible due to the rising water. Last week, much of the state of Victoria, southern NSW and northern Tasmania fell in two days with the amount of rain that normally falls in a month, causing flooding.

Parts of eastern Australia can also expect up to 100 millimetres in the next five days, which is about a tenth of the annual total in some areas, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology reports. “The expected rainfall in the coming days will not be as widespread, intense or heavy, and as a result, we do not expect any further major flooding.”

Nevertheless, the Murray, Australia’s largest river, will reach its highest level in 30 years later this week. Reason enough for Echuca, located 250 kilometres north of Melbourne, to build a dike of earth. The place is dealing with a second flood in a week. Sandbags are being filled in the nearby town of Moama. Aid workers handed out 45,000 sandbags last weekend and another 80,000 on Monday.

Police said a 65-year-old man was found dead in floodwaters in the northern Victoria town of Nathalia on Wednesday. In Hillston, in central NSW, police officers retrieved a body from the water. The police suspect that it is a 63-year-old man who has been missing for a week.