Residents are waiting to be reunited with their flood-wrecked vehicles following a dramatic recovery mission as a heatwave threatens to spark new bushfires.
More than a dozen cars and caravans were retrieved from waters along Victoria's Surf Coast on Thursday morning after they were washed out to sea during flash floods.
Authorities have hailed the operation a success, with a Black Hawk helicopter able to retrieve all but one of the flood-wrecked vehicles at Wye River and Cumberland River.
A single caravan remains unrecovered after breaking apart in heavy surf.
State Emergency Service chief Alistair Drayton said the vehicles had been relocated to dry land as police led efforts to engage with their owners.
Kelly Stanhope lost two cars to the floods after the Wye River burst its banks last Thursday, flooding the holiday park where she and her family were camping.
She told AAP she had not yet been contacted by authorities but both vehicles had been retrieved and deposited on the beach.
A week on from the devastating floods that injured one person and wrecked countless vehicles, Victorians are waiting to learn whether their insurers will meet their costs.
Mel Strom lost two caravans to the floods.
Insurers had agreed to write off one of her vans but she was still waiting to learn whether damage to the second would be covered, she told AAP on Thursday.
Mr Drayton described Thursday morning's retrieval operation, involving marine salvage experts and a Black Hawk helicopter, as "very delicate".
It ran for about three hours, with the Great Ocean Road reopening to traffic just after 10am.
Flash flooding wreaked havoc at Lorne and Wye River last week after intense rainfall stalled over a steep catchment.
More than 178mm of rain fell in the area in six hours, with the Lorne station registering its highest 24-hour reading since records began in 1884.
The rainfall event was not forecast and resulted from multiple weather systems colliding at once, Mr Drayton said.
Hundreds of people were displaced by the floods, with a child injured and flown to hospital.
The area is a popular tourist spot, welcoming thousands of holiday-makers during school holidays.
Water quality in the area has returned to normal, Victoria's Environment Protection Authority confirmed on Wednesday.
The risk to human health from swimming is considered likely to be low, but the regulator cautioned people to wear gloves, goggles and rubber boots while cleaning up.
Motorists have been advised to exercise caution when driving along the Great Ocean Road and to check for changing conditions.
As flood recovery efforts continue, Victorians are bracing for rising bushfire danger in the days ahead.
Extreme heat, dry fuels and active fires across the state could combine to create volatile conditions through the weekend and into next week.
Several large fires remain active, including an uncontained blaze near Walwa that has scorched more than 110,000 hectares.
Another major fire near Dargo has blackened more than 50,000 hectares and continues to burn through steep, inaccessible terrain.
A third fire continues to burn near Mallacoota in the East Gippsland region.
"We all know that the Mallacoota community went through a lot in 2020," Forest Fire Management chief fire officer Chris Hardman told reporters on Thursday.
"It's not threatening members at the moment ... but again, circumstances can change."
