Overview
- Authorities closed the Great Ocean Road between Lorne and Skenes Creek for the morning retrieval, then reopened it once the operation finished.
- More than a dozen vehicles and caravan chassis were winched from beaches, rocks and the sea at Cumberland River and Wye River, with one caravan chassis still buried under sand.
- VicSES led the recovery with a Black Hawk helicopter and marine salvage crews, moving recovered vehicles to secure locations for owner and insurer inspection.
- Exclusion zones at Wye River and Cumberland River kept the public clear during aircraft operations, with motorists directed to inland detours via Colac.
- The EPA has lifted earlier post‑flood water‑quality warnings, following a record short‑duration downpour that forced evacuations and swept cars into the surf.