Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Daniel Hayes just appeared on ABC Radio Melbourne and confirmed that the storm that hit Melbourne this afternoon is now almost over.

An emergency warning has been issued for people in the south-east, including Ku Wee Lap, Lang Lang, Pakenham and Gembrook, to shelter in place.

“We’ve seen some places where it’s approaching 1 millimeter per minute,” Hayes said. “As these thunderstorms continue to move through the region, there could be a fairly significant risk of flash flooding.”

Gisborne received 32mm of rain in an hour, while Conagadera in Melbourne’s northern suburbs received 22mm of rain in 30 minutes.

Mr Hayes stressed that people should not drive unless necessary and should stay away from floodwaters.

Following Hayes, PowerCor’s Emma Tyner said the distribution company was working to restore power to 4,400 customers as of 4 p.m.

“Some of the major power outages include Port Melbourne, affecting around 2041 customers,” he told radio station 774.

“We still have one around Thornbury, affecting around 1085 customers and 765 customers in Northcote.”