By Rachael Ward in Melbourne

The Australian Open schedule was thrown into chaos and emergency services received hundreds of calls for assistance as wild weather wreaked havoc across Victoria.

The heavy rain is expected to continue across the country with flood and severe thunderstorm warnings issued for the coming hours.

Thousand of tennis fans were forced to scamble for cover as the downpour hit on Sunday and rain spread across courts, forcing matches to be rescheduled or postponed on the tournament’s first day.

Melbourne Park received 30.8mm of rain in less than five hours, with much of Victoria’s deluge centred in pockets around Melbourne.

The State Emergency Service received some 254 calls for assistance from midnight on Sunday morning and 8am on Monday, including 105 calls related to fallen trees, 62 to flooding and 53 for building damage.

Footscray in the city’s west was the hardest hit area, followed by the city, Heidelberg in the northeast and Moorabbin in the south.

Drivers were forced to navigate flash flooding in inner Melbourne as rain spilled across city streets, with one motorist forced to abandon their car at an underpass as water crept up towards the door handles.

“Be aware of local conditions and DO NOT drive through floodwater – the depth of a pen is enough to float a car,” the local Port Phillip Unit posted to social media.

Conditions had settled by Monday morning, although the Bureau of Meteorology warned of a chance of a severe thunderstorm by the afternoon, most likely around elevated areas.

Emergency services were called to reports of a woman and a toddler struck by a tree at Horsham, about 300km northwest of Melbourne, on Sunday afternoon.

The woman suffered upper body injuries and was flown to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a serious condition, which was later upgraded to stable, while the boy was treated at a local hospital for cuts and abrasions.

Elsewhere, a severe thunderstorm warning for heavy rainfall has been issued for parts of Western Australia’s Pilbara and Gascoyne districts on Monday.

Some 35.2mm of rain was recorded in just 30 minutes at the remote town of Paraburdoo just before 5am.

“Severe thunderstorms are likely to produce heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding in the warning area over the next several hours,” the bureau said.

“Locations which may be affected include Paraburdoo and Tom Price.”

In Queensland, the bureau warned of possible storms in central, eastern and northern parts of the state on Monday following days of intense rain.

A flood watch remains for the southeast and inland catchments and minor flood warnings for the Lower Condamine River, the Logan River, Bremer River and Warrill Creek, Boyne and Burnett River, Barambah Creek, Stuart River and Barker Creek.

A moderate flood watch has also been issued for Tasmania’s South Esk River.