On 29 November 1934 torrential rain began to fall in Central Victoria and Gippsland, with 140 mm falling in Melbourne within the 48 hours ending 1 December. In South Gippsland, east of Melbourne, over 350 mm fell.

Roads were submerged, houses inundated and bridges, train and tram railway lines were washed out. As a result of the storm the Yarra and other Rivers burst their banks, flooding and in some cases isolating towns. The Yarra Valley, Latrobe River District and South Gippsland areas were all flooded.

There was a huge loss of livestock, property and crops. Every suburb of Melbourne suffered damage and winds in the Central Business District reached up to 110 km per hour. As many as 400 houses and buildings were damaged.

There were 36 fatalities in the storms and subsequent floods, 18 of which were drowning, and 6000 people were made homeless.