A Black Hawk helicopter has been called in to retrieve cars washed out to sea after record flash flooding along Victoria’s Great Ocean Road.

Authorities began to recover vehicles at Wye River and Cumberland River along Victoria’s Surf Coast on Thursday morning after torrential rain wreaked havoc a week earlier.

The Great Ocean Road between Lorne and Skenes Creek has been closed while the Black Hawk plucks stranded vehicles from the surf.

“Exclusion zones will be established around the operation areas at Wye River beach and Cumberland River, and members of the public will not be able to access these locations while aircraft are operating,” an alert said.

State Emergency Service chief officer Alistair Drayton said the salvage operation was expected to take up to three hours.

“We believe there is about 14 [vehicles] at Cumberland River that need to be lifted out,” he told ABC Radio Melbourne.

“Whilst there has already been two salvaged from the swallow shore break at Wye River, there is another two that we know of in below the surf.”

Several caravans had also disintegrated under the water, Drayton said.

Vehicles will be lifted to a car park on the road and then trucked to another area for owners or insurers to inspect.

The helicopter has been organised by marine salvage experts used by Parks Victoria when vessels run into trouble along the Great Ocean Road.

More than 178 millimetres of rain fell in the area over a period of six hours last Thursday, with the Lorne station registering its highest 24-hour reading since records began in 1884.

Hundreds of people were displaced, with one child injured and flown to hospital.

The area is a popular tourist spot, welcoming thousands of holidaymakers over school holidays.

Water quality in the area has returned to normal, Victoria’s Environment Protection Authority confirmed on Wednesday.

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.

-AAP