The council's municipal building surveyor issued an emergency order about 11pm after the basement flooded and damaged the electrical system. The entire building then suffered a power outage. Residents say the lights, heating and lifts stopped working prior to the evacuation. Contractors will now try to rectify the issue over the next two days, with the council estimating it will likely take up to three days for the building to be declared safe to occupy due to the extent of the damage. Some residents were allowed to return to the building briefly to collect necessary possessions. Residents were evacuated after a leak was found in the basement. Credit:Nine News

Resident Gail Fernandez said the building lost power and water on Sunday morning and her family, including her five-year-old son, began to get cold without any heating. "The building manager said there was a pipe burst and not to use anything that may need power," she said. "I have a five-year-old son and it was getting chilly. There was no water for the three of us, it was a bit hard so we went out to lunch." The building on the corner of Spencer Street and Collins Street. Credit:Nine News When they came back they were unsure of what was happening so decided to book an apartment in Docklands, thinking it would just be for a night.

"The story is it will be a couple of nights now," she said. "We own the apartment so hopefully all the costs will be covered." "It's been tough, but the building manager has been calm and helpful." The family were able to get back in briefly on Monday morning to retrieve their cat and some essentials, but it was difficult to navigate inside the apartment block as they had to climb 25 flights of stairs without lighting to get to the apartment. "There's dim lighting so we are all helping each other with the torches on our phones," she said. The building has about 240 apartments, with several shops on the street level. It is directly opposite Southern Cross Station.

The council has set up a relief centre at Melbourne Town Hall, which will remain open to help affected residents while the emergency order remains in place.