By Brendan Rees
Narre Warren State Emergency Service volunteers have fielded dozens of calls after wild weather wreaked havoc across the region, causing widespread damage and power outages to homes.
The intense storms moved across Melbourne late on Thursday night, 27 August with SES crews responding to 33 calls for help in Casey between 5pm and 9.40pm, mostly relating to downed trees and damaged roofs.
A Warneet family said the storm hit with such ferocity that falling branches on their roof sounded like explosions about 5.30pm.
“It was just more of a shock of how loud it was,” Jodie Armitage said after one side of their steel roofing was significantly damaged. “Somehow or another it didn’t actually put any holes in it which is lucky.”
Her husband also narrowly escaped with his life after falling from the roof of their single-storey home while trying to clear fallen branches.
She said he “somehow he managed to land on his feet” and despite feeling quite sore the next morning he was able to continue clearing tree debris around their house.
A Cranbourne resident said fierce winds lifted a trampoline off the ground and tossed it onto a neighbour’s roof, causing damage to two cars including a Mercedes, a garden shed and fencing.
SES crews also responded to trees leaning against homes, a metal gazebo tangled in a tree, an evaporative cooler hanging from a roof, about 20 large polystyrene blocks that escaped from a building site, and uprooted a tree in Endeavour Hills that blocked a residential street.
Across the state, SES had received more than 2100 calls for help in the 24 hours to 8.30am on Friday 28 August. Felled trees amounted to 85 per cent of the calls and 10 per cent were related to building damage.
The worst-affected areas included Mount Evelyn, Belgrave, Croydon, Lilydale, and Mount Waverley with the clean-up expected to take days.
A number of trees also fell across the Cranbourne and Pakenham train lines, causing service suspensions while crews worked to clear debris and restore power, the Transport Department said.
AusNet Services said the storm caused power outages to 52,000 customers across Melbourne. By Friday morning, 28 August, power was being restored to customers in Dalmore (16), KooWeeRup (22), and Nar Nar Goon (nine).
Victoria’s Transport Department also issued a warning to motorists to drive with extreme caution after trees fell on power lines and affected multiple traffic lights.
Victoria Police confirmed the disastrous storm killed three people including a four-year-old boy after being struck by fallen trees in separate incidents.
Meanwhile, Yarra Water told households at 88 suburbs that they should boil their tap water after storms caused electrical damage, resulting in contamination.
The Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Dean Narromore said wind gusts peaked at 158km/h in Wilsons Promontory while the strongest gusts recorded in Melbourne ranged from 80km/h to 95km/h.
