Wind storms tear up hills

By Tania Martin
HILLS people were left in darkness last week following a severe storm which is said to have been one of the worst to ever hit the Dandenongs.
Winds lashed across Melbourne and the outer east shortly after noon last Wednesday, reaching 117 km/h in Mt Dandenong and surrounding areas.
Emerald State Emergency Service volunteer Rob Tillman said the storm and the damage that ensured was the worst he had ever seen.
He said the Emerald unit attended more than 22 call-outs with reports of trees falling on houses.
Mr Tillman said from 1.30pm on Wednesday to 9am on Thursday, the unit received more than 118 calls for help.
He said the volunteers had done a wonderful job and were continuing to help with the storm clean-up.
At the peak of the storm, the SES flood and storm emergency response number was receiving one call every seven seconds.
In just 52 hours the VICSES received more than 5000 calls for assistance.
Forty NSW SES volunteers with storm damage skills were called in on Friday to help with the clean-up efforts.
On Friday, the SES expected that volunteers would attend a further 1000 call-outs over the weekend.
The Shire of Yarra Ranges was also counting the costs, responding to more than 180 calls for assistance over fallen trees.
For two days following the storm, shire crews worked around the clock to clear debris such as fallen branches and trees.
Shire spokesman James Martin said it was expected that the full clean up could take two or three weeks.
“It’s estimated there were 84 trees down, with 80 of them falling across roads,” he said. “But the full extent of all the damage across the shire will not be known for some time.”
As well as dealing with the extreme weather conditions, hills people also spent days without power.
Powerlines across the Dandenong Ranges were brought down in the storm, leaving residents in areas such as Cockatoo, Emerald, and Gembrook in darkness for days.
On Friday, the power utility, SP AusNet was continuing to work to restore power 100 homes in the region.
Natasha Whalley of SP AusNet said the violent winds created an unprecedented emergency weather event for the power company and crews have been working hard to restore power. “At the peak of the storm there were 125,000 customers off supply in our network.
“However, we have managed to reconnect a substantial number of those so far,” she said.
But Ms Whalley said there was still a lot more work to be done and that crews were working hard to undertake major construction and connection works in the Dandenong Ranges, particularly in Ferntree Gully and Cockatoo.
“We understand this is a frustrating time and would like to thank customers for their continued patience,” Ms Whalley said.