Wild time as storm winds strike

By Tania Martin
WILD and windy weather kept emergency services busy last week with numerous trees falling down, blocking roads and driveways.
It all started shortly after 8.45am on Tuesday when strong winds caused a tree to fall on Monbulk Road, Kallista.
A woman driving toward Belgrave narrowly escaped injury when the tree fell on her car.
Police say the tree propelled her vehicle forward into an oncoming car travelling in the opposite direction.
Both drivers escaped unhurt.
The wild weather continued throughout the day with wind speeds reaching 106 km/h in Mt Dandenong shortly after noon.
Emerald State Emergency Service (SES) volunteers worked during Tuesday and Wednesday answering numerous calls for help with fallen trees and branches.
Emerald SES volunteer Leigh Johnson said the Emerald unit received 97 calls for help.
Mr Johnson said volunteers attended more than 12 of the call-outs, and the rest of the calls were diverted to the Shire of Yarra Ranges, Cardinia Shire and VicRoads.
He said volunteers worked until 2am on Wednesday before going home for a short rest and continued the clean-up work several hours later.
Mr Johnson said two SES members from Pakenham and four from Essendon lent a helping hand to the Emerald crew.
Knox SES was also kept busy with 60 tree related call-outs in 12 hours from 11am on Tuesday.
Karen Afif of Knox SES said most of the calls came from around the Boronia, Ferntree Gully and Rowville areas.
Ms Afif said volunteers were kept busy with calls for help from residents regarding fallen tree branches and sheets of metal flying off buildings and construction sites.
She said one of the main incidents was when a tree fell on a small truck on Mountain Highway in The Basin shortly after 11.30am.
“We (SES) removed the tree from the truck – the tree came down right across the cabin and two passengers were treated at the scene by ambulance,” she said.
Ms Afif said the Knox SES crew also had more than six calls from businesses with concerns that their signs might blow down and injure someone.
Shire of Yarra Ranges workers also responded to more that 96 calls for help regarding fallen tree branches and debris.
Fifteen tree clearance crews worked until late on Tuesday night clearing away the debris caused by the strong winds.
Shire crews were called to 80 different roads in 28 suburbs with reports of fallen trees or branches blocking roads and driveways.
Mayor Tim Heenan congratulated residents for reporting the tree hazards including road blockages.
“When we have these sorts of weather events it’s just fantastic how the community gets on the phone and lets us known the locations of the tress and large limbs affecting the road because we just can’t be everywhere,” he said.
Monbulk CFA also attended eight call-outs in just six hours with the majority of call resulting from trees falling on powerlines.